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[tuky]

I will be looking at something like this with the decking and the spa.


I would love it to light up like this one at night.


Anyway, there is some great info here.
My back won't allow me to build it myself so it is a professional job for sure.

Anyone with an idea of what sort of money I am talking here? just for the pool, the spa and associated hardware?
Chon buri...

[Ajarn]

Just a wild guess....

1-2 million baht if you get a Thai pool company to build everything for you, as in the first photo...I was quoted 600,000 baht for the cheapest pool one company in CM had, a small 12ft. oval pool...

500,000-700,000 if you supervise everything yourself... Lots of ways to knock up the price on tiling, sanitation system, water heater, quality of materials...You'll also need at least two pumps, and maybe two filters, I feel.

Mighty beautiful, especially the top photo  

[huski]

tuky,

those pictures are from anthony sylvan pools, a company i worked for 7 years in the US. i can't tell you how much pool construction is here in thailand but try and take your time and get as many bids first. pick a good pool contractor and try and see some of his finished pools.

[Boon Mee]

huski, on Sat 2004-08-14, 01:30:41, said:

tuky,

those pictures are from anthony sylvan pools, a company i worked for 7 years in the US. i can't tell you how much pool construction is here in thailand but try and take your time and get as many bids first. pick a good pool contractor and try and see some of his finished pools.

Does anyone know of a good pool contractor in the BKK/Suphanburi area?
Thanks!

[NoAjarn]

12,000 baht per sq met.

[stevehaigh]

george, on 2003-08-14 15:42:48, said:

<font color='#000000'>Anyone have built a pool in Thailand? Your input is much appreciated! Tell us how you did it!</font>

my pool http://2112design.com/stevepool5.jpg is 5x7 for the main body and the end bits are 1.5m radius . its 2m deep in the middle. as you can see its an overflow pool but i decided not to run it as an overflow because i loose too much water from splashing so now i lower the water level 5cm and use a floating skimmer.

the walls and floor are 15-20cm think concrete reinforced with 2 layers of 12mm rebar (#4), 15cm grid. i use xypex to waterproof the concrete. the rendering is about 3-5cm thick and the tile is standard cheap wall tile.

the pump, filter and chloriator are poolright.

the thing to look out for is that the wood forms for the walls are braced well enought so they don;t move when concrete is added (and use a concrete vibrator). don't put concrete too fast and go all the way around the walls evenly. my guys pured too fast on one side only and i got a big buldge (and not in a good place!). took ages to saw it off.

steve

[elkangorito]

There are many incorrect assumptions about swimming pools & the filtration thereof. I will try to shed some light on the subject.

Filters.
The purpose of a pool filter is to PRIMARILY prevent the dead bodies of bacteria from re-entering the pool. These dead bodies act as food for other living bacteria.
The SECONDARY purpose is to remove other solids from the pool.

Many people opt for the common 'spherical' shaped sand filters as they are cheap & readily available. They have 2 inherent problems;
1. Because of their shape, 'bio scum' builds up at the 'equator' of the filter. This scum can help to cause bacteria to flourish if the pool is not disinfected correctly. As a result, ear, eye & mouth infections can become prevalent. The 'bio scum' can only be removed by stripping the filter, cleaning out the scum & replacing the old sand with new sand. With this type of filter, this procedure is recommended annually.

2. Again because of their shape, the full volume of sand is not used for filtration. They are inefficient.

Don't forget to 'backwash' your filter for at least 5 minutes EVERY DAY.

The better style of filter is one of a cylindrical shape. It is long & thin so the water has to pass through a longer distance of sand, thus better filtering. Bio scum will not easily form in these filters due to the filter shape. These filters are very efficient but more expensive.

Filter Media.
Cartridge filter media is good but restricts the water flow as the filter becomes more clogged. This restricted water flow will have a detrimental affect on the rate of pool disinfection. So, cartridge filters need to be constantly cleaned, at least every 72 hours of operation.

