Swimming pool construction
A pool is a reinforced concrete structure holding many tonnes of water, built into ground that moves. The shell, the reinforcement and the drainage around it are the parts that decide whether it is still watertight in ten years. Everything else is finish.
A pool is priced from its size, its depth and the ground. Ask us and we will come and look at the plot.
What to include in a swimming pools enquiry
Send the location, approximate dimensions and any drawings or reference images. Tell us what is already on site and what the quotation must include. Identify the pool shell, plant, surrounding paving and any pool-house work separately. A pool-house project record is not evidence of a completed pool shell.
It is a structure before it is a feature
A modest pool holds somewhere around fifty tonnes of water. Full, it pushes outwards on every wall. Empty, on wet ground, it can be pushed upwards by the water in the soil around it, which is how pools crack when they are drained for cleaning at the wrong time of year.
So the shell is designed the way a retaining structure is designed, with the reinforcement set out on a drawing and the concrete specified by grade. We do the structural design ourselves, which is the reason we take pool work at all.
Water, on a plot that has none
Most plots around Nanyuki and out towards Ol Pejeta have no mains water. A pool has to be filled, topped up as it evaporates at this altitude, and backwashed. That is a real demand on storage, and It gets planned with the tanks and the harvesting at design stage.
The plant room, the pipe runs and where the backwash water goes are all decided at design stage. Putting them in later means digging up finished paving.
What we build
Reinforced concrete shells, formed and poured on site. Surrounds, terraces and coping in stone or concrete. Pool houses and changing rooms, which is ordinary building work and something we do anyway.
Filtration, pumps and pool plant are installed by a specialist we work with, coordinated by us as part of the contract.
Questions people ask
How much does a swimming pool cost in Kenya?
It depends on the size, the depth and the ground more than on anything else, so a figure quoted without a site visit is a guess. The shell, the reinforcement and the excavation are the bulk of it. We will come and look at the plot and give you an itemised figure.
Can you build a pool on black cotton soil?
Yes, and it is done regularly, but the design changes. The shell has to resist being lifted by groundwater as well as holding water in, and the drainage around it matters more than on stable ground. This is a structural question and it is answered by digging trial pits before anything is designed.
How long does a pool take to build?
The shell is a matter of weeks. What sets the programme is usually the terrace, the plant and the finishes around it. We give you a stage by stage programme with the quote.
What about filling it when there is no mains water?
It has to be planned with your storage and harvesting from the start. Evaporation at this altitude is significant and topping up is a continuing demand. We size it as part of the design so you know the figure before the first dry season.
Planning a swimming pool?
Tell us the plot and roughly what you have in mind. We will come and look, then give you an itemised figure.