Swimming Pool Company Wanting To Start In Thailand

[tjbricker]

i am wanting to build a large pool here but all the options i have looked at are either to expensive or really shady. i have lined up equipment and supplies and it will cost a little more to do but i also would like to build for others as i have seen numerous posts asking about pool builders. would there be enough call for them here. The company would travel to site after design and contract phase. sould beable to complete in about one month start to finish. These will be gunite or shotcret plaster lined pools of any shape and design. any comments?

[Valentine]

I don't know where you are based but here in Phuket I get asked occasionally about using gunite but to this date I am not aware of anyone having the equipment or trained personnel. I do know there are many pool building companies in Phuket, of which I am one, plus many of the house builders also undertake pool construction with varying degrees of success.

Edited December 3, 2009 by Valentine

[gilbreth]

I own The Pool Doctors...had I known how hard it was, would not have started! There must be easier ways to make money!

[AllanB]

Yes, I am interested in a pool, but I live in Khon Kaen. I may also be interested in getting involved, as there is very little sensible competition here. Pools available here are more expensive than in France which is ridiculous, given the difference in labour rates and the guys selling them know nothing. For a small pool I was quote 1 million Baht, which is more than my house cost to build.

I am a qualified mechanical engineer and have had my own engineering business in the UK for the past 20 years, I also have 14 years experience in control systems, which will help.

This is not rocket science, it is a hole in the ground with a few rudimentary mechanical components all available from China.

If you are interested email me on [email protected] Allan

[chrgrims]

as you are an engineer you can probably do it yourself with some thai workers.

a farang led pool company could have a nice future, as there are quite a few farangs that want a pool, but find it hard to find a suitable company.

But if you are not knowledgeable in this area, i dont think its very smart to make a pool on your own. a lot of horror stories, even in this subforum.

[hockeyrick]

I had a pool service in So Cali for 15 years and have quite a bit of knowqledge about constructiuon, equipment and what not.

ask me and can do consultation work. But I must say I only do quality work, so if your a cheap charlie then look for a thai company

pm ME IF INTERESTED

as you are an engineer you can probably do it yourself with some thai workers.

a farang led pool company could have a nice future, as there are quite a few farangs that want a pool, but find it hard to find a suitable company.

But if you are not knowledgeable in this area, i dont think its very smart to make a pool on your own. a lot of horror stories, even in this subforum.

[chrgrims]

I already have a pool. was lucky to find a good company, thai-led. probably could have used a consultant at that time, but it worked out great.

[stevehaigh]

pools are not that hard to build, i've designed and built 6 pools and all are fine.

i wrote about some of the basics in my book, 'how to buy land and build a house in thailand', just do it yourself, a 5x10m pool should cost you less than 500k depending on location (don't know much about Afghanistan however, OP's location)

[excaliber]

pools are not that hard to build, i've designed and built 6 pools and all are fine.

i wrote about some of the basics in my book, 'how to buy land and build a house in thailand', just do it yourself, a 5x10m pool should cost you less than 500k depending on location (don't know much about Afghanistan however, OP's location)

I would also be interested in the method used for the 6 pools you designed and built.

and your statement, "pools are not that hard to build" may be appropriate for someone who has built them. same as a house, dog house or rocket. .....

[Tomissan]

pools are not that hard to build, i've designed and built 6 pools and all are fine.

i wrote about some of the basics in my book, 'how to buy land and build a house in thailand', just do it yourself, a 5x10m pool should cost you less than 500k depending on location (don't know much about Afghanistan however, OP's location)

only location? what about:

1. method (local or western style)

2. materials, tile, additives, sealers, cement, steel

3. equipment (salt water, chlorine, etc)

4. depth

5. pool house (for equipment)

6. quality (experienced labor or village hands)

7. lights

8. drain, skimmer, vacuum

just too mention a few other things that might influence the cost.....

Edited April 15, 2010 by Tomissan

[Jocky]

I looked at a few pools and also live in Khon Kaen and i remember something around 500,000 baht for a 4m x 3m pool but depends what you go for ,concrete,acrylic etc and depending on your filtration ie salt,chlorine etc.

I think the company was khonkaenpools.com or co.th,sorry it was a while ago.

I'm thinking of buying another house next year so i will wait till then.

[torrenova]

I am not an engineer but I have built igloos, sheds, build walls and loads of other things and when Somchai has put in the hole, for about $100, then quite where the other million goes I will never know. I guess a few weekends on google would bring me to Master Craftsman level in Thailand. At least you would know the theory and let's face it, it is not rocket science is it ? It is a hole in the ground which operates like a giant bath jacuzzi bath.

