I'm in the midst of designing out a play pool in Phoenix area. I'm not particularly fond of the look of traditional slides. I'm thinking of designing a grotto at the end of the pool that would hide the majority of the slide and stairs. Please see attached 3D inspiration photo that I found that matches pretty well what I'm looking to accomplish.
I do have a few concerns and hoping the TFP crowd will be able to guide or set me straight.
1. I heard concrete slides are insanely expensive and so I suspect I'll be using some fiberglass open tube pieces. I've found atleast three companies online by some simple searching but don't know if any are reputable. Do you have a suggestion for a manufacturer of the slide component itself?
2. From the outside this looks like a fairly simple design. Use CMU block for structure and then some stone to cover it all along with the appropriate plumbing hidden under the stairs that can be accessed from the back if needed. What I don't understand is what the slide components themselves sit on. Do they just sit or even bolt into the CMU block in various places? Do these non-standard free-standing slide components come with installation instructions or is that simply where experience and expertise come into play? I'm leaning on doing this myself so if it is overly complicated and requires a great deal of experience then I'll have to think twice about this slide design.
3. The deep end of the pool, as designed, it 5-1/2'. Is that sufficient? I realize that people will go down head first even if you tell them not to and I want to make sure the pool doesn't crack any skulls.
4. Any concerns or issues with having the water in the grotto being a hot tub spa? I would end up having it about an inch higher than the pool water and then you enter via the pool (over the lip) or through the entrance near the slide stairs. Would I need to slope the ceiling and what type of finish would it be? Tile or stone?
Anything I should know or watch out for before I continue down this path?
I do have a few concerns and hoping the TFP crowd will be able to guide or set me straight.
1. I heard concrete slides are insanely expensive and so I suspect I'll be using some fiberglass open tube pieces. I've found atleast three companies online by some simple searching but don't know if any are reputable. Do you have a suggestion for a manufacturer of the slide component itself?
2. From the outside this looks like a fairly simple design. Use CMU block for structure and then some stone to cover it all along with the appropriate plumbing hidden under the stairs that can be accessed from the back if needed. What I don't understand is what the slide components themselves sit on. Do they just sit or even bolt into the CMU block in various places? Do these non-standard free-standing slide components come with installation instructions or is that simply where experience and expertise come into play? I'm leaning on doing this myself so if it is overly complicated and requires a great deal of experience then I'll have to think twice about this slide design.
3. The deep end of the pool, as designed, it 5-1/2'. Is that sufficient? I realize that people will go down head first even if you tell them not to and I want to make sure the pool doesn't crack any skulls.
4. Any concerns or issues with having the water in the grotto being a hot tub spa? I would end up having it about an inch higher than the pool water and then you enter via the pool (over the lip) or through the entrance near the slide stairs. Would I need to slope the ceiling and what type of finish would it be? Tile or stone?
Anything I should know or watch out for before I continue down this path?
