How PolyBLok Inground Swimming Pools Work and Provide the Best Value Inground Pool Installation

Bluepools is the only pool firm in the UK that offers this unique form of Inground Swimming Pool Construction

Apart from the very costly tiled pools this is the only inground pool type offered in the UK that can be safely emptied at any time - Follow this link to find out more about Ice Loading Risks in winter and scroll down for the Bluepools Pool Pictures.

Ice Loading on inground swimming pools in the Winter

PolyBLoK Pool Installation Sequence

Excavate for the pool
Cast concrete wall foundation and install high yield vertical reinforcing bars
Lock polystyrene blocks into place
Fill them with high strength concrete
Insert high yield steel connection bars through polystytrene into the wet concrete
When the concrete has hardened remove outer polystyrene layer over 150 mm depth
Place filling between wall and excavation
Cast ARconWall slabs that resist Ice Loading and anchor the walls when pool has to be emptied
Cast levelling concrete on pool floor
Screed the floor of the pool
Glue underfelt to walls and install pool liner
Fill pool, install pool plant and commission the pool filtration equipment
Landscape the levesl to the ground around the pool

What do the Polystyrene Blocks actually look like?

Please click on the thumbnail below if you would like to see a much bigger picture.

In the bigger picture you can see the grooves on each side of the block cross pieces that carry the 2 horizontal 8mm high yield steel reinforcing bars and in each of the 4 vertical cells of the block there is a similar bar that connects all the layers together and ties them down to the 500 mm wide 150mm thick high strength concrete foundation.

The connection bars (no 5 in the sketch) are pushed through the polystyrene into the wet concrete of the top block after concreting of that section of the wall has finished.

Believe me there is no stronger way of building an insulated inground swimming pool that will resist ice pressures and allow the pool to be emptied at any time of the year without any risk of wall collapse.

The only other inground pool on the market that is as strong as this are tiled pools on a concrete shell and they cost twice as much!

Case Studies of Inground Swimming Pools built over the past 5 years between the start of 2005 and the end of 2009 using the PolyBLoK System

The inground pools shown on this page are a representative cross-section of the pools built by Bluepools over the past 5 years.

Please click on the thumbnail image for a larger picture. They are big files and may take a while to download.

If you are in France and want to look at any of these pools we can probably make the necessary arrangments with the owners, depending on the timing.