Sand is also a good filter medium as it has a two-fold action...as well as restricting solids etc, the sharp edges on the sand help to kill certain bacteria that chemical disinfectants have no affect upon.
But be careful...normal silica sand is not very good at doing this. The only sand that has a proven 'kill' factor is Quartz sand...very long & very sharp edges.

Disinfection.
Chlorine is widely used but least understood. Whether you add the chlorine to your pool by hand or whether it is ionised into solution by electrolysis & Salt, makes no difference.
What must be understood is this;

1. The ability for chlorine to disinfect (kill) in water, drastically decreases when the water temperature approaches & exceeds 28 degrees Celsius. Therefore, monitor your pool water temperature...especially if you live in Thailand.

2. Chlorine is an ineffective disinfectant in solutions that have a pH of greater than 8.0.

3. 'Free chlorine' is the measure of the available chlorine that can actively disinfect. The minimum level for a domestic pool should be about 2.0 ppm (parts per million) & the maximum should not exceed 5.0 ppm. Skin, eye & mucous membrane irritations can ocur at levels as low as 3.0 ppm.

4. If your pool has the correct pH, water temperature & free chlorine levels, you SHOULD NOT be able to smell any chlorine. If you can smell chlorine, in actual fact, you are not smelling chlorine. What you are smelling is Chloramines, which is the result of Free chlorine reacting with ammonia that is excuded by humans. Chloramines have absolutely no disinfection power whatsoever. If you smell chlorine, it's time to get out of your pool & test the water again.

Pumps
As an absolute minimum requirement, your pump should be sized so that it is capable of pumping the complete volume of pool water in no more than 2 hours. The bigger pump, the better. The less the 'turn around' time, the better the disinfection rate will be. The pump should be running at least 12 out of every every 24 hours.

Testing.
Test the pool water after;
1. There have been strong winds.
2. There has been rain.
3. There have been a large number of people in the pool. Generally, a pool needs at least 8 hours to recover from any of these things.


In addition, a 'Bromine Bank' is advised if using a chlorinated pool. Bromine has good 'kill' power & lasts longer than chlorine. Basically, it picks up where chlorine leaves off. Further, a Carbon Dioxide injection system will easily & automatically control the pH so that the Chlorine/Bromine disinfection can work to the highest efficiency. An expensive system to initially install but does save on elbow grease.

The use of Ozone is not desirable due to the corrosiveness of such a system.

UV filtering needs to be VERY carefully designed for the individual installation as the type of UV globes used are very important. Also, filtration is VERY important with a UV disinfection process. In any case, a Bromine Bank is always prescribed with the use of a UV disinfection system.

If you are concerned with the health of your pool users, these guidelines are helpful.

[Baht Man]

bronco, on 2004-08-13 07:37:06, said:

Nobody has mentioned salt water pools, I would have thought they would be more suited to LOS as opposed to chlorine because of the higher sunlight levels. I know this to be the case in QLD.

I build pools for a living in the US. Salt is the way to go there if you can get your hands on a good system. Eliminates need for chlorine and will leave a residual unlike the ionization someone esle mentioned. I was going to come there to retire. Maybe I should come and build pools,
Is funny so many think its so easy to do yourself. Frankly it's easier to build a house yet they have someone else do it. Maybe a swimming pool repair company is in my future?????????

[Baht Man]

bronco, on 2004-08-13 07:37:06, said:

Nobody has mentioned salt water pools, I would have thought they would be more suited to LOS as opposed to chlorine because of the higher sunlight levels. I know this to be the case in QLD.

I build pools for a living in the US. Salt is the way to go there if you can get your hands on a good system. Eliminates need for chlorine and will leave a residual unlike the ionization someone esle mentioned. I was going to come there to retire. Maybe I should come and build pools,
Is funny so many think its so easy to do yourself. Frankly it's easier to build a house yet they have someone else do it. Maybe a swimming pool repair company is in my future?????????

[Baht Man]

[quote name='Ajarn' date='2004-08-14 13:21:11' post='147521']

500,000-700,000 if you supervise everything yourself... Lots of ways to knock up the price on tiling, sanitation system, water heater, quality of materials...

If you dont know what your supervising it wioll end up costing you money........  



