Installation Steps
One of the main benefits of a one-piece fibreglass pool is the ease and speed of installation. You may be looking to install the pool yourself or to employ a builder to help. A keen DIYer or a general builder with no previous knowledge of pool installations will be perfectly qualified to install a fibreglass pool. When ordering a pool from us, we provide you with a detailed dig profile drawing and full installation instructions.
Here is a brief summary of what is involved to demonstrate the simplicity of the task:
The Dig
Set out the pool shape on your land with line marker paint, string and pegs. Over dig the hole to allow for some manoeuvrability when lowering in the pool, around 25cm all around is sufficient. Over dig the depth by around 12cm to allow for the bed of pea shingle which becomes the base for the pool to sit on.
With a constant depth pool, the pea shingle will be dead level. With a sloping based pool the shingle will be graded to the particular angle of the base as indicated by the dig profile diagram we provide. Laying two scaffold poles within the shingle like railway lines will allow you to ‘screed’ a board along them leaving a good flat base, not forgetting to remove the poles of course!
You will need to consider groundwater. As with any type of below ground pool, if you have water at the dig stage, it’s best to dig a sump just outside the pool edge. This will allow you to keep the site dry during installation. This can also be used to check the standing water table in the future.
The Delivery
The pool will arrive on a low loader lorry from France. If your hole is prepared and accessible, the driver will lower the pool directly into the hole. Alternatively it can be set to one side and lowered in at a later stage by your digger or crane. Where the garden is not accessible a crane company can assist; many of our pools have gone over the roof.
The Fitting
Prior to lowering the pool in, connecting short lengths of pipe to the low suctions points will save some trench work later.
Backfill around the pool to about a third of its depth with 6mm pea shingle. Check all four corners for level. Any low corners can be lifted to allow the pea shingle to run into the small void you have created. Once level, fill to a third of its depth with water and check levels again.
Skimmer , light and pipe work can be fitted at this stage. Continue to backfill with pea shingle leaving approx 46cm around the top of the pool. Continue filling the pool with water at the same time as the pea shingle to ensure an even pressure.
Pipe work to the plant room is best done with flexipipe. Your plant room need only be a DIY garden shed, minimum 1m x 1.5m.
