Building A Box Frame For The iPool

Many of us would love to have our own private swimming pool. Isn’t it inconvenient driving to your local YMCA or gym to share a pool with strangers? You are often left wondering what kind of strange chemicals or leftovers are in the water and come out smelling like chlorine after you swim. Fortunately having a private lap pool or swim spa in your home does not have to cost $15,000-$25,000. You won’t have to feel regret five years down the line as you continue to pay back your purchase and find the motor needs replacing or you need additional repairs.

Here are some more affordable do it yourself alternatives to purchasing and installing a swim spa.

Swimspa

 

This version will require a certain level of plumbing, electrical, and carpentry expertise. You will first need to build the box or frame for the pool using 2x4s for the floor and wall and 2x6s for the corner cleats. Remember to use treated wood so that it can withstand getting wet. Between the panels of 2x4s you can also add insulation such as Styrofoam at least 1/2in or more in between your floor frame and walls for additional insulation. Your frame will need to be at about 9×16 feet to accommodate a 7×14 feet pool that is long enough to use jets. Remember that the liner will expand so you must make room for the expansion and ensure it does not harm your box. It is also recommended to use star drive screws because they are stronger and often used for decking.

After building the box frame remember to drill holes in your wooden frame for drainage, your filter pumps, and your spa jets. Afterwards purchase a 27mil pool liner wholesale to install to your pool. To stretch out the liner you can use weights, a vacuum or a heat gun to even it out. You will need several plumbing systems, one system for your jets, and a system for your filter pump and heater using schedule 40 pvc piping. It is important that you also install the correct safety bypass mechanisms to prevent children from being caught by the filter pump suction. Also remember to minimize bends in the piping to preserve the force of the current. It is recommended to use shut o ball valves whenever possible for easy trouble shooting and wide lenses jets running at roughly 5 hp so that you can have enough resistance when swimming. Please keep in mind while this method can be very cost effective it is a time-consuming method and depending on expertise and resources may take several weeks or more to accomplish.

Boxed Frame iPool

Your framed tethered pool will be a bit less than a swimspa because it will not require motorized current for swimming. As before,remember that the frame of the pool must not touch the wall of the pool itself. This is important because the liner of the pool bulges outward and there must be sufficient space between the pool wall and the frame of the pool. After ensuring that you have sufficient space you will need to mark o the area for your pool frame.

You can use 9 x 12 feet as an approximate guideline keeping in mind the body of the pool should be at least 7×10 feet. Make sure that your lines are straight. After this you will need to get wooden panels to build the frame of the pool. Just as before you will need a combination of 2x4s and 2x6s to make the floor and wall

supports with corner cleats, star drive screws, and construction metal to reinforce the wall panels. Essentially building a frame for your pool is a big fencing project. For the box frame we have seen designs of an inner and outer frame with an approximate 1.5-2 feet gap between. The vertical panels are often made from 2×4 planks and have horizontal 2x4s and 2x6s alternating to provide support if you sit on the vinyl or plastic grating.

After you have built your box frame you need to create holes for drainage, attach the wholesale liner, install the filter pump and heating and place ceiling hooks or a base to run your tethered pole from.

If you do not want to worry about building a box frame that can hold the pool liner without any issues we would recommend considering an iPool instead. The iPool, unlike a standard tethered pool, has a patented adjustable resistance feature that offers multiple settings for all swimmers as well as a galvanized steel frame to hold the liner together backed by a product lifetime warranty. The Fitmax iPool liner will also be thicker than most available wholesale liners with up to five layers of 35 mil that have been hydraulic tested. Building just a box frame for the pool is considerably easier than the previous projects but will still have similar aesthetic results.

As before the box frame will have designs of an inner and outer frame with an approximate two feet gap between. As before you will need still need treated plywood or an equivalent to build vertical panels made from 2×4 planks and have horizontal 2x4s and 2x6s alternating to provide support if you wish to sit on the grating. One of our customers, Dave Macdonald, was kind enough to share his blueprints for his box frame design that we have reproduced below:

The iPool is made of an easy to assemble galvanized steel frame and blue liner that only takes about an hour for two people to assemble. Another advantage of the liner design is it is made with sleeves that that connect with the frame to provide additional strong structural support compared to a standard wholesale liner that you must attach yourself. The pool is 7×10 square feet but the patented dual tether system allows for endless swimming without your hands and feet touching the walls of the pool.

framed exercise pool

Standard iPool 3 with Cover Roller Accessory

Many customers love our blue iPool portable therapy pools but want that classy look of a luxury swimming pool. Fortunately, with a little work you can add a wooden frame to your pool and your whole family can enjoy the charm and aesthetics for a fraction of the cost. The iPool is also deck compatible and is easy to maintain due to its small size.

Being able to have your own private home exercise swimming pool is an excellent gift for the whole family. There are a variety of options available that provide the same health benefits for much less the cost. Whether you wish to go with a do it yourself pool that has jets or a manual resistance system a heated pool can provide good health and fun memories for many years to come. Please keep in mind the information we have compiled is for educational purposes. We hope the blueprints and examples are helpful to you but please remember to consult a professional handyman, electrician, or carpenter to assist you and these references are given to you as potential ideas. If you have any other topics you would be interested in, please feel free to drop us a line on our contact us form, or if you want to learn more about our award winning home therapy pools please check out our website.