What could be nicer than strolling down the garden to take a dip in your very own swimming pool? Well, it’s something many homeowners wish for, which is why requests for pool houses are on the up.
If you’re in the UK, where sunny days are few and far between, it makes sense to build a pool house that will protect you from the elements while allowing you to swim in a space flooded with natural light. Contemporary pool houses tend to feature floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors with minimal sightlines to create a glass box effect that brings the outside in.
With this in mind, we settled down to talk to Minima Sliding’s Operations Director, Dan Smith, about the key aspects to consider when planning your pool house.
Most of our clients want to make an architectural statement when they build a pool house. They’re likely to be looking at the new structure from the house, so it’s got to have real wow factor as well as excellent functionality.
Sometimes the pool house is a stand-alone building, in which case it needs to have a distinct architectural presence. Or it might be sited in an extension, in which case the style is likely to be more in keeping with the original property.
In the case of our Treetops project, the stunning, pavilion-style pool house is actually linked to the house via a glass walkway. This means our client doesn’t have to set foot outside when he fancies a swim. Perfect for those chilly mornings!
Whatever the setting, glass box pool houses are really popular at the moment. People want as much glass as possible with minimal sightlines to maximise the view and the light, which is why our sliding doors with their narrow 20mm frames are the perfect solution.
Our clients also want the option to select large doors with as many of them as possible sliding back to create an outdoor feel when the weather is good. The flexibility of our award-winning Ultraline sliding doors means we can easily achieve this with door heights of up to 3.2 metres.
If possible, it works well to create a strong connection between the pool house and the garden. We can achieve this in several ways. The track system we use for Ultraline sliding doors is fitted flush with the floor level, creating a seamless transition between inside and outside. There’s nothing for the kids to trip over when they’re running in and out, and nothing to trip you up when you’re carrying that precious tray of drinks!
Our modular track system also allows up to three panes to slide back alongside one another to create the biggest possible opening for the side of your pool house. Perfect for sunny days to get that outdoor pool feel.
Our other tip for a strong visual connection with the garden would be to use the same floor tiles outside the pool house as inside. This creates a seamless look which blurs the boundaries between the pool house and the garden.
Considering the significant cost of heating a pool, it’s important to think about the thermal efficiency of the doors you choose for your pool house. Minima Sliding’s standard, double-glazed doors will help keep costs down because they offer excellent thermal efficiency. They have a U-value of 1.2 which is significantly lower than the Building Regs minimum of 1.6.
However, for the ultimate in thermal performance, our clients can now choose our triple-glazed option which achieves an impressive U-value of 0.7. Our triple-glazed glass doors will help minimise your running costs while reducing any negative environmental impact.
Our advice is to treat the security of your pool house as you would any other building. This means ensuring the locks are highly effective while being simple to operate. The electric locking system on Ultraline sliding doors meets both these criteria.
A stainless steel bolt concealed in the top of frame slides across to secure the door when activated. And with no handle or visible locking point, Ultraline’s doors are one of the most secure options on the market.
Added to that, the Niko Gateway locking mechanism can easily be activated via mobile phone, allowing you to unlock all the doors of your pool house at the touch of a button. Alternatively, a key-operated switch can be installed in the garden if a manual option is preferred.
As the provider of the UK’s leading slimline sliding door system, we have a trusted reputation. Our dedicated, in-house installation team fit our doors all day, every day, so they know the product inside out and are committed to achieving excellence for every single one of our customers.
Because of the scale and positioning of many pool house projects, specialist services are often needed such as a crane to lift glass panels over the existing house. Our team are highly experienced at using cranes as part of large pool house installations. They’re always happy to go above and beyond to ensure we achieve truly excellent results for our clients.
1) Maximise light
Make the most of your views and maximise natural light by creating minimal sightlines. Large-scale sliding doors with narrow frames will help you achieve this by blurring the boundary between pool house and garden.
2) Create flow between inside and outside
A flush threshold between the pool and the outdoor surrounding space will create an appealing, seamless feel making it easy to pass between the two spaces. You can use the same floor tiles for both areas to further blur the boundaries.
3) Allow for sufficient ceiling height
Maximise the height of your pool house to create a generous and luxurious feel. This is particularly important if you are going to include a diving board. Our sliding doors go up to 3.2 metres in height making them perfect for pool houses.
4) Choose the right product
Choose a glazing product that will be perfectly suited to a pool house such as our award-winning Ultraline sliding doors. Our precisely-engineered, energy-efficient doors have a marine-grade powder coating that will protect the frames from the potential damage of a swimming pool environment.
Are you thinking about building a glass pool house? Contact us now to find out more about Minima Sliding’s award-winning, British-made sliding doors.