Case 1 - Inground Pool near St Jean d'Angely finished in 2005 for Mr and Mrs Coley We started to use the Cara Terra paving on this pool - It looks so good that we have installed it in every pool since this one - until 2009 when they ceased to be made.
Case 2 - Inground Pool near Nontron finished in 2005 for Mr and Mrs Ramsden Surprisingly this is the only pool that we have built that just has decking without any paving stones. As you can see this works quite well and can be a sensible alternative when the subsoil is not good enough to support paving as was the case in this instance.
Case 3 - Inground Pool in Argenton-sur-Creuse finished in 2005 for Mr and Mrs Campbell This pool is in a beautiful park like garden and the combination of part decking and part paving works really well visually.
Case 4 - Pool near Cognac finished early in 2006 for Mr and Mrs Ritson One of the nightmare pools to build. We knew before we started that we had a potential problem because the water level in the adjacent stream was only about 1 metre below the pool paving level. However we had hoped that the sub-soil would be clay so that the ground would not be too wet. How wrong we were! The ground was fill and very wet. The first photo shows the sub-pool drainage that was installed. We extended the pipe up to ground level and pumped continuously for a month while we built the pool. We also had to heavily reinforce the pool wall footings as well as the pool floor. But the client was pleased with the finished project and it looks good as you can see from the second photograph
Case 5 - Inground 12 x 6 Pool Near Gemozac at a Gite Complex - built early 2006 for Kevin and Debbie Mills This pool was built in very difficult ground. The top 800 mm of soil was very loamy topsoil that was difficult to deal with when wet. Beneath the topsoil was very hard rock. It took over two weeks to excavate the pool and its hopper down to the required finished level. It is a 12 x 6 pool built to DDASS standards
Case 6 - In-ground Pool near Montendre - built in Spring 2006 for Mr Peter Butler This pool was built in a very restricted site as the pictures show. The first was taken before we started and the second during the screeding of the pool floor. We also installed a fosse and filter bed and the landscaping to the front garden.
Case 7 - Pool near St Jean d'Angely built in Spring 2006 for Mr and Mrs Benn This small pool was built in delightful location overlooking fields and in a real sun trap. The safety fence spoils the pool appearance but it was necessary for the children that visit the site.
Case 8 - Inground Pool to the south of Bergerac built in summer 2006 for Mr and Mrs Markham This pool was built on an awkward sloping site as the pictures show. The first picture was taken on the first day and shows our PC 95 Komatsu digger. When we started in France we were called Bluebird Aventure Anonyme and that's why it says Bluebird on the digger. This is not a cheap machine to maintain and cart about but it is often needed on steep slopes like this and when the ground is very rocky and hard to dig. The second picture shows the walls completed and backfilled and the pool ready for the installation of the Roman End. The third shows the completed pool. It was quite difficult to get the drainage around the pool right and the rain water off the hillside is taken past the pool by a large diamater pipe installed near the end of the house.
Case 9 - Pool near Mirande, Gers built in the summer 2006 for Mr and Mrs Lund-Yates This pool was one of those that showed us how difficult it is to build and maintain a pool that is nearly 300 km away from our base at Jonzac in Charente-Maritime. The ground water table was very high after a few storms even though the pool was built in the middle of the summer. The top picture shows our digger again as well as the Volvo HGV that we need to cart it about from site to site. The site looks flat but it is on a slight slope with a massive area of land above it that channels water across the site during periods of high rainfall. You will notice that this pool is only protected by an alarm even though it is in an unfenced garden - but it still complies with the law as it stands at the moment.
Case 10 - Inground 12 x 6 Pool built in summer 2006 near Argenton-sur-Creuse in Indre for Mr and Mrs Stobbart This pool was a large 15 x 5 metres and again built a long way from our Jonzac base. The ground around the pool had to be built up to suit the required level at the end near the pool plant room and so the narrow paved areas in the picture are supported on concrete block piers to avoid subsidence.
Case 11 - Small inground pool built in autumn 2006 near Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure in Charente for Mr and Mrs Smith This pool was built on a very restricted site as can be seen.
Case 12 - Pool built in late 2006 near Saujon, Charente-Maritime for Mr and Mrs D.Timmins. This was a small pool built in very bad ground conditions - but the weather was quite dry and so it went quite well. You can see how bad the ground is beneath our small digger the Komatsu PC 27R
