Infinity Pools
An Infinity Pool is a special kind of swimming pool designed to maximise your experience of a beautiful view. The edges of infinity pools are designed to make the water ‘disappear’ off the edge. When an Infinity Pool is built adjacent to a natural water body such as an ocean, river or watering hole, visually it appears that the swimming pool and natural water body are one. When built on a rooftop, the infinity pool’s disappearing water edge makes you feel as if you are freely hanging in open space. Swimming in an infinity pool is a novel experience, it adds a wow factor, a drama and drives home the feeling of being one with nature.
What Makes an Infinity Pool Tick?
Intention, intention, intention. infinity pools need to be designed in very specific ways. They are also more expensive than normal pools. So, planning ahead is a good thing. So how do you choose between having a normal pool and an infinity pool?
The Aspect and the View
The most crucial deciding factor is the aspect and the view. Does the property site have an aspect that opens out onto a fantastic view? Is there height or panorama to work with? Is there an opportunity to create a breathtaking experience out of the placement of the swimming pool? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then an infinity pool is a design solution well worth considering.
Space
Next, you need to consider how much space there is for the pool. Infinity pools need additional utilities, each of which need allocated places. If space is not an issue, no worries, otherwise you have to be ok with a slightly smaller swimming space than what you would have normally gone with. This follows from the way infinity pools are designed, in order to work effectively.
How Do Infinity Pools Work?
The main wow factor of an Infinity Pool is that it makes the edges or walls of the pool seemingly ‘disappear’. Of course, the edges and walls don’t actually disappear, else you would fall out and over. The design is such that the infinity edge or wall is made to slope or bevel over the top, and sit slightly under the water level. This allows water to tip over the edge. Water that tips over, is collected in a holding tank adjacent to the infinity edge. This holding tank is located in such a way that it is not visible to the swimmers in the pool.
Drainage and Reticulation
As the water overflows into the hidden or seemingly concealed holding tanks, it is pumped back into the main pool. This ensures that the water level in the main pool doesn’t slump down as the overflow is carefully monitored and controlled.
Drainage and guttering is a crucial element. Both have to be carefully concealed, efficient, functional and able to deal with high flows. To prevent pool water from flowing in the wrong direction, a vacuum basin is required. Special filtration systems are also required to remove leaves, bugs, and other debris from the pool’s edge.
When it comes to drainage and reticulation systems, Auswave Products has a huge product range to suit your design needs. If you are designing an infinity pool and want quality-assured drainage products, be sure to give us a call.