One of the most fun parts of designing your own swimming pool is adding customized features just for yourself or your family. Each choice adds up to a swimming experience uniquely tailored to your preferences. And of all the features you can add, what’s more fun than a swimming pool slide? Kids and adults alike love sliding into the water! But how should you plan for this new addition to the backyard?
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Planning for Your Swimming Pool Slide
Adding a slide to your pool is more complicated than just updating your design. You’ll need to consider such complications as how to keep the slide wet, safety regulations to follow, and whether or not homeowners’ guidelines will allow you to build one in the first place. Let’s take a look at the most important factors to investigate:
- Homeowners’ association regulations
- Safety considerations
- Keeping the slide wet
1) Homeowners’ Association Regulations
Local homeowners’ associations have rules in place about changes you can make to your property. Depending on their exact regulations, your slide may have to have certain dimensions or be a particular color. Even if you don’t think adding a slide will cause problems, make sure to look up your local HOA regulations first. Knowing your responsibilities ahead of time can save you fines and significant revisions later on.
Pro Tip: Besides HOA regulations, what might get in the way of adding custom pool features to your yard? See if you have any pipes, power cords, or other underground obstacles that could be a problem before construction begins.
2) Safety Considerations
How tall will the completed slide be? Will it be made of the same material as the rest of your pool? Will the stairway to reach the top need a handrail? While most safety regulations apply to slides that will be sitting next to your pool rather than build into the structure itself, you should consider how the design and size of the completed slide will impact your family’s safety.
3) Keeping the Slide Wet
For both comfort and safety’s sake, your new slide has to stay wet. After all, who wants friction burns from sliding down a dry slide in a wet swimsuit? Fortunately, you have a couple of options. The simpler method is to simply get out the garden hose whenever you plan on using your slide and spray the surface down or install a spray kit to keep the hose hooked up to your slide while it’s in use.
However, using the garden hose can lead not only to a chemical imbalance in your pool, but also to potentially causing the pool to overflow and cause water damage to your yard. The better solution is to ask your pool contractor to add plumbing to your slide to pull water from the pool and keep the slide wet. This way, you can enjoy your slide in comfort without the added problems of using a garden hose.
Enjoy Your New Slide!
It may seem complicated to deal with all the questions and safety concerns during the planning phase. But once you’re done, you’ll be getting a brand new swimming pool slide perfectly tailored to your preferences! What more could you ask for?
Connect with us for more information on the custom features we offer for your pool.