Pros: Swim laps year round in water heated to YOUR temperature and with complete privacy.
Cons: daily attention to pool chemistry
The Bottom Line: As we age and become less mobile, we wanted a house tailored to our abilities and interests. With the Endless Pool we have completed our dream design; we are content.
Just as my wife and I have tailored our house to our needs over the last twenty-seven years, so can you! Our latest improvement was to build a room off the back to provide year-round swimming in an Endless Pool. I got turned on to LSD swimming (long slow distance) several years ago as I continued to age and my options for aerobic exercise and conditioning grew more limited (I have spinal disk and nerve degeneration). But we also have a child with cerebral palsy who would benefit from hydrotherapy in a warm (almost hot) bath. Further, I have a 25-year-old son who is an amputee as a result of a motorcycle racing accident. About ten years ago I realized I didn't have to install a 50-yard outdoor lap pool; Endless Pool was a reality. We have now enjoyed it for nine months and couldn't be happier!
Our Endless Pool is standard size, 8'x15', approximately 7'x14' interior dimension. The standard depth is 39", but we added a 10" stepdown, 5'x5', so that we could do exercises standing in chest-deep water. With the 5'x5' stepdown 10" deep, it holds just over 2500 gallons. We find that this, the minimal dimension recommended by the manufacturer, allows one person to do exercise standing up while others can sit around the "lower" end of the pool.
The unique feature of the Endless Pool, of course, is its propulsion system that generates a current in the pool so that the swimmer can swim laps without lapping, i.e., no need to turn around every 25 yards or so. The current is adjustable from water that is almost still (for example, in order to practice your flutter kick alone) to speeds of almost Olympic proportions. Some have referred to it as a treadmill for swimmers. This flexibility makes the pool an asset to every member of the family.
The benefits to hydrotherapy are not necessarily from the jets - these are an option we did not purchase - but from the propulsion motor itself. Standing in the current and against the force of the water gives wonderful resistance. Turning around in place against the water as you exercise activates different muscles in legs, arms and torso. Presently, we still keep it at half or even a third of its power as we work to build up resistance.
We live within the 100-mile radius of the factory which qualified us for them to install the pool. We had a contractor who knew a plumber who specialized in commercial pool installations. In other words, we had it made ... for a price! But it was money well spent, and we have no regrets.
We use the pool almost every day. My wife and three-year-old granddaughter use it the most. Because of the wrap-around design of the propulsion unit, my granddaughter could walk around the pool from the beginning (she was two-and-a-half when it was installed). She would wear a tube when my wife did her exercise; then she would play without the tube since my wife could keep a constant eye on her and she was within easy arm's length at all times. Within the last month, my granddaughter began to swim from side to side, and during her family vacation she actually walked off a diving board at an outside pool and swam to her parents waiting below! People were amazed!
I use the pool as often as I can, and I enjoy developing both skill and stamina over time. I'm not very good now, but I am getting better. This is a long-term project; I'm in no hurry to break Olympic records.
Endless Pools is only a telephone call away. They have answered every question, supplied both answers and materials when I needed them, so that I was able to fix a minor problem within a few days. There is indeed a learning curve to managing the pool chemistry, but this dunderhead seems to be doing fine. I even learned that if you remove the cover s-l-o-w-l-y, there will be minimal water on the floor when you put it back on!
Our installation is above ground, but since the room is raised, only about twenty inches protrudes through the floor. We built well, and it looks it! We love tropical flowers, and we have orchids, ti plants, and a variety of others flourishing in the humidity and light (we have eighteen feet of windows on our nineteen-foot southern wall).
Our contractor insulated the pool so well, that our (optional) gas heater has no problem maintaining 90 degrees - even in the cold of winter. Although we keep the cover closed when the pool is not in use, the heat radiated from the pool heats the room surrounding it, and we rarely lose more than a degree from cycle to cycle. (The pool water needs to circulate for six or more hours each day, and the heater only works during periods of circulation.) As a result, we only need a small space heater on the coldest winter days to maintain sufficient heat in the room to get into and out of the pool. And the steam that the pool creates when it is open mists the windows and patio doors so that we have complete privacy!
On the advice of the factory installers, we set all the equipment outside (we had ordered the optional gas heater) and our contractor built a protective housing around it. As a result, the only noise inside the room is the propulsion system itself while we are using it. If we want to just bask in the warmth of the water and talk, it is perfectly quiet and delightful. We even have a small table and two chairs (amid all the plants) so that non-swimming guests can converse as well!
Our signature product, the Original Endless Pool is designed to fit just about anywhere, indoors or outside. Because of its modular design, it can be ...More at Endless Pools
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