[in2fridge]

When looking to build a pool in the Khon Kaen area 2 years ago,I checked out the available pool companies in KK and found them v expensive,or in the case of JD Pool a blatant rip off..

In the end had my 8.5 X 4.5 pool designed/built by Siam Consulting for 122,000 Bhart including a salt water system with a state of the art chlorinator (not the basic red light/green light thingy's).

Have had excellent back up from them.

They are farang owned/ lead,based in Udon .. They also build houses I learnt after beginning my Thai builder ..err..build (!),which might have helped lower my blood pressure !!

[Naam]

When looking to build a pool in the Khon Kaen area 2 years ago,I checked out the available pool companies in KK and found them v expensive,or in the case of JD Pool a blatant rip off..

In the end had my 8.5 X 4.5 pool designed/built by Siam Consulting for 122,000 Bhart including a salt water system with a state of the art chlorinator (not the basic red light/green light thingy's).

Have had excellent back up from them.

They are farang owned/ lead,based in Udon .. They also build houses I learnt after beginning my Thai builder ..err..build (!),which might have helped lower my blood pressure !!

extremely low price!

[in2fridge]

OOPS ! Shouldn't have stayed up watching the footie final !!

The Price was actualy 532,700 Bhart ........

[generealty]

My company has built many pools in and around Pattaya area now for over 10 years. we do travel, but of course the cost of camping the workers and machinery adds to the overall cost incurred by client. It is possible to design and build your own, but the actual saving to yourself will be outweighed by stress and of course any long term problems due to poor design or workmanship. my advice is, if you live in the tropics then have a swimming pool, but allow for a reliable company to do the work for you. also items to take into account (which many do not) are location of the pool and pump house especially in an already constructed house. also the demolision of the permieter wall (Sections atleast) and the rebuild do to access requirements of heavy machines and vehilcles. also cater for any drainage of pool in the future to regrout or maintenance issues, etc. some don't even have pipe work installed for draining pool, remember neighbours, etc as the drained water has to go somewhere. If you think about it carefully and still decisde to go ahread your self, to keep costs to a minimum. remember to book heavy excavation machinery and truck removal .well in advance and look out for any hidden extras. Should anyone need any advice can alwasy text me for free unbiased info.

[splash]

When looking to build a pool in the Khon Kaen area 2 years ago,I checked out the available pool companies in KK and found them v expensive,or in the case of JD Pool a blatant rip off..

In the end had my 8.5 X 4.5 pool designed/built by Siam Consulting for 122,000 Bhart including a salt water system with a state of the art chlorinator (not the basic red light/green light thingy's).

Have had excellent back up from them.

They are farang owned/ lead,based in Udon .. They also build houses I learnt after beginning my Thai builder ..err..build (!),which might have helped lower my blood pressure !!

extremely low price!

122,000B i find that very hard to believe

[PoolDoctor]

Its amazing to me the amount of misinformation here. For example, "its a hole in the ground with some rudimentary piping and parts from China." This is probably the single biggest mistake made when building a pool - underestimating the complexity. Its all fine and good until: (we have seen this all)

1. Lack of planning - heavy machinery damages surrounding area

2. Excavation results in water flooding or high water table content - now what?

3. Design drawings do not correspond with survey results

4. Failure to do bore test, flying blind regarding sink piling

5. CPAC concrete mixture innappropriate; no vehicle access; drying too fast;

6. Piping laid under the pool rather than in the floor; failure to pressure test piping

7. Surge tank on the wrong side of the pool (we just fixed this weeks ago on a site).

8. Water stops ommitted - oops!

9. Walls forms have slipped resulting in wall deformation

10. Floor topping not adhering; lack of scrabbling

11. Spatter dash not used on walls; plaster not firmly adhering

12. Tile set out not correct, un professional looking tile installation (looks like a child did it)

13. Lights and j-boxes incorrectly installed, or wired wrongly

14. Overflow gutter wrong size, wrong height and or failure to slope

15. Piping to equipment room installed wrongly opening up possibility of breaking

etc., etc, the point is, many things can go wrong if the contractor is not experienced.

[warrior64]

hey together,

do anybody know me a pool builder in Surin(Isaan)??

