Best tips for indoor swimming pools: benefits and design

Indoor swimming pool: benefits and design

An indoor pool (possibly in the basement) means added comfort, with facilities unmatched by any other outdoor pool.

Here are the benefits of an indoor pool in your basement:

1. Basements have usually concrete flooring, which simplifies execution (e.g. hydroinsulation)

2. Pool weight is important; pools located on the first floor / ground floor, with cellar / garage underneath will exerts pressure over floor structure

3. All year around availability; there is no off season and you don’t have to worry about weather

4. Minimum cost aftercare; located in an isolated environment, this pool is better in terms of health, compared to an outdoor pool

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5. Compared to an outdoor pool, an indoor pool is more child friendly and safer too; size of an indoor swimming pool is usually smaller, which means easier usage, plus children easier to supervise

6. Easy access location (basement of a large house / villa)

7. Option for adding new facilities later, such as: showers, sauna or Jacuzzi

A basement pool has also issues which makes it harder to build and this means the humidity developed in such an enclosure. Moisture comes with many drawbacks, such as: medium for mold development and decay accelerator (e.g. decomposition of textile materials). Here are 10 tips for building indoor swimming pools:

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1. Select a design without corners for your basement indoor pool; this way we avoid areas with moisture potential, where surface drying becomes difficult. Corners and joints maintenance is also essential.

2. Complete pool underlay

3. Make sure pool is illuminated; the best is natural lighting (through windows). Artificial lighting for both indoor and outdoor must be included in your project, starting from design phase.

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4. Make sure the exterior area has a slope facing towards your pool, thus avoiding water spreading over the surface.

5. If needed, install a dehumidification system, which absorbs the wet air (70%-80% at ambiental temperature of 20 °C) and later discharges it into an evaporation – condensation system, to finally expel warm and dry air (40% at 28 °C). Nevertheless, it should be analysed it first, considering the high costs for such a system. It is also essential to consider the ratio between temperatures of water / air, because when these 2 temperatures are equal, condensation will occur and therefore the humidity will grows. The recommended humidity level is approximately 50%. In this case and considering water temperature of about 27 °C and 30 °C value for air temperature, in a 50 sqm empty pool, studies indicate evaporation of 5 L water / hour will occur. As soon as a person enters the pool, evaporation value rises at 7 L water / hour. Therefore, the temperature-humidity ratio, associated with pool’s degree of use (especially for public pools), are essential data, we should consider when building a pool.

photo source: aqua-tech.ca

6. Install an underfloor heating system, if necessary. This is designed to heat the floor during winter, but also ensures rapid drying of exterior surfaces in contact with water. Heating and humidity of the enclosure are connected, therefore ensuring a good function of the pool takes into account the ratio between them. You can save a lot on your budget as long as you analyse carefully these 2 aspects, right from design phase. If the budget is not sufficient for those 2 systems, then we must ensure proper ventilation of the enclosure, by controlling the humidity level.

7. Provide enough space for the technical camera, to allow easy access to equipments and carry out the service activities in good conditions.

8. Buy water treatment equipments. Besides killing all kinds of germs, these equipments will eliminate odour.

9. Choose your preferred swimming pool; for high humidity areas, we recommend two types of swimming pools: one made of concrete – gunite technology and modular (from metal panels or polystyrene insulated forms). The last one is recommended for colder areas thanks to its thermal insulation properties.

photo source: unepauselitteraire.com

10. Choose pool lining: it could be made from liner, natural stone mosaic or glass.

Pool cladding and the coping arounf swimming pool can be decorated with natural stone from PIATRONLINE, an essential material for an elegant aspect, besides the added value. PIATRAONLINE sales department is ready to help you with everything you’ll need for your project. Simply get in touch with our sales department at email: export@piatraonline.ro or by phone at +40318.222.333