You'll also need at least two pumps, and maybe two filters, I feel.

TWO pumps and filters..........?? for what   . Does a car have TWO engines??
You only need one. Don't waste your money.

[Baht Man]

Boon Mee, on 2004-08-13 14:30:10, said:

I had never even heard of a salt-water pool before reading this thread!  As Ajarn asked, what are the advantages to having one aside from the reduced expense of chemicals?  Isn't the "subjective pleasure experience" reduced swimming in brackish or salty water as opposed to fresh?

Boon, a salt pool only uses sodium chloride (table salt w/o the iodine) in a process to produce chlorine gas. It replaces manually added chlorine as it make it's own and is tied into the filter system. A good system will produce chlorine with salt levels as low as 2800 PPM. Your tears contain more salt that that.
You will only notice the water feels softer than normal, and a salt system will not produce any side effects such as chloramines. You will not notice its a "salt" pool unless you put to much in.
I install them on about 90% of the pools I build here in the US

Edited by Baht Man, 2006-11-01 02:42:11.

[Baht Man]

[quote name='Up2U' date='2004-08-14 08:04:06' post='147428']
[quote name='Paleface' date='Sat 2004-08-14, 01:40:09'] I spent 35 years in the concrete business and Ive seen alot of do-it-yourself horror stories. Usually, they involve people reading a book about concrete and then thinking it will be as easy as in the book. After alot of work and money down the drain, they clean up the mess and call an expert.



Not to worry - I'm thinking of starting a pool-repair company. I think I'll have plenty of business!  
[/quote]


I agree, if it was so easy I'd be out of business. There will be a ton of many to be made there with the over confidence I'm seeing here from those DIY'ers.
I'll partner with you on that pool repair company.

[stevehaigh]

Baht Man, on 2006-11-01 02:36:16, said:

Boon Mee, on 2004-08-13 14:30:10, said:

I had never even heard of a salt-water pool before reading this thread!  As Ajarn asked, what are the advantages to having one aside from the reduced expense of chemicals?  Isn't the "subjective pleasure experience" reduced swimming in brackish or salty water as opposed to fresh?

Boon, a salt pool only uses sodium chloride (table salt w/o the iodine) in a process to produce chlorine gas. It replaces manually added chlorine as it make it's own and is tied into the filter system. A good system will produce chlorine with salt levels as low as 2800 PPM. Your tears contain more salt that that.
You will only notice the water feels softer than normal, and a salt system will not produce any side effects such as chloramines. You will not notice its a "salt" pool unless you put to much in.
I install them on about 90% of the pools I build here in the US

actually, i notice the salt quite a bit and i put the recomended amount and the salt meter on the chlorinator complains if it goes low.

steve

[helicoptor]

dreetje, on 2003-05-07 19:08:50, said:

<font color='#000000'>I want too make a swimming pool by my house,with filter and pump ,water treatment etc. etc.(10mx5mx1,5m)Somebody knowe,s what it will cost?,or a website in thailand where i can find this.</font>

www.miac-construction.com

[Nawtilus]

Which is cheaper to setup as far as the system goes salt or fresh and then which is cheaper to maintain also.

Is the system for each, salt and fresh different ?

[toptuan]

Wire mesh, white cement, tile, filters?  Blah blah blah.  Man, you guys live complicated lives.  

How a swimming pool is built in Isaan:

1) Choose an early morning for the coolness factor.
2) Call together about twenty villagers with hoes.  
3) Dig for about four hours, any shape you want.
4) Wait for rainy season to fill

Cost:
Enough som-tam (with lots of "para"), grilled chicken and sticky-rice to feed the crowd of workers.

Maintenance:
  
PH Balance:  Enough village kids peeing in the pool plus natural dissolving of the alkaline clay walls keeps it on-target.  No cost.

Algae control:  Get the right kind, and it is a great garnish for some stir-fry Isaan dishes.  Call the neighbors in to harvest it every few weeks.

Water clarity:  Why?  Everyone here feels uncomfortable if you can see in the water. You feel like you're swimming in your neighbor's 200-gallon rainwater storage jar.  Not good etiquette.  If you can't see in it, it's water for swimming.  No one offended.

