Planning your swimming pool in Thailand

Exciting times, you have purchased a home in Thailand, and you want to add a swimming pool to your new garden landscape. How simple is it?

Not as simple as you may think, at least, not if you want it to be perfect.

A lot of care and attention should be given to the many different elements involved in the placement of a pool in your garden. These decisions could determine whether you end up with your dream poolside landscape, or an expensive, hard to put right mistake.

Taking time to really think about what you want from your pool landscape is common sense; but it is an all too common mistake for owners of new property to haphazardly appoint pool scape designers with little knowledge as to how they want to proceed themselves.

Badly run pool scape companies may take advantage of a naive owner, and themselves be lazy in the all important design process, increasing the risk of potential problems down the line. 

There are a number of important factors to consider if you want to make sure all bases are covered. These factors include things like pool position and shade (where does the sun rise & set on your plot, and how does this relate to the house), safety, privacy, maintenance schedule and style.

Always talk to a reliable Thai landscape designer, like Pornchai Garden, who are experienced in these matters.

Here are a few essential things to consider.

Pool positioning – A common mistake. Make sure that when you are talking to your pool scape designers, you find out exactly where the sun rises and sets in relation to your planned pool position. If your pool is in the wrong place, this could leave you without any sun exposure for large portions of the day.

Style – Your pool should be designed to match the architecture of your home, if your house is newly built, the pool scape designers can come up with custom designs to suit the architectural style. In all cases your perfect pool needs to fit seamlessly with the design of your home.

Security and safety – Parents need to concern themselves with pool security and safety if they have young children. This can be achieved with good quality gated areas blocking the pool from toddlers, or a properly fitted pool net. Pool nets that are installed correctly should be able to hold the weight on an adult, and easily a toddler. The net itself should also be high quality. Talk to your pool scape designers for the right information. Be careful, as poorly fitted and maintained pool nets are a great risk for those falling into them accidentally.

Landscaping around the pool – You also need to think about the outer areas of the pool where you will relax. The poolside area is one of the most important aspects of your pool; this is where you will sun bathe, relax and host poolside parties. It would be beneficial to think about how people will move around the poolside, and into the home. A good landscape designer will be able to advise you on the best hard wearing materials, and ones that are not easy to slip and fall over on.

Plants and trees – If you are interested in having tropical planting around the poolside, be careful to choose the right trees. Deciduous trees and needle-bearing evergreens will require high maintenance and you will have to clear leaves constantly; fruit and flower trees are the same, plus, they will attract flies and other flying creatures to your plot. Evergreens are a popular poolside choice as they offer year-round coverage and so aid pool privacy too. They leave a minimal mess as well as add natural beauty.

Note: You must also ensure that large trees are planted at least 5 metres from the house and pool so that root systems don't damage them in the coming years.

If you are thinking about adding a pool to your garden landscape in Thailand, feel free to contact Pornchai Garden, we can assist you in constructing your perfect pool side landscape.