What To Consider When Choosing A Pool Design For Your Home!
The very thought of having a pool in your home is exciting. But, don’t let your over-enthusiasm take over your better judgement. Owning a pool is a long-term commitment too! Along with your dream pool, comes the burden of maintenance and upkeep as well. Additionally, you also should think about the features that you imagine will go with your pool and its surrounding areas. To get it all right, there are a few important things to consider before you decide on the right pool design for your home.
Here's What You Need To Keep in Mind!
Who Are The Intended Users?
The foremost thing to consider is what’s the purpose of the pool and who will use it most often. That will help you decide about the size, depth, shape, entrance of the pool, safety features, etc. If it is for users who are focused on fitness, a lap pool may be the right one to install. Knowing your choices will help you select a pool better.
What Kind Of Pool Serves Your Purpose Best?
Family Pools – Family pools are extremely popular as they are designed to cater to families. Most fibreglass pool shells are designed with various safety features such as a non-slip surface, smooth edges, and child-safe ledges around the pool. Many designs come with stepson shallow as well as deep ends for new or hesitant swimmers. Family pools are spacious, allowing plenty of room for swimming and games for everyone.
Lap Pools – As the name suggests, lap pools are designed specially for swimming laps. These pools are longish, rectangular, and narrow. They are usually 40ft – 75ft long. Lap pools are ideal for serious swimmers who take up swimming as a profession or for fitness. Lap pools lack deep and shallow ends to provide maximum swimming benefits. Although anyone can jump into a lap pool, it may not be the right choice for family use. Lap pools require less space for installation and can fit into any narrow and shallow space.
Plunge Pools – Plunge pools are also called dipping pools due to their small size. They can be considered compact swimming pools ideal for backyards too small to fit in a regular swimming pool. Plunge pools are not designed for swimming. They are mostly meant for relaxation. These small pools are also good for low-impact exercises in water. They are easier to maintain, are economical, and can be installed in small spaces.
Consider The Surrounding Area
A pool is not a stand-alone feature in your yard. You have to consider the larger picture while considering the overall design. Your pool should coordinate well with the larger landscape. If you ignore the entire surrounding before planning the design, your pool may look totally out of place in your yard. You may also face multiple problems in installing other desired features around your pool in the future. Give it a thought and take time to plan your pool design no matter if you are considering a concrete or fibreglass pool.
Budget And Time
Pools are a lifetime investment and do not come cheap. Budget plays an important role in deciding the material, size, and design. Additionally, various pools require different stretches of time to be constructed or installed. If you want it quick and convenient, a fibreglass pool can be installed much faster than constructing a concrete pool.
The most common pool choices are vinyl liner pools, fibreglass pools, and concrete pools. Each comes with its advantages.
…a fibreglass pool can be installed much faster than constructing a concrete pool.
Vinyl Liner Pools
Vinyl liner pools are the cheapest among the three choices. However, if you are looking for a long-lasting option, the lining in vinyl liner pools is susceptible to damage. For family pools that are used heavily, the liner may be extremely prone to wear and tear and repair costs are considerably high.
Fibreglass Pools
Fibreglass pools are more expensive than vinyl liner pools but way cheaper than concrete pools. They are long-lasting and come in a variety of pre-made designs, finishes, and colours. Being non-porous, fibreglass pools are less susceptible to algae growth. That makes cleaning and maintenance easier compared to concrete pools. However, the only downside of fibreglass pools is their pre-made measurements and shell designs. Fibreglass pools lack the flexibility of customisation but that is outweighed by the many benefits these pools offer.
Concrete Pools
Constructing concrete pools is by far the most expensive. When it comes to custom designs, nothing can beat concrete pools but building a concrete swimming pool can be a challenging and time-consuming process. Concrete pools also require high maintenance and may need frequent refinishing.
Above-ground Vs. In-ground
Often homeowners are confused if they should choose to go with an above-ground or a permanently placed in-ground pool. In-ground pools are the regular-style pools that are most preferred for their stability and long-lasting nature, but above-ground pools may save you some money and can be built to accommodate nearly any backyard shape particularly if it’s sloping. Additionally, you don’t have to compromise on aesthetics as they can still be customised to fit your design ideas!
Pool Placement Matters
Pools are a long-term investment and add value to a property. Pool positioning is an important thing to consider before choosing the design. The available space, exposure to the sun and wind, privacy, landscape factors, everything has to be considered before you decide how or where you want the pool to be placed. The spot has to be ideal for the highest level of comfort, convenience, and aesthetics. Also, keep government regulations and safety in mind. A pool that’s visible from the house can be easy to supervise when you want to keep an eye on the users.
Consider Desired Pool Features
Do you have big plans for your pool? If you do, the shape, size, and type can influence future features that you can or can’t incorporate with your pool. A poolside can be turned into a fun zone with decorations and landscaping like a deck, cabana, play area, outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and other landscape features. If the design of your pool takes up the larger chunk of space available in your backyard, your options for installing other features become limited.
Take everything into consideration before you finalise your pool design. If you are not too sure about what type of pool or design best fits your property there is always professional help available. Talk to a reliable pool company to get better idea about pool possibilities, cost, time, maintenance, and compatible features.
A Quick Summary
Choosing your pool design you first have to decide on who will be using your pool, and why. Whether it’ll be for the kids, for yourself, for swimming laps, or just relaxing in, many different pool designs accommodate different goals of what you may want.
The size of your backyard and placement of your future pool are huge deciding factors that you should take into consideration! If your backyard slopes, or simply if you want different landscaping options, choosing between an in-ground pool and above-ground pool is something to think about when looking at your future pool designs!
Not only the pool placement itself, but any extras or landscaping ideas you may have play into the overall decision of picking a particular pool design! If you want a large entertainment area, decking, outdoor kitchen, or even if you want to add a spa next to your pool, these are things to keep in mind when picking your pool design!
