Thanks for responding
Sorry to be thick but which is the messaging tab which should appear when I click on your image ?
Discourse (the forum software) has trust levels so depending on the settings implemented on this forum, as a new user you may not be able to PM people until you’ve made a few posts and moved up a trust level. Of course I may be talking nonsense here, but if you can’t easily find a big Message button, that could be why!
Sounds impressive 
Hmm
Reassuring that the site is being monitored
John, can you contact me direct somehow or should we chat via this forum ?
Just sent you a message
Hello,
Last post on here was Sep 2021 I think, so thread might be ‘dead’.
Any recommendations for a book or information source on the various pool types currently available / preferable for a new installation please?
Thanks very much
Graeme
I never got round to finishing my book… Ask any questions you want, my aim is only to stop another person getting incorrect information and expensive mistakes prevented. Best avoided are Desjoyeux, Waterair and Magiline, and anything that has a monoblock filtration system (everthing in one unit) easy for untrained buiders to fit but a PIA to work with.
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Thank you @Corona.
It looks like there are three main types of pool construction. Is that right? I have made some notes that cover my general understanding and include them below. Not sure if these cover the key issues or not?
Concrete shell. Watertight shell with strong structure (Concrete poured into shuttering or blockwork) which is in effect freestanding. Re-render every 10-15 years. Lower initial cost. High maintenance cost. Strong and durable. Flexible shape.
Liner. A porous shell made from a variety of possible materials and methods made waterproof by a flexible liner (vinyl). Re line every 5 to 10 years. Medium initial cost. Medium maintenance cost. Susceptible to damage. Flexible shape.
One piece. A pre formed structure (glass fibre) that is dropped into a hole. Lower maintenance. Inert. Quick to install. High initial cost. Low maintenance cost. Shapes limited.
On the face of it, a one piece pool seems most appealing, because of its relatively low maintenance and speed of construction. However I have no idea what the relative costs of each pool type are.
Are there any key points I have missed? I would rather have some knowledge, or better still a lot of knowledge, before we approach any suppliers
Our garden is on clay (according to the DT) on a slope. Near to Bergerac.
Thanks for your and anyone elses advice and comment.
Graeme
Be very, very careful how/where the pool is constructed. We have inherited a pool that is more than 30 years old and you might say, that’s great. However, we too are clay on top of sandstone and on a slope and after 30 years the pool is still on the move!
The hole for the concrete lined pool was dug out of the side of the slope and the rubble from the hole was piled up to create the outer edge of the pool. Over the years it’s evident that various attempts have been made to buttress and hold that outer edge .
We replaced the terrace surrounding the pool and the tiler laid a metal grill, poured slurry and tiled over. The tiles are already on the move and we have had to regrout along a line that goes the whole length of that outer side.
Knowing what we know now, if we were doing it ourselves, from scratch, we would have the pool at right angles to the slope - which would require much more digging out but would make the pool much more stable.
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Thanks very much Sue. When you say ‘at right angles to the slope’ I am not certain what you mean.
So if you are standing at the top of the slope looking down the slope, you recommend that the length of the pool would be directly along your line of sight? Or the width of the pool would be along your line of sight? Either way it infers that your current layout is not along your line of sight looking down the slope?
Sorry to be picky, but this sounds an important issue to get right.
There are also container pools which may work if you are on a slope
https://www.pool-container.fr/fr/concept
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Never heard of these before. Pool room built in at the end too! Thank you.
Thats a bad process but obviously you kniw that, just agreeing with you.
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Please leave the room 
Not porous by design, re line every 10-15 years or 15-20+ with the reinforced onsite liner. My pool, liner 20 years with the same liner.
Easy to look after and like wallpaper you give the pool a fresh new look with a liner change. I would say low maintenance cost.
Concrete harder to look after as chemistry requirements are more stringent and render provides algae a foot hold due to rougher surface. Tendancy for the finish to become mottled and patchy.
With one piece pools (GRP) you are often limited with the position of skimmers and returns based on where the factory fit them which is doubtful of being in the best position for you. High initial cost obviously but speed of install is good.
Dont forget insulation. This can make a big difference to the length of the swim season without resorting to heating amd also keeping that heat in the pool. French pool companies may scoff at that but it does work and is better fitted from the start. Some GRP companies now spray the back of their pools and various forms of ICF’s can be used for concrete pours finished with a liner.
Look passed the basin to the plant room, the engine room of your pool, get that right and pool ownership becomes easier and much lower cost. 90% - 95% saving in electricity over a standard setup. Buy a decent chemical tester to save any grief and beware of pool companies who spend your €0000’s but offer a pack of dip strips or two bottle testers as they care more about their profits than your pool.
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That is a wonderful response! Thank you Sue.
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Very good point. The ICF method is definitely appealing if the liner replacement window is as long as you are suggesting is now possible. It’s obviously possible to have a degree of flexibility in design that a drop in pool cannot offer. Do pool suppliers in France generally concentrate on their own preferred method of build or do they offer everything? Are there ICF pool build specialists?
That’s a complete mystery to me. Any pool supplier could run rings around me with their explanations of whats best., I could not argue.
I have read a lot of posts on this forum about problems with water cleaning, many answered most knowledgeably by yourself. But I cannot recall reading anything that tells me exactly what I should have.
How on earth would I find a set up that offers such savings over the norm? Is there something specific I can say I am looking for?
Do you offer a service (paid for) of drawing up a spec that can be sent to appropriate potential suppliers? Or know someone who does? DM me by all means.
Thank you
Graeme
The majority are still building pools the way they were in the 60’s and they copy others layout which are also poor in design. They are masters of the Gallic shrug, some got in a right huff when an englishman turned up to build the plant room.
I usually cherry picked the components from the best providers for a customers needs where most pool builders just go through a wholesaler and you get what you’re given, not that its is particularly bad but it lacks certain knowledge of the good industry products.
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