When you look at a pool in a Winnipeg backyard they may all look quite similar. There are some hidden features that can make a difference over the long term. In today’s world there are a hundred ways to make something cost less and the average consumer would not notice. The “ devil is in the details” they say and it’s true when it comes to pools as well. Although there a hundred ways to cheapen a product, I’m going to give you the top five hidden features.
Weeping tile
Weeping tile is a pipe with holes in it basically that collects ground water. Your house has weeping tile to collect the ground water before it enters your basement. This is a hidden feature in pools as not all are built with weeping tile. If a pool does not have weeping tile ground water or leaking pool water can get under the pool liner and cause it to “float” When the liner floats up it will come back down but often with liner creases which makes the pool more difficult to clean and less appealing.
Ground water seepage control
This is similar to weeping tile but is at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. A perforated pipe is laid in a bed of clean rock with access to that pipe from the deck above. This hidden feature allows the ground water to be controlled when you need to change your pool liner.
Concrete rebar supported by chairs
When you look at a pool the concrete decking is a prominent feature. When we remove old concrete we often see the rebar laying below the concrete. The rebar is meant to hold the concrete together when it shifts but it doesn’t do much good if it’s laying in the base material. Rebar chairs can support the rebar doing the concrete pour…… a little more cost and inconvenient to work around but a far superior method for better looking concrete down the road.
Steel walls compared to aluminum
Most people are not aware what’s behind the vinyl liner. The vertical wall can be aluminum or steel. Steel is our recommendation for Manitoba because of our expansive soil conditions. Unfortunately an aluminum can collapse if the water leaks out of the pool. Every 10 years or so a new pool dealer starts up and thinks aluminum is great. In my 40 years I’ve seen new dealers come and go…. the new dealers are not aware what has been tried and failed previously.
Hidden vinyl seams
Next time you’re at your friends pool pay attention to the bottom of the pool. You may notice every 6’ or less there is a vinyl seam which is quite visible. It looks ok this way but not as appealing as hidden seams. New technology allows seaming of vinyl with almost invisible appearance of the seams.
I have listed five but we could truly get to a hundred details. We only know these details from years of experience and learning from our own mistakes. Added costs usually are associated with these details but our acid test is if we would build our own pool that way, why are we not building it that way for our customers.
