Pool film: recommendations for selection and installation

A private pool in a country house or at a summer cottage has long become commonplace. In the presence of a sufficient amount of funds, the owners purchase ready-made frame structures or construct capital concrete structures, finished with mosaics or tiles. If there is not too much money, but you really want to build a pool, then a simple and reliable option will come to the rescue - a polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride film.

The film pool is by far the most common and affordable option, consisting of a frame or concrete base and an elastic canvas. Due to its poor performance, plastic sheeting is not used as often, and most pools are covered with PVC. In the process of manufacturing this material, special stabilizing substances are added to the feedstock, thanks to which the finished film is resistant to ultraviolet radiation and other aggressive environmental factors.

More expensive membranes are coated with acrylic, which increases the attractiveness of the product and has a positive effect on the strength characteristics of the web. The material arrives on the counter in rolls with a width of 3.05 to 15.2 m, a length of 15.2 to 61 m and a thickness of up to 1.5 mm. The service life of a PVC membrane with careful handling reaches 15-20 years.

When finishing the pool with PVC film, it must be remembered that even in high-quality material, chlorine compounds are present in minimal quantities. For a person who spends several hours a day in such a reservoir, they are practically harmless, but for fish and ichthyofauna, such material is quite dangerous. Therefore, PVC linen is suitable exclusively for finishing swimming pools, and its use is prohibited for waterproofing man-made ponds. In artificial reservoirs where fish breeding is expected, it is better to use a butyl rubber membrane.

The popularity of the film in the construction of home swimming pools is due to a number of indisputable advantages of this material.

• To decorate the pool frame with a film in a short time is within the power of even one person. The only condition for successful installation is accuracy and scrupulousness in the performance of work.
• Film finishing of pools is by far the most budgetary option. construction of an artificial reservoir.
• Huge assortment of membranes with a wide variety of colors and designs allows you to create a beautiful and spectacular pool. The market is widely represented by models that imitate marble, mosaic and tile. In addition to high decorativeness, the textured material has another advantage: the joints between the canvases, clearly visible on a single-color film, are practically invisible on such products.
• The film has high plasticity, which allows you to easily cover curved pool structures with it. In addition, there are no sharp corners, which are encountered with poor-quality tile laying, in PVC-sheathed bowls.
• More expensive samples have an anti-slip surface, which is very important for increasing the safety of using a home water body.
• Modern pool liner able to withstand negative temperatures and resistant to ultraviolet radiation.
• Film pools are highly maintainable, and in the case of a slight damage to the coating, the matter is dispensed with by local replacement of the leaky area. However, do not think that PVC is easy to tear: thanks to the reinforcing layer, the material is very durable and can withstand quite serious loads, with the exception of mechanical impact with a sharp object.

Besides, it is much more difficult to clean the film than the tiles, and the canvases that do not have an acrylic coating are afraid of low temperatures.

The classification of pool films is made according to such criteria as the number of layers, the presence of an acrylic coating and an anti-slip effect.

According to the first criterion, single-layer and multi-layer canvases are distinguished. Single-layer models have a thickness of 0.65 to 0.9 mm, are available in blue or blue and are used for frame collapsible pools, with which they are included. Single-layer canvases weigh very little, which is why they are easy to transport and install. In addition, most single-layer specimens have a rough surface, which gives them an anti-slip effect to ensure safe pool use.

In addition to PVC canvases, a single-layer polyethylene film is used to equip small tanks. It has a low cost and is easy to install, but it breaks quickly and becomes very cloudy.

Multilayer film is available in two or three layers.

• Three-layer PVC film is a fabric consisting of two homogeneous layers, between which there is a reinforcing layer of polyester fibers. The layers are connected to each other by welding, which gives the material high strength and suggests its use for stationary street water bodies. Multilayer membranes are available in a huge variety of colors and textures, they can be matte, glossy and shaped-corrugated design, imitating mosaics, ceramic tiles and natural stone. There are canvases with photo printing, which looks very unusual and can make the pool a worthy decoration of the personal plot. The thickness of multilayer samples often reaches 1.5 mm.

• The two-layer pool material is a butyl rubber membrane. Such a film, in contrast to multilayer PVC products, has no reinforcement, however, it is the strongest and most durable. The canvases easily tolerate temperature changes, do not crack in the cold and are quite resistant to external mechanical stress. Despite their high strength, butyl rubber samples are highly elastic, which makes it easy to install on tanks of any configurations and sizes, including large volumetric structures.

The next criterion for the classification of the film is the presence of an acrylic layer. Cloths with acrylics have a noticeable dirt-repellent effect, resist the appearance of mold and microscopic algae, do not accumulate lime deposits on the surface of the bowl from too hard water.