Case 13 - Very large luxury In-ground swimming pool built in the spring / summer of 2007 near Monflinquin in Lot-et-Garonne for Mr and Mrs Bull Well - this is the biggest pool that we have built and it was one big big big problem! It did not look too bad when we started - you can just see the outline of the pool location on the first picture. The second two pictures show what the site was really like. We had to install a 50 metre long large diameter drain just to get the site dry enough for the digger to move around the site. Eventually we got the foundations finished as you can see from the fourth picture. The pool and walls are built on consolidated fill and so the foundations of both the walls and the pool are highly reinforced. We also had to build the 2.5 metre high curved retaining wall in reinforced concrete filled hollow concrete blocks. At one end of the wall we built an underground plant room as well as a long flight of suspended concrete steps over 4.5 metres high. The walls were covered with Orsol concrete facings and the pool was equipped with a floating safety cover that is mounted on submerged motor driven roller. The project took about 6 months to build and the final contract value was about 120,000 euros HT.
Case 14 - Pool built in the winter / spring 2007 near Ruffec in Charente for Mr and Mrs Roberts. This pool was built in the very wet weather conditions of spring 2007
Case 15 - Pool built in spring / early summer 2007 at Challignac, near Barbezieux for Mr and Mrs O'Leary Another of the pools that were hit by the awful weather conditions of 2007. However the site itself was dry and there were no subsoil or ground water problems.
Case 16 - Inground Pool built in autumn 2007 at Aujac, near Matha for Mr Ian Morris Another of the pools that were hit by the awful weather conditions of 2007. We were late starting it and was still not quite finished in the second picture. The first picture shows the excavation and the very high ground water levels - this rose immediately after any rain and continuous pumping from an underpool was required during pool construction. This pool has a square Roman End - they are a 1000 euros cheaper than the semi-circular ones and they provide a lot bigger seating area for those times when you just want to sit in the pool to cool down!
Case 17 - 12 x 6 pool built in 2007 for Mr C Shearing 16150 Chirac
Case 18 - Small pool built in 2007 in a very restricted site for Mr A Patterson 17160, Les Touches de Perigny
Case 19 - 8 x 4 pool built in 2007 in very poor ground conditions for Mr P Robinson at 17160 Matha
Case 20 - Interior Pool liner and plumbing installed in the autumn 2007 near Tarbes in the Pyrenees for Mr Overend This project only involved the liner and pool plumbing installation
Case 21 - 11 x 5 pool built in 2007 and was eventually fitted with an above ground automatic cover for Mr and Mrs P Stevenson at Paille 17470
Case 22 - Inground 10 x 5 pool built in 2008 in very bad groud conditions for Mr K. Ransome at Belleville 79360 We excavated for the pool just before Xmas in 2007 and returned in Jan 2008 to find the excavation completely full of water.
Case 23 - 12 x 5 pool built in 2008 at Moulidars 16290 for Mr Nigel Parrish
Case 24 - 10 x 5 pool built in 2008 for Mr T. Dodds at 17510 Bois Giffard . We also constructed a large fosse filter bed and two 4000 litre fosse toutes eaux tanks on this site.
Case 25 - Inground 12 x 6 swimming pool built in 2008 with a large paved area on a very steep difficult site for Mr M. Brooks at 16190 Juignac. The top illustration shows the one of the sketches of the proposed pool at tender stage and shows just how complex this project was. The second picture shows how steep the bank was - some of the foundations below the pool are nearly 6 metres deep. The final photo shows the finished pool. The project took about 4 months from start to finish and cost about 100,000 Euros HT. The client was not charged for any extra apart from those changes that he ordered.
Case 26 - small in-ground 8 x 4 Pool built in 2008 on the bank of the River Lot for Mr H McKnight at 47130 Clairac
Case 27 - 10 x 5 pool built in 2008 with a Greek End on one long side for Dr Jenkins at 87900 Cheronnac
Case 28 - 10 x 5 pool built in 2008 alongside renovated barn for Mr P Johnson at 86400 St Macoux. This picture also illustrates how the hopper bottoms are formed in mass concrete.
Case 29 - 13 x 6 m Infinity edge pool built in 2009 for Mr W Cussans at 17150 St Georges des Agouts The second picture shows the infinity edge in operation. The third picture shows the pool plant room and gives some idea of the size and complexity of the kit involved. The paving around this pool was very special and imported from the UK but laid by Bluepools.
Case 30 - 11 x 5 pool with a diving board and above ground automatic cover built in 2009 for Dr D Sharer at 17150 St Sorlin de Conac.
Case 31 - 10 x 5 pool built in 2009 for Mr H McDonald 12200 Villefranche de Rouergue	awaiting photos
Case 32 - 10 x 5 pool built in 2009 for Mr P Wood at 79600 Irais	awaiting photos

