When summer finishes and daylight savings comes to an end, the weather starts getting colder. Many people find their attention starts turning towards the coming winter and the possibility of snow and going skiing.
But believe it or not, there are many good reasons why the thing you really should be thinking about in Autumn is splashing about in your new swimming pool!
In over 30+ years of designing and creating hundreds of gardens for our clients, many of which have included a wonderful new swimming pool, we've discovered there are essentially two sorts of people.
Those who talk about getting a pool installed in their garden. And those who actually do get a pool installed in their garden.
The key difference between the two is those who don't try and do it when summer is already approaching. The earlier you plan to get your garden transformed to include a new swimming pool, the more likely it is that you will proceed. And the more likely it is that you will save money and get the job done quicker.
There are many reasons why it can be a lot smarter to start planning your new swimming pool when the weather starts getting cooler after Summer has finished. Not the least of which is you dramatically increase your chances of being able to enjoy Christmas Day with your family and friends, having fun around your new pool.
Here are just a few reasons why it's smarter to begin thinking about swimming when everyone else is thinking about snow!
Get a better swimming pool deal
Usually, people don't start thinking about swimming pools until the Spring when the weather starts getting warmer and they can feel the Summer approaching. But the best time of the year to really be thinking about a Swimming Pool is in Autumn before Winter even sets in.
There are many reasons why this is the best time of year to start your swimming pool project, not least of which is, if you start planning in Autumn, you can have your pool finished and ready to enjoy at the start of Summer.
Just like it's always cheaper to buy a heater in Summer and an air-conditioner in Winter, the same tends to be true of a Swimming Pool. Business is a lot quieter in Swimming Pool display centres after Summer ends and the cold weather approaches. So they are keener to do deals and offer savings to get a contract signed for the next Summer.
If you shop around at this time of year you will tend to find the swimming pool companies more open to bargaining with you to keep the sales turning over.
Shorter council permit queues?
When it comes to landscaping your garden and installing a swimming pool there are some very important steps we must complete before we can commence work.
Often the most important of these are the council permits. You simply cannot undertake major works around your home these days without getting a council permit to do so, especially if those works entail installing a swimming pool or constructing a deck, pergola, outdoor kitchen etc.
These permits can take weeks to obtain, even sometimes months. Your worst possible scenario for your new pool is having everything ready to go and be finished in time for Summer, only to have all works held up waiting for the council to approve the work. This can and does happen.
But if you get your permit applications in well in advance of Spring, you increase the chance of getting your permit approved in time to have the pool installed and the landscaping done before Summer gets underway.
And just like swimming pool companies can be quieter over Autumn/Winter so too can councils be a little quieter with not as many works in progress. This can mean fewer applications for permits going through and that can potentially speed up yours. (No promises of course, as councils tend to be a law unto themselves and take their own time with anything. But the odds tend to be more in your favour at the quieter time of year.)
Allowing time to get the job done
In our experience, most people who plan a new garden including a swimming pool, often underestimate the time it takes to complete the project.
Not the actual construction work itself but the total time of the project from beginning to end.
Depending on no unpredictable factors and everything running according to plan, installing a new pool and constructing the garden around it, including decking etc, should only take a couple of months maximum. (This can depend on how complex the site is however and whether it is very steep or there are difficulties accessing it.)
But before any work can commence, there is the whole design process for the garden, selecting the right pool, going through the Master Plan stage, engineering drawings (where necessary) and of course the above-mentioned council permits. These aspects of the project can easily take 3-4 months or more.
So it's not hard to see how a new garden project that was briefed by a client in mid-Autumn, could still take up to Christmas to be fully complete. So the sooner you start, the sooner the project will be completed.
How we streamline the process
At Whyte Gardens we are a fully integrated landscape design & construction company. What that means is that we take new garden projects all the way from conception through to completion.
There are many benefits to dealing with a 'one-stop shop' like ours. Not the least of which is time efficiency, which can lead to projects being completed much faster.
If you choose to get your garden designed by a landscape designer or architect and then have to get it constructed by a separate landscaping company, you can end up having multiple issues which can slow down a project dramatically.
The first issue is that different landscape designers take their work up to different levels of completion. Some simply design the garden (complete with the pool) hand the Concept Design over to you and leave you to manage the task of finding a landscaper to then construct your garden. Others take the design a few steps further up to what is called the Master Plan stage. This involves several additional steps closer to the work commencing.
Other landscape designers will manage the process of getting landscapers to effectively tender for the work or recommend one to you, however, there can then be confusion as to who is project managing the work.
In all these different scenarios involving separate design and landscaping companies, one thing often occurs. Confusion as to who is doing which particular part of the project and who is in charge of managing the whole thing.
This can lead to much 'toing and froing' between the various parties involved and a lot of conversations that include the opening line "But I thought that YOU were going to do that step...!!"
In the worst possible scenario, you, the client, can end up effectively project managing your own job and trying to coordinate all the various parties involved, including tradesmen, pool installers, etc
In these types of situations, it's likely for things to go wrong which can often add weeks or even months to a job that should have gone smoothly if it had all been managed under the one roof.
And that is what we at Whyte Gardens can do for you. As an all-inclusive design and construction business, the entire project stays with us from start to finish. We understand exactly what role each member of our team plays and more importantly, we've all worked together for years so we know how each other operates. The handover of the project between the various stages is smooth and fully integrated. We have an overall project manager on the job to see it all goes smoothly and is well coordinated to make the work happen most efficiently.
This alone can shave months off a new garden build compared to doing it the other way.
So what we can say with confidence is that if you are keen to get started on a new garden that includes a pool we can take you through that project probably smoother and quicker than most others.
If you'd like to get started here are a few articles to read that might also help you.
Which is better - a fibreglass or concrete pool?
How to avoid costly mistakes when installing a pool
When do you need a landscape designer?
If you have any questions at all about the whole process please feel free to get in contact with us by phone or email. We are more than happy to answer them for you.
Alternatively, if you'd like a free, no-obligation discussion with one of our designers please feel free to book a call with them using the below link:
