FAQ’s

The first key to a successful project is a well thought-out brief. It’s important to define exactly how you want to use your pool, who will use it, how you’d like it to look and feel and above all what will make the investment worth it for you. Once you’ve outlined your key requirements, the next step is to give us a call so that we can help you form an outline of how to achieve your brief. We prefer to delve into detail early and give you context for early decision making by providing high-level costings and honest feedback on what is achievable. We can also conduct a site visit to get to know your property and highlight any logistical constraints. Once, we’ve defined a brief, understood your requirements, we’ll guide you on how to get the project moving by outlining any third parties that may need to be appointed such as architects, engineers and main contractors.

We can construct a pool using concrete, stainless steel or one-piece polypropylene shells. Various finishes such as tiles and liners can be applied or if you opt for a stainless steel or one piece pool, the structure can act as the finish. Typically, our pool structures are insulated as standard. Each build method will have different groundworks requirements which we can help you or your chosen main contractor determine.

Our project values typically range between £80k and £500k. To get a more refined estimate based on your specific requirements and circumstances, get in touch with our team.

All pools require regular maintenance to ensure optimal performance and cleanliness. The maintenance of our pools is best carried out little and often and the key thing is to keep the pool clean using a pool robot, brush, net or vacuum and keep skimmer baskets and pump strainers free of debris. This can be very straightforward and light work for some pools and more involved for others depending on their environment and how they are being used. From a technical perspective, our pools need less maintenance than standard chlorine pools as the system is automated and can backwash and dose minerals automatically however it’s still good to have a grasp of how these systems work. If you prefer not to get involved with the maintenance of the pool, we can take it off your hands with a regular cleaning and service visit. Or if you’d prefer to do the day to day maintenance yourself, we can attend for technical service visits on a less frequent basis.

This depends on the size of the pool, its environment, how it’s used, whether it’s heated, to what temperature and how quickly, how often it’s covered and many other factors. We use the latest low energy variable speed pumps, slower turnover rates and efficient hydraulic design to minimise the running cost of the system and 50% energy savings are regularly achieved when compared to outdated chlorine systems.

We typically undertake the structure of the pool, its internal finishes, its filtration pipework, its heating or air handling system, the cover, the lighting and the internal fittings and features. We don’t typically take on groundworks, plant room construction, surrounding landscaping, pool building construction (in the case of indoor pools) or M&E services as these items are usually more efficiently delivered by others. We do however have a great network of third parties across the UK who we can put you in touch with to help with works outside of our scope.

One-piece pools can be delivered in as little as 8 weeks and then installed in as little as a month, however bespoke projects can typically take anywhere between 6 and 12 months depending on their complexity and interdependencies. We adhere to manufacturer’s guidance on curing times for concrete, render, waterproofing and tiling systems and schedule in an appropriate water test to ensure your pool is built to the highest, warranty-backed standards.

We would usually allow at least 8 weeks but it really depends on how many third party consultants are involved, how much coordination is required, whether you need planning permission, how quick you are with decision making and how complex the project is. Some of the best pools take years of design and coordination. The earlier you start design the better as it shouldn’t be rushed.

Some pools can fall within permitted development however if your property is listed, in an area of outstanding beauty, greenbelt, national park, SSI or any other designated land, it’s likely that planning is required. It’s always worth checking with a local architect or planning consultant to determine whether planning is required and if so, how sensitive the proposal could be. It’s fairly rare that we see pools refused but it’s better to check rather than risk breaking the law. Even if your site is not sensitive to your knowledge, there could be a restrictive covenant or a unique circumstance that means that you require permission.

Outdoor pools should always have a good quality cover to minimise the amount of debris and environmental deposits getting into the pool. They can also minimise evaporation and heat loss, greatly reducing the running costs of the pool. Indoor pools can also benefit from a cover but it’s not always a requirement. They will reduce running costs and your air handling system will have less work to do if you have a cover so it’s definitely worth considering. We can help you model the running cost difference of a covered pool vs. an uncovered pool depending on your pool’s specification.

Pools can be heated using a variety of methods including air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, biomass, solar, gas or oil. We tend to recommend renewable heating methods but will specify a system depending on what temperature you want to heat the pool to, what period of the year you will heat it, and how quickly you want to be able to heat it from cold.