Fill in your Email and CLICK on the Orange Link to get the Pool Cost Estimate Tool as well as my Free Report on Pool Installation

I guarantee that I will never give your Email address to anyone

Hi Will,

Thanks for your news letter, I really do look forward to them as I now wish that I had got yourself to install my pool, people should take on board what you tell then, especially about the pitfalls and in particular picking the right quote and builder, also to remember that the cheapest is never usually the best as I have found out, I have now paid this guy 46K with all the extra’s.

I received a quote from you around February last year, but because of the distance went for an English builder who was slightly closer and a little cheaper, (Big Mistake). The starting date of 1st May passed and he eventually he got started on the 3rd of August and completed the pool on the 26th of November 16 weeks from start to finish, this might seem a long time but when you take into account he and his 2 men had all of September off and only worked a 3 day week I suppose it was not too bad, however they seemed to spend more time travelling than building a pool

Luckily because he was so slow I was able to take photos from when he started the PolyBlok 8X4X1.4 deep pool to completion, the reason I am sending this email is because of your email a few days ago in particular your video on PolyBlok pools, was I relieved that at least he had built the pool almost as you explained it, with the exception that he poured and laid the foundation and floor all in one, I know it was at least 500mm thick with steel reinforcing. My only problem is we have 80 square meters of paving all round the pool that he hasn’t laid a solid foundation for, so I am expecting problems there.

The last thing people should know and check up on is there company and VAT registration numbers, I now know that his company number is bogus and his payment requests always included the vat, I now know he has no vat number but has charged me about £3600. And the final straw was to find out yesterday that he failed to pay the local DIY or builders merchant at least 1000 Euro.

I have actually contacted the UK VAT fraud squad about this guy, and to be honest I don’t think they seem to be bothered about it, they haven’t even acknowledged my complaint.

Thanks again for your regular emails; I really do wish I had taken more heed of them, because you do give out sound advice.

Kind Regards

Tom O’Donnell 20th January 2010

Thank you to Bluepools for the lovely swimming pool you have installed for us. We are very pleased with it and this justifies our decision to choose Bluepools to do the installation for us. It has been a great success with our gite clients also, from whom we have had some very complimentary comments.

Best Regards
Kevin & Debbie MILLS

Bluepools built our pool and completely reshaped the old quarry in which it was built - we now have a magnificent facility for entertaining our family and friends

Owen Bull

Bluepools built our new pool in 2008 on a very steep hillside above our millhouse holiday home, near Angoluleme in Dept 16. It involved very deep foundations down into the underlying rock as well as suspended concrete slabs that support the sunbathing areas around the pool

Michael Brooks

I appreciated the answers to my questions and the time Luke spent at our initial meeting, going thriough the various options, with helpful suggestions and observations on our plans for our new pool at our holiday home near Tarbres. It was a relief to find a company that was prepared to offer a full construction solution including the terracing, steps and landscaping. I found the quotation very comprehensive, and useful to have an idea of the costs we might incur should ground conditions prove difficult - which they did!! Also appreciated Bluepools ability to overcome the difficulty encountered with the water table.

You were pretty accurate in terms of timescale for completing the project although there was an over run of three days because of the day or two later than advised start, the extra work involved in overcoming the water table issue, and the inclement weather towards the end of the final week.

Having been initially advised by Luke that an engineering project of this scale would undoubtedly create damage to the land surrounding the pool site, we were pleasantly surprised at how little damage had actually been caused. Overall, very happy with how everything has been handled, and would happily recommend Bluepools - especially now they're going to have a presence down that way.

Kind Regards

Andrew Lund-Yates

I would like to thank you for the way you handled the installations off the two swimming pools for me. You managed to start just after the selected time, proved to be totally reliable and finished in the time frame you had expected. The quality of the work was fine and you left everything neat and tidy after you had finished. I have good relationship with Luke and he has always been available to sort out any teething problems. I would like to wish you all the very best for the future.

Kind Regards Keith Trenter

When working on an old house there are always many unforeseen problems, and, like many other Brits, our house is old. So when it came to putting a swimming pool close to the house it was not surprising to find some complications. Bluepools proved themselves by recognising these complications and coming up with solutions.
Their ability to cope with these extras has made such a difference. Otherwise we would have been chasing around, spending time we really do not have, looking for additional artisans to do those unforeseen bits and pieces.
From the earliest stages, a test hole for the fosse septique soak-away, through to completion of the swimming pool Bluepools products and services have been good which means peace of mind for us."

Peter Butler

Hi Bluepools,

The pool has been brilliant and we have had an increase in the number of people wanting to visit as a result. But that is something we can put up with!

Caroline Jones

Dear Bluepools

Many thanks to you, Will and the lads for a terrific job, Amanda and I are really pleased with the result.

Tom Dodds

Hi Bluepools

I am at les Pesquies for a few days. We have a beautiful looking pool that several people have commented upon with admiration and expressed interest in having one themselves and knowing how we got it built. I have been happy to respond with two positive references for prospective clients.

Hamish Macdonald

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