Temperature control:  Watch the sun and pick your time of day for a dip.  Not exactly rocket science.

Critter control: Any hapless snakes or frogs which fall into your pool are indeed unlucky.  They will be on someone's dinner plate by day's end.  A poolboy could do that for you.  His pay is his caught dinner.

Poolside amenities:  
Bodily comfort -- A couple hammocks strung from nearby trees.
Swimming attire -- normal everyday clothes; combats sunburn--no need for expensive sunblocks
Refreshment -- A bottle of Chang with a wicker bowl full of deep-fried silkworms.
Twilight aroma --  Use those little mosquito coils
Nighttime illumination -- bare lightbulb hooked to a car battery and strung across the water. Yeah, good idea to keep it above arms' reach for the kids who want to play with it while swimming.

*********

P.S.    My poor retired folks in the home country, on a fixed income, are still putting out between $200 and $300 a month for pool chemicals, a pool boy to skim the water with his net & check the equipment daily, and natural gas for the pool water heater.  Now who's really living the care-free lifestyle?

Edited by toptuan, 2006-11-11 14:43:19.

[elkangorito]

toptuan, on 2006-11-11 14:15:29, said:

Wire mesh, white cement, tile, filters?  Blah blah blah.  Man, you guys live complicated lives.  

How a swimming pool is built in Isaan:

1) Choose an early morning for the coolness factor.
2) Call together about twenty villagers with hoes.  
3) Dig for about four hours, any shape you want.
4) Wait for rainy season to fill

Cost:
Enough som-tam (with lots of "para"), grilled chicken and sticky-rice to feed the crowd of workers.

Maintenance:
  
PH Balance:  Enough village kids peeing in the pool plus natural dissolving of the alkaline clay walls keeps it on-target.  No cost.

Algae control:  Get the right kind, and it is a great garnish for some stir-fry Isaan dishes.  Call the neighbors in to harvest it every few weeks.

Water clarity:  Why?  Everyone here feels uncomfortable if you can see in the water. You feel like you're swimming in your neighbor's 200-gallon rainwater storage jar.  Not good etiquette.  If you can't see in it, it's water for swimming.  No one offended.

Temperature control:  Watch the sun and pick your time of day for a dip.  Not exactly rocket science.

Critter control: Any hapless snakes or frogs which fall into your pool are indeed unlucky.  They will be on someone's dinner plate by day's end.  A poolboy could do that for you.  His pay is his caught dinner.

Poolside amenities:  
Bodily comfort -- A couple hammocks strung from nearby trees.
Swimming attire -- normal everyday clothes; combats sunburn--no need for expensive sunblocks
Refreshment -- A bottle of Chang with a wicker bowl full of deep-fried silkworms.
Twilight aroma --  Use those little mosquito coils
Nighttime illumination -- bare lightbulb hooked to a car battery and strung across the water. Yeah, good idea to keep it above arms' reach for the kids who want to play with it while swimming.

*********

P.S.    My poor retired folks in the home country, on a fixed income, are still putting out between $200 and $300 a month for pool chemicals, a pool boy to skim the water with his net & check the equipment daily, and natural gas for the pool water heater.  Now who's really living the care-free lifestyle?

Good one!!!    

[astral]

huski, on 2004-08-14 14:30:41, said:

tuky,

those pictures are from anthony sylvan pools, a company i worked for 7 years in the US. i can't tell you how much pool construction is here in thailand but try and take your time and get as many bids first. pick a good pool contractor and try and see some of his finished pools.

And ask to talk to some of the existing customers to see if they are satisfied.

[astral]

tuky, on 2004-08-14 13:48:04, said:

I will be looking at something like this with the decking and the spa.


I would love it to light up like this one at night.


Anyway, there is some great info here.
My back won't allow me to build it myself so it is a professional job for sure.

Anyone with an idea of what sort of money I am talking here? just for the pool, the spa and associated hardware?
Chon buri...

I didn't think your back garden was that big??  

