Archive for September, 2007

If you are considering putting in a swimming pool, you have lots of decisions to make.
What kind of swimming pool will you want? What will the primary function of the swimming
pool be? Will the kids be playing volleyball all summer long? Will you want to swim laps?
Are you short on space? Your new swimming pool can be built to any size or shape or style
that you (and your budget) can imagine! Here are eight types of in ground swimming pools
to help you narrow down your choices.
Play pool
A play pool typically is no deeper than five feet. Play pools generally are built for
cooling off and relaxing in, playing volleyball, other water sports, as well as for swimming laps.
Diving Pool
Diving pools are generally about 2.5 meters deep with a diving board or platform.
Free form Pool
A free form pool is a lagoon style pool or naturalistic pool. It usually has have rock
features and is built to mimic a oasis. Free form pools have been popular  many years.
Geometric Pool
Geometric pools usually have very straight lines or or a consistent radius and are typically
more traditional looking. There seems to be a shift back to the geometric pool. A geometric pool can be more formal and upscale looking.
Lap Pool
Lap pools pools are typically narrow and long, usually over 50’, to facilitate exercise and
swimming for health and fitness.
Negative Edge Pool
Negative edge pools are getting more common and require an expert to build. They are also
referred to as infinity swimming pools or infinity edge pools. These are designed to look
like the pool extends all the way out to the horizon. The mechanics and engineering of
infinity pools cannot be compromised.
Spool
The word spool is a combination of a spa and a pool. Spools are typically over sized spas
somewhere around 4m X 5m’. Unfortunately, due to construction issues, spools are not
necessarily less expensive than an average swimming pool. They might be easier to maintain
due to the smaller size, and a spool certainly might be an option for someone with a very
small yard.
Perimeter Overflow Pool
This would be a pool where the water level in the pool is the same as the top of the decking. Around the pool perimeter is a channel or notch that the water drains into creating a visual
masterpiece. It looks like a big mirror lying on the ground. Very upscale!
Many of these styles can be combined with terrific results.

New Look For Puerto Del Carmen

Puerto del Carmen has long been the engine room of tourism on Lanzarote. Once known locally as Tiñosa, this popular resort really took off in the 1980´s – initially in and around the old harbour fishing area – which is still a focal point of the resort today. And has been attracting higher visitor numbers than resort rivals Costa Teguise to the North and Playa Blanca to the south ever since.

Where tourism leads, property development tends to follow. And as a result demand for property for sale in Puerto del Carmen over the last decade has remained consistently strong. Not least as property owners are able to rent their apartments out for twelve months of the year thanks to Lanzarote´s year round clement climate.

The majority of holiday accommodation in Puerto del Carmen is comprised of self-catering apartments. Offering fairly basic one or two star amenities. So enabling tour operators such as First Choice and Airtours to offer very cheap package holidays to Lanzarote.

 

All-inclusive package deals have become quite pervasive – an arrangement which is much maligned by local businesses such as bars and restaurants. As many tourists now rarely venture out from their accommodation as all of their needs are catered to on site. However this pattern of development has become increasingly at odds with the strategy of the island tourist authorities, who are keen to modernize the resort and take Puerto del Carmen up market.
Central to this strategy is the pedestrianisation of the main Avenida del las Playas – which runs alongside the resorts main beaches and which is currently dominated by traffic. Making it decidedly non-tourist friendly.
According to a recent announcement from the Director General for Tourist Infrastructures on Lanzarote the pedestrianisation of the main sea front promenade in Puerto del Carmen will be going ahead in 2008,

The project to pave the main Avenida de las Playas has been mooted for some time and is felt by many local observers to present a real opportunity to improve the quality of the infrastructure and tourist offering in Lanzarote´s most popular resort.

€855,000.00 has been earmarked for the project and the official intention is to close the Avenida to traffic at the end of 2007. With work scheduled for completion before the summer season of 2008.

The pedestrianisation of Puerto del Carmen is part of a broader plan to “reinvent” tourism in the resort – according to the mayor of the local municipality of Tias. By improving both the infrastructure of the resort and the standard of accommodations offered by apartment complexes.

With the overall aim of ensuring that Puerto del Carmen is able to compete on a more equal footing with other popular tourist destinations across Europe.

Electric swimming pool heat pumps take the heat out of the outside air and put it into the pool, generally producing three to five units of usable heat energy for every unit of electricity consumed. Why don’t smaller heat pumps do well in cold weather? Colder weather requires the machines to run longer – Although manufacturer hourly heat output ratings multiplied by the longer running hours might suggest that the smaller machine can do the job, a heat pump does not produce heat at anywhere near its rated efficiency when it is forced to run during much of the colder nighttime hours so larger pools require larger heat pumps.

Swimming Pool Covers:
Most swimming pool heat loss occurs at the surface. The least expensive way to maintain a warmer pool is by keeping a cover on the pool during the night time hours, when surface evaporation would otherwise cool the pool down. The cover stops this night time evaporation. Pool covers are not difficult to use and can easily add a few months to your comfortable swim season and Lanzarote swimming pools are no exception even with the year round temperatures we have.
The Pool cover costs is by far out weighed by the money saved in heating bills. In fact all other pool heating methods should only he used in conjunction with a pool cover. Not to do so would be like running your house air conditioner during August with the doors and windows open. The system will still work, but the operating cost will be as much as three times higher.

The Latest photos of the garden and swimming pool

The garden has been cleared up and we have washed down the stone walls. I have ordered you some new picon.
Pump House and filter are in place with a concrete plinth for the heat pump.

• I have used an old beam I had for the BBQ lintel
• The size of the top step of the pool
• Stairs of patio to match the swimming pool stairs and rendering of the pool

Swimming Pools Lanzarote

Swiming Pool Designs

Pools for Recreational Use

If you plan to use your pool primarily to entertain children and friends, you may wish to consider a design that encourages water sports and makes food consumption and preparation easy.

Many pools today are designed with a shallow lounging area and a deep center, making it ideal for playing games such as volleyball. The Lanzarote climate is fantastic for entertaining outdoors so in addition, large decks, patios, and BBQ areas provide a space to socialize, prepare food, and eat.

Pools Designed for Exercise

Pools can also be designed exclusively for exercise. A pool devoted to exercise may be long and narrow a wave machine could be installed to give a current to swim against.

Also, pools designed for recreation can include features to enhance water-based exercise, such as wall-mounted exercise bars.

Pools Designed with Beauty in Mind

An increasing number of villa owners are looking at how pool design can enhance their outdoor environment. Infinity Pools with vanishing edges and perimeter overflow are particularly popular in pool design for its aesthetic qualities.

Perimeter overflow is also incorporated in pools designed for more utilitarian purposes; pools with perimeter overflow can be good for swimming, since overflow prevents the reverberation of waves.

Key Factors to Consider when Designing a Pool

Know what purpose your pool serves. Knowing what you want from the pool–recreation, relaxation, or just beauty–will probably be one of the biggest influencing factors in your pool’s design.