Many homeowners take advantage of winter to finally have the swimming pool they have dreamed of for a long time built in their garden in order to take advantage of the bathing pleasures from the first spring sunshine. But choosing a swimming pool is not easy. It is of course necessary to be interested in the various models proposed, in the configuration of its ground, but in its budget also. The hull swimming pool has the wind in its sails because its installation is fast. But what is it exactly? What are its advantages, its negative sides, and what budget to devote to its construction? This is what we will see without delay.
Shell pool: what is it?
This buried pool has the particularity of being factory molded. It’s a one-piece swimming pool Hard. It is available in different materials, namely:
- A material composite such as the vinyl: we sometimes speak of vinylester » « or VE, made from an epoxy prepolymer,
- The polyestermade from eponymous fibers derived from a mixture of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol,
- L’acrylic, which is nothing more than a patented industrial process. The pool wall is made of acrylic while the structure is reinforced with fiberglass. It does not suffer from the harmful effects of osmosis and displays correct durability.
Shell swimming pools are more rarely found in ceramic, a very fashionable decorative swimming pool coating material, essentially appreciated for its aesthetic side. This material is also non-slip, it comes in a multitude of colors, and is resistant to scratches. But it necessarily involves the laying of an underlay to make the pool perfectly waterproof.
Whatever material you choose, this pool is a comfort product that the manufacturer delivers to your home. All that remains is to install it.
When choosing a shell pool, it is best not to go it alone. The best way to find the most suitable material is to seek advice from a swimming pool specialist who will be able to study the feasibility of his client’s project according to any local problems.
Shell pool: advantages
If there are so many shell swimming pools sold each year, it is because this type of basin molded in the workshop has many advantages that appeal to consumers, the main ones being:
- The temps d’installation is extremely reduced compared to an in-ground concrete swimming pool (non-monobloc).
- Swimming pool which comes in a multitude of variations, at the level:
- Dimensions,
- The shape of the pool since standard models are offered (round, square, rectangular, octagonal, bean-shaped, etc.) but each customer can also opt for a free formwhich leaves all possibilities in terms of design,
- A great freedom for its development such as for example the position of the submerged steps, the staircase, a diving board… as well as their number,
- The inclination of the bottom, which can be very steep, moderately inclined or even completely flat,
- From the depth of the basin, each customer being able to opt for a swimming pool or a leisure pool usable by young children or people (even adults) who do not know how to swim but simply want to enjoy the pleasure of immersing themselves in swimming pool water throughout the summer season.
- And slower clogging than that of the liner that must be installed on other types of swimming pools, because the coating of the shell model is ultra smooth. This prevents dust and debris of all kinds from attaching to the walls.
- More economical in terms of maintenance both in terms of the efforts to be made and the cleaning products to be purchased. The maintenance system does not present any complexity because its shell is very easy to clean.
- The possibility of fitting out a magnificent swimming area which offers the choice of decorating the surroundings of the swimming pool as desired.
If you want to have a very quick beautiful private inground swimming poolthere is no doubt that this pool is a model that can make a difference.
Shell pool: disadvantages
Although it multiplies the advantages, the hull swimming pool can present some drawbacks for some people. We can reproach him for the following points.
- Require certain steps with the town hall of its municipality before its construction, depending on its size (area and height) and town planning rules.
- Duty to apply a gel coat on a block pool in polyester or vinylester so that it is UV resistant and shows its final colour.
- The need to completely empty the basin approximately every 7 years in order to renew gel Coat because of the phenomenon of osmosis that polyester swimming pools in particular undergo.
- The absence of a ten-year guarantee in most cases: this is due to the impact of the ground on the pool in the event of ground movement, because the renovation of a one-piece pool is complicated, if not impossible, depending on the damage it has suffered. However, it is possible to choose a professional who offers a ten-year guarantee at least on the block pool structure.
- The obligation to strengthen its installation if you are not sure of the perfect stability of the ground: if you do not take this precaution, you are exposed to the risk of extreme cracks. However, it is not easy to restore a shell swimming pool, especially if you have chosen an entry-level or mid-range model because after only a few years, if you have to replace the gel Coat – c i.e. its gel coat – it is almost impossible to find the same color as the original one.
- A sometimes very high delivery cost: delivery difficulties are responsible for this. A shell pool can be very bulky. It is in the majority of cases transported from the place of manufacture to the customer’s home by lorry and then its installation is carried out using a crane. But depending on the configuration of the land and the difficulties of access to the property, it may be impossible to deliver this type of pool to the customer by a common means.
The delivery problem can be almost impossible to solve for some people. This is a situation that is encountered from time to time among owners who live in the mountains, for example, where the can only be delivered by air. It is therefore necessary to have a substantial budget to fund a helicopter delivery, which is obviously added to the purchase price of the pool which is €5,000 to €24,000 depending on its size and shape for a polyester model. For information, the hourly rate applied in the event of transport by helicopter is around 2,000 to 2,500 € per hour!
Before choosing this type of pool, you must of course make sure that none of its drawbacks is prohibitive. If this is the case, it is better to opt for a concrete pool that is built on site.
Cost of building a shell swimming pool
The cost of building a shell pool requires a budget that can be substantial for some households. Her pose must indeed be entrusted to a professional : this may disappoint the owner of the land who had planned to build his own swimming pool. But this type of one-piece pool requires great knowledge of earthworks and real know-how, its installation being very technical. Logically, this implies an additional expense. There is a minimum of 3,000 to 4,000 € for the construction of the shell swimming pool, an amount which can be much higher depending on the problems that arise for the craftsman. This price includes:
- Digging/earthworks,
- The installation of the one-piece basin,
- Evacuation of earth and rubble,
- The connections,
- the backfill,
- The final layout.
The budget to plan for the construction of a shell swimming pool cannot be obtained precisely only on estimate because the craftsman needs a lot of information to quantify this delicate project. Anyway, it should be remembered that the price pose included is today between 470 and 580 € per square meter. This price is more or less decreasing according to the size of the pool since the larger it is, the lower the price per M². It means excluding delivery price sure…