[lukamar]

Does anyone know of a fiberglass pool shell supplier in Chiang Mai?

[frikkiedeboer]

fester, on 2003-05-07 21:25:24, said:

I am just digging a hole in the ground to do a 8x4x2 small pool in Isaan, and I can't find a good guy...

Start here with this link (thanks to dr_pat_pong for the link) and start sweat...
Swimming pool A-Z

Please let me know, I have nearly given up! TiT

here is an excerpt from a correspondance i had with khunandy on the same subject, hope it helps:



hi, i have been building fishponds and swimming pools in south africa for many years now. if you fly into johannesburg and look out of airplane the window you will see that just about every home has a pool. do check that you will have access to chlorine to keep your pool clean and kill bacteria, then build it yourself- it is easy!!! but hard work.
obviously you will have to build in the dry season. from my experience the soil conditions in isaan are unstable and i suggest a steel-reinforced concrete shell with a fibreglass liner. while the thais do seem to know about steel reinforcing,they tend to use too much steel and too little concrete-perhaps because they mix their concrete with too much water and compromise its strength. do not use the local idiots,but order a 30mpa waterproof mix from one of the readymix companies. if you calculate the cost it will surprise you to know that the savings on labour and frustration will result in the job getting done faster, and at almost the same price,with the added benefit of peace-of mind at knowing that the concrete was the correct strength. it is very important to lay an 8inch thick ringbeam of not less than 40cm wide around the perimiter.dig the hole to the required shape and use the "leksen" reinforcing steel they use in their silly house foundations,creating a lattice of 6inch squares. use something thicker for the ringbeam. incorporate a weir and a pool light into the design an do not forget to lay your filter pipes at the same time. i assume this is all available in thailand-contact me if not. have a team of go-fers ready when the concrete arrives,with wheelbarrows. let them pour the concrete bit by bit and get the guys to use farang-type spades to throw the concrete at the sidewalls. the yellow thai shovel stuff is not striong enough for this and nor are most thai males so use women!bottom goes last- you will find that this mostly happens by itself due to concrete falling down or slumping ..do not work it at this stage as it will slump down. get it to about 4inch thick and cast the ringbeam at about the same time.roughly shape it out. next day get the thais to plaster the sidewalls smooth- this is one thing they do do correctlly.
at this stage you could go for an epoxy paint to finish it off,but i would highly recomend a fibreglass liner. very easy to do yourself but messy as hel_l. source a 300gram mat cloth. calculate roughly how much you will need. order resin at about 1:1 matting weight to resin, with appropriate hardener. use a lambswool roller to first apply resin to the cement.glue down the matting to this,then roll in the resin until the stuff is fully soaked through the matting. cheapest resins and matting come from korea so start there when you look for it. cover the total area,overlapping sheets of matting by approx4inch .YOU MUST WORK FAST AND DO NOT MIX TOO MUCH RESIN AT A TIME COZ IT WILL SET WHILE YOU ARE ROLLING IT IN! oh,order a lot of acetone to get the shit out of your hair,eyes,nose,etc.
let this lot set overnight and then sand it roughly, before rolling in a flowcote to smoothe it all out. i suggest using a coloured resin and a clear flowcoat as you can then incorporate a printed mosaic pattern around the rim. white pools will turn blue once filled and ph is correct. black pools show less algae and remain a couple of degrees warmer . let me know if i can help u source sandfilters or design you a diy one or any drawings (will be rough). one thing you will find indespensable is an automatic pool cleaner,which works off the pump suction. you can paint your pool if you do not want the hassle of fibreglassing,but you may have difficulty sourcing the right paint. could also experiment with that white stuff they make the marble-lookalike floor stuff but i havent tried it out. your pool should not cost you much if you follow this route- your local hardware will be able to get you the readymix concrete. dont get a crap job done by a local "expert" - your only guarantee is a diy job. just look around before you trust a local "expert" how many pools are there really in thailand? the spraycrete thing went out of fashion in south africa years ago due to cracking problems,as did marblite and various other methods. please post this on the relevant forum as i will be pleased to help anybody in this regard free of charge. have seen some of the quotes some guys got for work that would definitely be substandard and they mostly come in at about ten times what they should be!! get it right and start a pool company-you will make a fortune
[

