steve perry

Thanks, i read Erica Strauss and had a look at the butler swimming pond dvd and listened to Paul weathon podcast but what i am worried about, is getting a clay or mud mask every time we go swimming, and the idea of a plastic liner disintegrating in the water is annoying me too.

I think i will turn to the first idea i had, more expensive, not as sustainable as i wanted it to be ...we will dig and seal with concrete, cover it with flat rocks, tiles like, the rocks will heat the pool when it is sunny i think, we will put a lower bubbler to circulate water on the deep plunge side and a pump to eject the water through the surrounding gravel and plants area, so the only "eco" aspect of the swimming pond will be the solar powered pump and bubbler and the filtering through the regeneration area instead of chemicals added to the water.

This way we get the best from both world, what do you guys think?

elle sagenev: Willow trees have an extensive root system that can undermine foundations or underground lines/pipes, are you sure it is not going to be a problem for the pool structure, liner, pump...

I am thinking to plant shallow roots trees about 3meters away from the pool, it wont provide much shade but it will break the wind for sure.

The problem with too much shade is that if the sun doesn't reach the water at all, the water stays cool and the swimming season will be short.

Hello
I m building my first swimming pond, i have been doing some research, listening to podcasts, dvds etc, and we are trying to avoid the use of PDM or cement to seal the pond, i would like to know if anybody has had experience using clay/other natural materials as a sealer on a non-clay soil, and if you can share any details regarding this.
At the deepest point the pond will be 2 meters deep and the majority of the swimming area will be 1.5 meters deep. The pond have the shape of a 10m lap pool with a large paddle area at one end The ratio we are planning for the regeneration zone to the swimming area is 1:2
Thanks

Tony Paul Martin wrote:Is there a source of "Grey" water that you can treat to supplement your rainfall?

Using grey water for a swimming pool? it can't be safe unless i filter it many many time which add to the hassle, i rather use al the grey water for the food garden, washing etc...

Dillon: Could you please telle me what to look for when looking for trees that dont transpire much into the air?

Hello
I am looking for ideas to build a natural swimming pool in an aride climate where it never rains more than 250mm a year, i know it is not much and it wont be sustainable but we really need a swimming pond for our visitors in the hot months, otherwise the guest house will never get any visitors.
I heard planting plenty of trees to shade the water and limit evaporation can help? they will also protect the water from the wind and save more water, any other ideas?
Thank you

Thanks guys, i decided to just leave the idea of the greenhouse heating the house, as you say, thick adobe walls + the south facing glazing and the occasional fireplace should do the job in winter, and i will just put the greenhouse away from the house, the kind we can completely open in summer.
I designed a new one, always in the middle of the two buildings but not sure if i should leave the north side glazed or just build a wall to avoid heat loss, as the sun wont be reaching that court side and i just wanted to have the view on the greenhouse from the entrance court.
Rebecca Norman, What do you mean by "the design isn't optimal"?
Here is how it looks now:

Atrium! hmmm So that's less glass then, non glazed roof: which material would you use instead of glass, wood? bamboo? plastic? and overhangs on both sides? north and south you think? it is a 7 metres high glass structure so overhangs will have to be quite large to cover the half of the glazing...

I never had a greenhouse, so i dont really know how it works, but i'm thinking to have big openings on the roof of the green house to always leave open in the summer when temperatures never drop under 80°F
i also have many windows in the building that can be open to release the heat, and in the winter keeping close with small openings for ventilation, it can be used as a hammock reading space watching bananas and mangos grow =D

North side and the opening on the top