Our History
The Small Pool Company was established in 2009 by Steve and Rena Barker. Steve is a certified I.S.P.E (Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers) Technician, although a draftsman by trade, he has worked in the swimming pool industry for over 30 years.
Whilst living in South Africa the couple set up a building company that also installed pool shells, where they soon realised that this method of swimming pool installation has many benefits such as speed and efficiency of installation and very cost effective.
Following a return to Jersey working for over 20years in the pool industry, the Small Pool Company was established almost 12 years ago, to enable people to have affordable pools in small gardens.
The company has since grown and with two new owners joining Steve to expand the business, they can now offer larger fibreglass shells, still at competitive prices. With new partnerships The Small Pool Company can also offer a full garden renovation package and the latest in paving and pool coping materials specially cut to suit the customers’ requirements.
To date, The Small pool Company have now installed in excess of 60 shells across the Channel Islands and look forward to many more years providing customers with the expertise and knowledge to install their new pool.
Why fibreglass?
One-piece fibreglass swimming pools are now firmly established within the UK swimming pool industry and it’s not difficult to see why. Installation can be carried out by your builder and can be completed within a fraction of the time and cost of a concrete or liner pool and with much less disruption. The light, skimmer and inlets/outlets are all factory fitted during manufacture which saves you considerable time.
Our fibreglass pools are a one-piece reinforced construction with options for internal corner steps and benches, roman ends and chambers for automatic covers. Being one-piece you don’t have to worry about the sharp edges you quite often get on a liner pool with a bolted-on roman end. Of course, you also have no joins or seams that can leak or encourage bacteria build up.
A new range of ceramic pools that incorporate a fibreglass shell along with layering of 3 dimensional gelcoat to provide a sparkling and luxurious finish are now available. Current Building Regulations require indoor pools to be insulated. We offer a factory sprayed insulation service to help you conform to Part L of these regulations to save you having to do this on site.
Our fibreglass swimming pools can be installed indoors or outdoors. They generally sit in-ground, but can be situated above ground or part in-ground if adequate support is provided. This is often a requirement within a heavily sloped garden.
Fibreglass pools are perfect for long term everyday use. Gone are the worries about tearing or wrinkling the liner or mosaic tiles popping off. Our pools include a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty although in reality these pools are for life.
Things to consider
Where will you locate your pool? Have a thought for drainage, sun position and wind direction, underground pipes and cables, and overhanging trees and foliage. Your plant room need only be a garden DIY shed and the nearer to the pool the less pipework and trench digging will be required.
Most outdoor pools do not require planning permission unless you are within a conservation area so this should be checked during the early stages of planning your project.
What is your access like? One-piece pools arrive on an articulated lorry. You may need to arrange on-site lifting equipment for the pool to access its final destination.
If your pool is an indoor pool, you’ll need to plan ahead to get the pool in place prior to completing walls and/or roof.
How a pool works
To keep a clean and clear pool, the water must pass through a filtration process. Water is drawn from the low suction grills and the waterline skimmer by the circulating pump and taken into the plant room to be filtered and cleaned. The water is pushed down through a bed of media filter trapping any debris. The water is then returned to the pool via the inlets positioned at the opposite end of the pool. The filtration equipment is included with each pool we provide.
During the circulation procedure, the water can pass through a heating appliance; this may be a boiler or heat pump controlled by a thermostat. It is also advisable to incorporate your disinfection equipment in the circulation loop. We recommend the use of a chemical feeder and a UV lamp to purify and sanitise before returning the water to the pool.
The circulation process can be controlled by a time switch in the plant room to reduce the amount of manual intervention required. Every week or so the filter will need cleaning via a process called backwashing. This discards the debris trapped in the filter media out to waste. Most of our pool models now use a new filtration media called OC-1 which reduces the amount of backwashing required by around 75%, thus saving on waste water.
Customising your pool
As well as providing your swimming pool, The Small Pool Co can advise and supply on other equipment such as heating, disinfection, de-humidification and covers etc.
Insulation
For indoor pools, insulation is now a compulsory Building Regulation requirement. Our pools can be spray insulated at the factory during manufacture to help comply with Part L of the current Building Regulations.
Heating
For outdoor pools an air source heat pump is a popular and economic method of heating a pool. Indoor pools are generally used all year round therefore oil/gas boilers are a good heating method. Dehumidification and ventilation Every indoor swimming pool will require some form of dehumidification and ventilation to control the condensation and evaporation from the warm pool water. This equipment can be quite costly so ensure you incorporate this during your early planning and budgeting process.
Disinfection
Why not save yourself time and reduce the manual handling of chemicals and invest in an automatic chlorine feeder. UV systems are particularly popular as they dramatically reduce the amount of chemical disinfection required.
SwimJet
The resistance of the water flowing towards you allows you to swim continuously without being limited to the length of the pool. A SwimJet can be fitted into any of our one-piece models; they don’t need to be just for exercise, they can be for fun as well!
Pool covers
An uncovered swimming pool will lose about 65% or more of its heat by evaporation. If safety is a consideration, automatic and manual safety covers are available which lock down the cover for peace of mind. We have a r range of pools that incorporate a cover chamber which hides away an automatic slatted cover when not in use.
Want further information and help customising your own pool? Then a member of our friendly team are here to help,