30mpa is the strength rating of the concrete and cpac will understand it and supply correctly. no need whatsoever for pilings. a 30mpa pool will not crack if reinforced correctly. the preformed weldmesh can be used but you are better off with the "leksen" especially if you are not going for a square pool. if you are going to use an automatic pool cleaner, you do not want sharp corners,rather quite a large radius,or the thing will continually get stuck,and will have difficulty climbing the walls.-this makes for difficult tiling for one! nobody in south africa has tiled a pool in the last thirty years, because pools are expected to last forever here,  and if i look at thai tiling jobs in houses,even though they look good,method of application is totally wrong- they do not even know the principles involved and most jobs i have seen will not last for more than 5 years or so.do not use a local "expert"-maybe the pool companies do it differently,but then you are in for the 200k+thing again- a ridiculous price  for this size of pool considering price of materials and labour in thailand i would highly recommend the use of a fibreglass liner-if correctly done it has huge advantages over tiling, will cost you less in chemicals and you will not have the black algae sticking in the grout. have seen sucessfully built pools here using only a cemented out hole for the shape, no concrete or reinforcing -uses a big ringbeam and then fibreglassed. same as vinyl, it can take some movement.
one thing to remember: NEVER EMPTY YOUR POOL IN THE RAINY SEASON! if your soil contains enough clay, you will end up with a pool lifting out of the ground-floating like a boat. if you were lucky and built with reinforced concrete you might get it back in the ground,but be warned!!

[Naam]

"How a swimming pool is built in Isaan"

[dclaryjr]

Dr. Naam, on 2007-03-24 20:01:19, said:

"How a swimming pool is built in Isaan"

Scroll down to the bottom of this page.  I particularly like the hi-tech diving board!

Swimming

[Chaichara]

frikkiedeboer, on 2007-03-24 20:29:43, said:

one thing to remember: NEVER EMPTY YOUR POOL IN THE RAINY  SEASON! if your soil contains enough clay, you will end up with a pool  lifting out of the ground-floating like a boat. if you were lucky and  built with reinforced concrete you might get it back in the ground,but  be warned!!

but I  would tend to guard against statements like the above , as every pool builder knows about the hydrostatic valves that  are built in to most modern maindrain units (which only cost around  1,500 baht complete.) and installs them as a matter of course.

I  found this short, sweet and funny article which completely clears up  any misunderstandings about pool construction and technology once and  for all and in a language everyone can understand. It has all the links  you need too. Top marks for its author in Isaan:
ALL You Need To Know About Your First Pool

[Nawtilus]

I have some questions, read the whole thread and many sites, still more info is better than less.

We have had several quotes for a relatively small pool of 10x3mx1.5m of between 800k and 1.1mil. We decided to do it ourselves as having a pool built here for double and more the cost of the same size pool back home is just against my religion.

So if anyone can answer any of these, feel free to express yourself.

Many of these questions and queries I have answers to, unfortunately I have several different answers to the same questions so just trying to clarify many areas.


How large as a percentage of the pools capacity, does a surge tank have to be ?

How to calculate the weight of the pool when full to see if it comes in under the piles in place. By weight I mean how to calculate the pool structure weight and then the water when full also.

How do you calculate the spread of the load over the pilings ?

What is considered to be the most critical part of construction of the pool ?

How do you calculate the size of the pump and size of filter required ?

Is a single pour prefered over pouring in segments ?

Does adding extra 'waterproofing' to the readymix load create any problems ? a builder told me they throw in their own waterproofing as they not sure if the readymix company has done it correctly if at all.

How do you seal lights, inlets and the hydrostatic valve etc. I have wondered how a pvc pipe encased into concrete actually seals so well, surely any pinhole mistake will result in significant leaks when under pressure from the entire pool load of water.

How does the hydrostatic vale work ? particulalry in relation to the pool floating out of its resting place.

What is the most critical aspect to laying tiles properly that will not peel off in any short period of time ?