In most cases, a good architect or project manager will be a great investment as they will be able to advise you on your project’s planning requirements, help you coordinate a full turn-key scheme and tender the various works outside the scope of the pool contractor. Some straightforward projects may not require an architect but it’s always worth considering even if their involvement is minimal.

Mineral+biome® is a living, biological filter system – in place of traditional disinfectants such as chlorine, we purify your water with beneficial microbes and enhance it with naturally occurring minerals. The result is a health-enriching, immunity-strengthening luxury swimming experience.

Yes, absolutely, our pools can be heated up to 30 degrees celsius or 86 degrees fahrenheit.

ineral+Biome technology is inspired by nature and driven by science. To control algae, the good bacteria in our biological filters starve the water of key food sources – for example nutrients like phosphorous.

The Mineral+biome® bacteria colonise and out-compete potentially dangerous pathogens within the filter, a process is called biological predation (only 0.0014% of bacteria are bad!). This ‘Living Water’, starved of nutrients, is a very stressful and inhospitable place for pathogens, viruses, or algal cells to survive or multiply. For this reason, we can far exceed EU bathing water standards without the need for disinfection chemicals.

Our mineraliser technology works to condition your pool water with thermal spa minerals, which nourish our biofilter and have proven benefits for your own microbiome, health and skin. This unique approach means we have no need to use chlorine, disinfection chemicals, salt, copper or silver ions, these are not bio-compatible with your own body’s microbiome, our filter or the environment.

It depends what system you are comparing it to. Mineral+biome systems are the most advanced pool filtration systems on the market and use the very best components, machinery and control systems which means that the cost will be comparable with the most high-spec chlorine systems. Cheaper chlorine systems are certainly available however the cheaper components and design will result in high chlorine levels, a poorer swimming experience and higher running costs.

Chlorination in drinking water over the past 20 years has led to the discovery of 600 toxic disinfectant by-products. The main ones: chloramines and trihalomethanes are now regulated in most countries and recognised as toxic, and, in the case of trihalomethanes, carcinogenic. But this still only accounts for 25% of other disinfectant by-products such as halonitromethanes (HNMs), haloamides, and iodo-DBPs are proving to be far more cyto and geno toxic (i.e. they attack cells and cell DNA). So, whilst the swimming pool industry perpetuates its health and wellness tag, there is a ‘wellness paradox’ where swimmers are exposed to unregulated toxic chemicals which have health implications for all, but especially pregnant women and children.

Rather than attacking your body, the mineral+biome® filter is the only system that produces mineral water designed to nourish your skin and be compatible with your body’s microbiome through dermal and oral contact.

Most swimming pool filtration is designed to kill bacteria using ionisation or oxidisation, either from direct chemical dosing or from chemicals produced by electrolysis. Some of these systems do a good job at this whilst minimising toxic disinfectant by-products. Nevertheless, at Origin Aqua, we believe this approach is unnecessary and heavy-handed.

Increasingly research is pointing to bacteria being a necessary part of our health. Our own bodies contain 10 – 100 trillion of symbiotic microbial cells. Whilst some bacteria are harmful, these make up less than 0.0014% of all the strains identified. In nature, water contains billions of microorganisms in balance – bacteria, viruses, yeasts, fungi, eukarya, archea, amoeba and protozoa. Whilst scientists are only just beginning to understand the different roles these microbes play, there is ample evidence that in the right conditions they will sustain a healthy natural balance.

For instance, choanoflagellates – free swimming single celled eukaryotes found in abundance in virtually every source of natural water, including ice cores up to 32,000 years old, will swarm and multiply in the presence of certain pathogenic bacteria and consume them. Like your gut, a steep-sided alpine gravel lake with an inlet and outlet will always have some level of E. coli bacteria, but rarely to the extent that it is described as a risk to your immune system.

Freshwater and seawater are teeming with bacteria, hence countries set freshwater bathing limits which are not zero but which make the risk of becoming ill negligible. (for example, the number of allowable E. coli counts per 100ml of water).

In fact certain commensal bacteria (bacteria whose presence moderates the presence of other bacteria) and free swimming bacteria such as choanoflagellates will multiply and form colonies in the presence of pathogenic bacteria before destroying them.
The same principle exists in soil where bacteria will sequester carbon out of the atmosphere to combine with silicates and build soil structure.

By killing bacteria and sterilising our earth and water, we destroy these natural processes.