Looking to build our new pool spring next year. Planning permission is in place which includes the size and shape. It forms part of a much larger project that initially includes extensions to a little cottage and eventually conversion of a 300 sqm barn.
With a background in project management and laying pipelines in the gas industry we’re looking to carryout the work on a DIY basis with professional help as and when required.
For the pool I would like pointing in the right direction in terms of the design and specification for pump, filtration, heating etc. Does anyone know of a good basic guide for beginners to us started and/or put us in touch with someone who could provide this service professionally. Not looking to just hand it all over to a swimming pool company (don’t see why they should have the fun!).
We’re based in the UK and property is in the Beaumont area of the Dordogne but obviously a lot of the communication regarding this could be done online.
Mark, a number of warnings arise from your post. The key ones are a] all construction workers in France, including pool specialists, are required by Law to have 10 year insurance cover (decennial); b] If you find that, for some reason, you need to sell your house within the next ten years, you will have therefore have difficulty, without this insurance, because you will not comply, and the notaire will advise a potential purchaser not to proceed; c] no ‘professional’ person/company could therefore ‘provide a service’ to advise you how to do it.
However, if you search previous posts on this site you will find a couple of very well-informed contacts who may be prepared to help you.
Yes we are aware of the 10 year guarantee cover/period which would obviously also apply to all the work we undertake on our own, on the cottage, pool/pool house and eventually the barn conversion.
Whilst nobody can ever fully predict the future, it is not our intention to sell the property in the foreseeable future but rather to retire to it when the opportunity arises. Fingers crossed there are a few decades left.
Apart from the enjoyment and satisfaction of doing most of the works ourselves it allows us to take on a much more ambitious project such as this.
Yes have followed most if not all the swimming pool related posts with great interest and have sent a couple of private messages and await a reply. I’ve also today been in touch with a training company here in the UK who run Pool Plant Operator courses and it will be interesting to see if what they can offer suits what we need. It could be a few hundred pounds well invested. We did something similar recently with a Solar Thermal course.