And the last sign of the classification of canvases is the presence of an anti-slip effect. A material with a ribbed pattern and a rough surface is more preferable for children's pools, tanks with underwater steps and elevation changes. Such a film is somewhat more expensive than a smooth one, but it increases the safety of an artificial reservoir.

The modern market presents a wide range of pool films. Among the wide variety, it is worth highlighting the products of several manufacturers, reviews of which are most often found on the Internet.

• TechnoNIKOL is rightfully considered the leader of the Russian market., which has 54 production sites in 7 countries of the world, a large number of representative offices, as well as 18 educational and 6 scientific centers with highly qualified personnel and the latest equipment. The company's products are supplied to 95 countries of the world, and the company's revenue in 2018 amounted to about 94 billion rubles. The company produces a huge amount of heat, sound and waterproofing materials, among which pool films occupy a special place.

• No less famous company for the production of waterproofing materials is the Italian Agrilac... The company specializes in the production of PVC canvases, well known for their working qualities. The narrow specialization of the enterprise allowed to hone the production process to the highest level and at the same time maintain a reasonable price for the goods. So, the cost per square meter of film is about 150 rubles. Consumers appreciate Agrilac products for their unsurpassed quality, vibrant colors and long life.

• Products of the Belgian manufacturer AlkorPlan already belongs to the elite class products and is quite expensive. The canvases very realistically imitate the texture of natural stone, which, if properly installed, makes the pool almost indistinguishable from a real stone reservoir. The film from Belgium is of high quality and long service life, and therefore the price per square meter starts from 1,500 rubles.

The products of the following manufacturers are also in good demand: German Elbtal, which produces reflective reinforced film with decorative patterns (from 1400 rubles / m2); the French Flagpool, which produces a simple in texture, but very high-quality film costing from 1000 rubles / m2; Polish Izofol, which produces durable waterproofing materials costing from 200 rubles per square.

When choosing a film for a pool, you need to pay attention to a number of important points.

• First of all, you should decide on the thickness of the canvas, which is selected based on the depth of the bowl. So, if it does not exceed 1.5 meters, then 0.9 mm thickness will be sufficient. If the depth of the tank exceeds 2 meters, then the thickness of the canvas should not be less than 1 mm, and for pools with a complex configuration - 1.5 mm.
• When choosing a membrane for a raised pool thick bubble wrap is the best option. It will successfully mask the joints and soften the blow in case of an accidental fall.
• For frame pools that are to be dismantled at the end of the season, you can purchase an inexpensive single-layer film that is easy to install and store, and if damaged, you do not mind throwing it away and buying a new one.
• If the canvas is chosen for a stationary outdoor pool, it is better to give preference to a three-layer PVC film or a dense butyl rubber membrane. They withstand the negative effects of frost and ultraviolet radiation well, and can last for more than one year.
• It is necessary to pay attention to the quality of the canvas: it should not crumble and have an unpleasant odor, and its color should be the same in saturation along the entire length of the canvas and not contain obvious thickenings.
• When buying, it is advisable to check the availability of a product quality certificate, guaranteeing the absence of heavy metals, arsenic and other harmful elements in its composition.

As for the cost of the film, it differs (depending on the quality and manufacturer) and varies from 150 rubles / m2 for a blue single-layer cloth to 1800 rubles / m2 for a relief material with an anti-slip surface and an imitation pattern.

Do-it-yourself installation of the film does not cause any particular difficulties, the main thing is to observe the finishing technology and not neglect the advice of specialists. Below is a step-by-step instruction for arranging a pool at home, which will help beginners build it on their own at their dacha or personal plot.

• Mount the film follows in the warm season at a temperature of at least 15 degrees.
• For welding fabrics to each other you need to use only a professional tool - an industrial hair dryer, which can be purchased or rented.
• The pool bowl must be thoroughly cleaned from dust, debris and other foreign objects. If there is old tile in the bowl, then you need to cover the existing chips with cement and strengthen the loose elements. It is only necessary to glue the film on a flat, dry surface that does not have potholes and bumps.
• A geotextile substrate must be laid under the film sheet, which is attached to the walls of the bowl (preferably on a fixing strip) by means of screws.
• Cutting the films is performed on a flat surface, not forgetting to leave allowances for the joints: the overlap between adjacent sheets during the formation of vertical and bottom seams should be at least 8 cm.
• First of all, the bottom is lined with a film, after which they move on to the sides, given that the overlap of the corner joints should not be less than 15 cm.
• When welding carefully monitor the uniform heating of the seam and prevent the appearance of folds.
• If carbon deposits form during welding, it is immediately removed from the nozzle of the hair dryer.
• Welded seams are treated with a liquid sealing compound, matched to the color of the film. The composition hardens well in the open air for 30 minutes and further prevents the destruction of the seams.
• Film top folded over the side and secured.

How to finish the pool with PVC film, see below.