Paradise
comes in
Pairs
Sometimes one just isn’t enough, so why not both? If you’re considering a pool or spa for your home and you’re finding it a struggle to pick one over the other, you may find that you don’t have to choose! A combination pool and spa is a perfect synergy of the two, giving you the best of both worlds in a more compact arrangement that will suit your home without compromising on the lifestyle you want. Sydney Pool + Outdoor Design’s Thomas Henry interviews Adrian Swain, director of AEON Pools, to find out how you can maximise your outdoor and indoor comforts with a luxurious combination pool and spa.
Director Adrian Swain is a registered landscape architect, who works primarily on residential spaces. He’s been responsible for designing premier pools, gardens and entertaining spaces for 21 years. “I identified that discerning clients faced challenges, and they wanted an integrated approach to designing and building swimming pools, gardens and entertaining areas,” he said, drawing from his long time and many experiences within the industry.
For this reason, Swain studied to obtain his pool builders licence in 2016, responding to the growing demand for a more integrated approach to pool and landscape design. This added a brand-new service that AEON Pools could offer, giving the business the ability to plan and build pools alongside its landscaping services, broadening its utility since the structural landscaping company was founded in 2003.
“Being a registered landscape architect and holding a licence to build pools and landscapes enables me to provide a complete design and construction solution for pools, gardens and entertaining areas,” said Swain.
THE ALL-IN-ONE WAY
The advantages of installing a combination pool and spa go beyond aesthetics and recreation. By combining the two, you’ll be able to heat both pools using the same source of heat generation, saving you time and keeping your energy bills down. You’ll also be able to super heat one small body of water to relax and unwind before plunging into the pool’s cooler waters for an invigorating sensation.
Swain also informs us that “with pool automation, a pool and spa combination will allow you to combine filtration, sanitation, heating and lighting functions between the pool and spa.” Thus, there’s no need to clutter your space with multiple, complex systems to keep your pool and your spa clean and comfortable.
A spa on its own is an enlivened body of water thanks to the incorporation of jets and bubbles. Swain says, “Whether entertaining or just for the kids to play, spas provide a lively, atmospheric experience.” Beyond simple recreation, a pool and spa combination can bring many health benefits to your life. The heated water can relieve stress and anxiety after a long day of work, or it can act as an antidote for ongoing aches and pains if that’s something you find yourself dealing with.
THE COST FOR CLASS
While there are certainly many benefits that come from installing a combination pool and spa in your home, there are also expenses associated with such a project that warrant consideration. Aesthetic choices and functional upgrades, can mark up the price of your pool. For example, a fully tiled spa means additional materials and labour involved, though the look and feel of a tiled pool compared to a plainer concrete one does speak for itself. Such a feature will give you a centrepiece for your home and a beautiful backdrop for your outdoor or indoor activities. In terms of function, the same can be said if you desire 16 or more jets in your spa. The cost increases, but so does the quality of the experience you get out of your product.
“If you add a spa to your concrete pool there is more labour involved, more equipment and more materials, however it should not add to the overall delivery timeline for the project,” says Swain. This means you won’t have to expect any extra waiting time to settle into your new combination pool and spa, despite the increase to the cost. Additionally, if a spa is something that you’re considering having alongside your pool (or vice-versa), it’s worth making the decision early, before the designs are drafted out, to make sure everything can be smoothly integrated and to avoid extra costs and delays that could occur should you have a change of heart during the project’s commencement.
TURNING UP THE HEAT
Installing the pool and spa is one thing, but how to go about getting all that water heated up? “Heating in a spa is crucial,” says Swain. “Often, if gas is available at the property, a gas heater will be installed to heat the spa.” But even so, gas is not the only option for heating your pool and spa. Swain has noticed the trend towards solar power. People using the solar panels on their roofs to naturally heat the water, using the electricity that the panels can generate, has become far more common and cost effective nowadays than it once was. “A correctly-sized heat pump will also heat the spa quite efficiently as well as heating the pool,” Swain advises.
AEON Pools has been building concrete pools and spas for the past eight years, and in that time, it’s won multiple awards from both the MBA and SPASA for spas and hot tubs, as well as its pool and spa combinations. It’s proven itself to be very reliable and highly professional, so you can contact them today to discuss plans for your own piece of paradise.
Images courtesy of AEON Pools