Expert Topics

It may seem like an easy decision in the winter, but for luxury home owners in the UK, where the weather is so unpredictable all year round, it can be difficult to decide between an indoor or outdoor swimming pool.

However, a swimming pool with a mechanical adjustable wall, which creates a swimming pool that is half indoor and half outdoor, means that swimming outdoors can be an option, even throughout the winter.

The moving wall, which can be lowered to floor level or raised to close off one end of the pool, allows the option of indoor and outdoor swimming all year round.

“Moving walls enable people to enjoy the best of both worlds, without compromising on space by having two separate pools” says Jack Harding, Director of luxury swimming pool design and build company, Guncast Swimming Pools. “There is also the additional benefit of being able to enter and exit an outdoor swimming pool, without having to go outside.”

The wall can be used to close off the indoor pool in cold weather if desired, or to ‘extend’ the pool for additional outdoor use.

Much like the moving wall, the installation of a moving floor system (a mechanically powered floor, which is lowered into the ground to reveal a pool underneath, when required) offers versatility, with the flexibility to transform an indoor swimming pool into a dance floor, entertaining or leisure space, play area or a party venue, ideal for the Christmas season.

The moving floor, when secured in place to cover the pool, is sturdy enough to act as a standard floor, allowing the room to be filled to capacity with people. “A moving floor pool creates a space for entertaining or other leisure activities, with the further option to incorporate use of a pool or not, enabling a lot more flexibility when entertaining” continues Jack.

Basement swimming pools with moving floors are becoming increasingly fashionable, particularly in parts of London, and other areas with limited outdoor space, as Jack Harding explains. “Adding a multifunctional room creates additional floor space where there potentially wouldn’t have been any previously, which can help to increase property size and value.” The moving floor system helps to add a unique twist to the basement or indoor swimming pool.