Thank you

[jazzbo]

I swim laps ... if I get into the pool I swim minimum 1500m. To me -- even if I had kids -- a 4m x 6m pool is a joke. I would sooner do a 1.8m x 13m ... this article describes a lap pool with an L-shape area for the kids.

http://www.articleal..._918432_17.html

Edited September 19, 2010 by jazzbo

[David006]

Its amazing to me the amount of misinformation here. For example, "its a hole in the ground with some rudimentary piping and parts from China." This is probably the single biggest mistake made when building a pool - underestimating the complexity. Its all fine and good until: (we have seen this all)

1. Lack of planning - heavy machinery damages surrounding area

2. Excavation results in water flooding or high water table content - now what?

3. Design drawings do not correspond with survey results

4. Failure to do bore test, flying blind regarding sink piling

5. CPAC concrete mixture innappropriate; no vehicle access; drying too fast;

6. Piping laid under the pool rather than in the floor; failure to pressure test piping

7. Surge tank on the wrong side of the pool (we just fixed this weeks ago on a site).

8. Water stops ommitted - oops!

9. Walls forms have slipped resulting in wall deformation

10. Floor topping not adhering; lack of scrabbling

11. Spatter dash not used on walls; plaster not firmly adhering

12. Tile set out not correct, un professional looking tile installation (looks like a child did it)

13. Lights and j-boxes incorrectly installed, or wired wrongly

14. Overflow gutter wrong size, wrong height and or failure to slope

15. Piping to equipment room installed wrongly opening up possibility of breaking

etc., etc, the point is, many things can go wrong if the contractor is not experienced.

a lot of FUD101 factor selling there ..fear, uncertainty and doubt !..trust Pool Doctor must offer one hel_l of a Would not a lot of what you have listed apply to any construction project eg. a house?

Not sure that justifies the rather inflated margins on a tiled "concrete box" in the ground though...

[Chaichara]

The SiamConsulting pool cost more like 500,000 baht, not 125,000, and the original poster had already corrected his typo. Nevertheless, it still represents excellent value considering the next nearest quotes in Issn are more like 1 million for the same size. Always search the Internet, - some of the best builders do not maintain marble palace offices with demo pools with pretty girls in the city centres, and pass the savings on to their clients. Remember, all that marketing hype costs money, and who pays for it in the end?

[AllanB]

Yes, there does seem to be a lot of scaremongering in Thailand, for just about everything, so why when we leave the west is everything so difficult?

The answer I get is "the structure has be totally sound and very strong to withstand the huge mass of water 54 TONNES, in my case", cobblers! it is the pressure that matters and 2psi is bugga all, about the same as blowing up a ballon.

I know 3 guys in the UK who built there own pools, the newest of which was 4 years old and they all worked okay. One guy made a bit of a balls of the tiling and the pool was not perfectly square, oh and the wiring was a bit of a dog's dinner, but safe and the pool worked fine. Most of the pro built pools I have seen here would have come third, behind the two other non-pro UK efforts, one would have come 4th, behind the dogs dinner. As would the pool I had built in France by Desjoyeaux, what can I say.. maerd!! Pardon for the spelling, it was deliberate to get through the censor.

I have heard a lot of talk about the need for piles on a concrete pool and the only reason I can find for this, apart from follow the leader, is that when you empty the pool you don't need a hydrostatic valve, nor backfill with gravel. Fibreglass pools don't need them, can't have them, so why do concrete? And why do Thais keep emptying their pools anyway, is this like cambelts, just a roose to charge money for nothing, keep the dam_n thing clean, surely?

But the main thing that gets me is the prices, how can a pool cost the same as a house build, it doesn't anywhere else in the world it cost about 20%, or less? Follow the leader again.

Someone made a comment about Chinese pumps, well our oriental friends are getting pretty good at it now, as with everything else and most large companies build their posh labeled stuff in China now, heven't you heard? The one I am planning on using comes with a 5 year warranty at a 1/4 the price of a Danfoss, or 10% of a Desjoyeaux. I had been using Chinese hydraulic pumps and motors in the UK for 5 years and had the same amount of failures as the US and Danish made pumps, none. It is not exactly a crucial piece of equipment either, mounted in an inaccessible location, you simply unbolt it and chuck it in the back of a puckup.

I have floated my ideas around a bit and read a lot on these forums, learned a lot too, especially about pool care, but no one has mentioned pool canopies. I went for a swim at the Khon Kaen University pool a few months ago and it nearly killed me, I guess the water was around 40c, maybe more and it took my breath away when I dived in, horrible. My calculation is, that you could drop this by 10c with a simple sail shade and not only make the swim much nicer, but the water safer, as chlorine doesn't work at this temperature and use the pool during the day, when you want to. Reduce costs too, with less evaporation and less chemicals.

So who could make me up a polyester sail or two, need the check out the UV resistance of the cloth first, but don't want to import one.?

Many thanks to the positive guys.

One final question, can someone tell me waht a sand filter is for, apart from filling up your plantroom. or building a plantroom in the first place?

[AllanB]

I dont want to be a troublemaker, just build simple swiiming pools, at the rate of just 2 or 3 a year.

