Gites at Civray Swimming Pool Kit Construction in France!
The Gites at Civray Swimming Pool Kit Construction in France is another great example of how easy it is to install your own DIY pool kit. Steve’s decision to install a Lap Pool Kit saved them thousands of dollars a local pool contractor would have charged. Just take a look at the testimonial Steve sent below! If you have questions about building your own inground pool kit or would like to speak with a sales rep about pricing and options feel free to give us a call at 800-515-1747 now!
From Steve at Gites at Civray:
Building a swimming pool is a significant investment, going for 25 metres long makes that investment even larger but that is what we needed to complete our plan of creating an environment suitable for both athletes and non athletes to enjoy in our new venture Gites at Civray.
Lots of time was spent on researching all the items that we thought we would need and then the task of suppliers was next. We are based in central France so decided that we should search both France and UK, prices that were coming back were either right at the very top our price range and that was before the installation costs were added, or way above, the highest was 100,000 GBP.
We broadened the search and came across Pool Warehouse based in the USA, we used their product configurator and came back with a price that was just too competitive to be true. We watched the self build videos and decided it was definately worth pursuing. We managed to get a call with Jones, how much can one man know about swimming pools? Fantastic product knowledge and also patience, going through every item with what were complete newbies. ”How do we get the pool to France?” was my question, “Not a problem, we can help with that’ was the response. We added a thermal cover and also a custom safety cover and the total still came to less than the cost the companies in Europe would charge for the basic pool.
6 weeks or so later and we got the message that the 40 foot container would be with us later that week, we spoke with our friends opposite who have a farm, they offered to unload the container for us using their tractor. The day came and the container arrived, we took the shipping list and checked all the items off, everything was there, full speed ahead!
The only part that we needed help with was the initial dig of the quite considerable hole, this couldn’t start for 3 weeks so we had a lot of prep time. We took the opportunity to mock up a shorter version of the pool to check measurements, we also built a jig to use as a sanity check through the build.
One hundred cubic metres of earth came out of the hole and was used to make a level terrace type area downhill from the pool. We pulled some huge rocks out from the hole but unfortunately we were left with 2 that were just too high for the base but would have left a huge hole if removed. A disk cutter and hammer chisel for 2 days saw the end of those and nearly the end of us. By now summer was in full flow and we were 1.5 metres down in a hole in 30+ degrees C, it was easier to work under shade and with ice packs in the pockets but it was the hardest part of the build. Once the rocks were low enough we ordered the first of 5 loads of concrete and laid the base, big milestone.
Due to the clay nature of the soil our French diggers had been unable to create the solid edge that the Pool Warehouse video recommended. Nights of broken sleep became common place on this project, the first of which came while trying to solve the challenge of supporting the solid polymer panels in exactly the right place to ensure the pool was level and square. In the end we went for thick wooden fence posts. These were hammered into the clay at specific widths to match the joins in the panels and lined up using a string line to ensure they were straight. We had to wait until the evening when the light was fading to use a laser level to ensure the posts were consistent with the height on the supplied drawings.
Connecting the panels was quite simple, lots of polymer nuts and bolts, it was balancing the panels that was tricky, we had two lines of 1 metre high panels balanced on fence posts. We used the jig that we built early on to guide us, then also added supports to ensure the width at the top of the panels was correct, using the string line as a guide we screwed the panels to the posts to ensure they didn’t move. Once we were happy with the panels we could brace them in place across the width and then ordered another 8 cubic metres of concrete to hold them in place, we did have a minor panic as we realised we didn’t really have enough bracing but luckily the spare wood we had around solved the issue. That done we set about the 45 degree angle from the panel to the base. Again a bit of night time thinking was required to find a solution, eventually settling for building a gravel base supported by chicken wire to ensure the angle was maintained, then another two loads each of 6 cubic metres of concrete was ordered. We were nearly finished with the first load when we realised we had over ordered, the next question was how to lose the next 6 cubic metres of concrete that we had thought we would need. A deck in front of the pool house, a base for the heaters and then the rest used to firm the pool ends which would get a tough time with tumble turns and push offs.
The end was in sight now. The liner went in with no dramas, easy to attach and a perfect fit. We spent a lot of time while filling the pool to ensure that the base was wrinkle free and equally tensioned at each side. It was possible to adjust the liner half an inch at a time which meant that each adjustment had to be thought through and planned due to the time it took. Eventually we had enough water to consider cutting the main drain, that was a stress as it was the first cut in the liner. The recommended method of fitting the liner was using vacuum pumps but that wasn’t really an option for us due to the size of the pool, I can see this would help with the prepositioning.
With the water level rising we could turn to the backfill, in total 45 tonnes of gravel went into the build, lots for the backfill. It took around 7 days to fill the pool, adjustments were being done all the way through to the liner with no problems. The concrete deck came last, easy work compared to some parts.
Having gone through this build there isn’t really a lot that we would do different. The biggest recommendation is to plan but be flexible. Everything from the guys at Pool Warehouse was just as described, we went for the Omnilogic system which means we can control the pool remotely from anywhere. Would I do it again? Sure, why not, the kit was fantastic, the result is better than we could’ve hoped for.
Gites at Civray Swimming Pool Kit Construction in France!
If you have questions about the Gites at Civray Swimming Pool Kit Construction in France project then do not hesitate to call us at 800-515-1747. Our trained pool kit sales staff are ready to help walk you through quoting your new pool. From selecting your pump, filter, liner, steps and pool shape our Pool Pros know the best possible combination for making your pool run like a dream. Our Polymer Wall pool kits will never rust, rot or corrode and our steel wall pool kits have hundreds of pool tanning ledge and bench combinations to choose from. We know you need help selecting the perfect pool for your backyard and we are always right here to help. For over 20 year’s we’ve been selling DIY pool kits online and have become the number one source for inground pool kits in the USA!
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