I am worried about Thai people changing their minds and/or misinterpretting their requirments. For these reasons all my pools will be eaxactly the same, all 9m x 4m x 1.5m (filled to 1.3m) and all built in Khonkaen. The price will be low and will have a 3 yaer warranty, tied in with a service contract.

I am quite happy to exchange ideas with people doing the same in other towns and would appreciate comments on the following design details.

Preparation

Prepare dimensional drawing.

Sink 2 or 3 boreholes 1.8 metres, check ground conditions and water table.

Choose a spot and mark out 4 borders.

Dig hole using JCB, allowing 1 day.

Construction

The pool will be of concrete blocks 9m x 4m x 1.5deep (filled to 1.3m) 2/3rds in ground 1/3 out to prevent flood water vingress, maybe insects and other critters too.

12cm slab and filled cavity block walls, incorperating a full "basket" reinforced cage 12mm bar on 30cm matrix, should be strong enough to withsatnd 2psi water pressure.

Finished in flat pebbledash, I hate tiles, they are for toilets, they crack and fall off. This is fast and Thais are dam_n good at it, should flex with the pool too.

Single 40mm drain at one end of the pool, routed through slab and walls to avoid fracture should the pool move a millimetre, everything else at high level and sand burried.

No piles, plastic pools don't need them.

A 40mm vertical pipe in the centre of the slab running to a gravel sump, closed off with a simple tapered plug, my version of a hydrostatic valve when the pool is emptied, just take the plug out. If it has silted up, you will see and can give it a poke. Better still don't empty the pool.

Simple block built skimmer returning in 65mm pipe and t'd into common 65mm (maybe 80mm) return pipe. Should handle the 18m3/hr flow.

Pool backfilled with 20cm of gravel, containing 2 simple vent tubes, all to prevent pressure build up under the pool.

Pump, filtration and dosing

Pump and cartridge filter from Global all pre-mounted on a plith, 1.5hp Chinese pump delivering 300litres/min = total water movement in 3 hours. About right and a low cost set-up with 5 year warraty. No planroom needed, just a cover and easy access..

Supply pipe 40mm (maybe 65mm) on the borderline. Located at the other end, high level possibly out of the water, for good end to end water circulation, almost an "Endless Pool".

No automatic dosing system, everything done weekly, by hand. Automatic stuff means trouble and is expensive, training a guy to follow and fill in a checklist will take a day.

Electrical system

Waterproof enclosure mounted on the house wall containing:-

10amp trip switch isolator. aren't they cheap here?

24 hour timeswitch (Good quality Panasonic, with battery backup) who needs a plantroom?

Additional Equipmemt

Pool will be fitted with a sail type canopy, to keep water tempertures lower, reduce evaporation, keep the water slightly cleaner, reduce rain ingress and it means you can use the pool all day long.

Weekly Maintenance.

Clean the pool, filter and strainers, adjust water levels with a hosepipe, check and dose for chlorine and adjust ph levels. 100baht plus materials/other work.

[WarpSpeed]

pools are not that hard to build, i've designed and built 6 pools and all are fine.

i wrote about some of the basics in my book, 'how to buy land and build a house in thailand', just do it yourself, a 5x10m pool should cost you less than 500k depending on location (don't know much about Afghanistan however, OP's location)

only location? what about:

1. method (local or western style)

2. materials, tile, additives, sealers, cement, steel

3. equipment (salt water, chlorine, etc)

4. depth

5. pool house (for equipment)

6. quality (experienced labor or village hands)

7. lights

8. drain, skimmer, vacuum

just too mention a few other things that might influence the cost.....

Yeah Chinese equipment for one example cost less initially but not worth a dime 6 months in, even less with most..

Proper way to do it is first rate equipment and properly educating the customer why that's their best choice...In the end they'l appreciate it much more with a trouble free, enjoyable pool which is all anyone really wants from their pool..

Edited October 19, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[WarpSpeed]

I am not an engineer but I have built igloos, sheds, build walls and loads of other things and when Somchai has put in the hole, for about $100, then quite where the other million goes I will never know. I guess a few weekends on google would bring me to Master Craftsman level in Thailand. At least you would know the theory and let's face it, it is not rocket science is it ? It is a hole in the ground which operates like a giant bath jacuzzi bath.

Naive thinking at best, hope you don't have any water table to deal with for just one example...Another would be the opposite which is a common problem here and that would be too much muck to support the pools weight, tell me how you'd handle either one of those scenarios? Throw in a slope away from the pool and proper shoring, how about proper leveling? I could go on and then get into equipment, proper flow for optimum pool filtration, turnover rates and cleanliness, safeties etc. but.......................... Silly people you're not changing a flat tire...