Prepare to be pampered: a guide to home spa installation

Who doesn’t love to be pampered? With your very own bespoke pool and spa installation, you don’t have to travel too far to find the respite and relaxation you need to refresh and revive your mind, body and soul. As a leading provider of spa design, installation, servicing and refurbishment, we provide a one-stop-shop for all your spa needs. But what do you need to consider when commissioning the design and installation of a spa at home? In this blog post, we answer all the need-to-know questions…

What is a spa pool?

A spa pool makes a truly wonderful addition to any home or garden. Not to be confused with a hot tub or Jacuzzi, a spa pool is a wellness experience in its own right.

Spa pools are small constructions that are heated and jetted with wellness and relaxation in mind. They can be a sunken or standalone design, or alternatively can be adjoined to a larger, main swimming pool to ensure a complete leisure facility.

In comparison, hot tubs are installed above the ground, and are generally found outdoors but can be fitted indoors too. Unbeknown to most, a Jacuzzi is simply a brand of hot tub. Like spa pools (which we will now refer to simply as spas), hot tubs and Jacuzzis use additional features like massaging jets and heating to deliver a relaxing and therapeutic experience.

What are the benefits of spas?

For those looking to ease the stress that is so commonly encountered in our busy everyday lives, spas provide the perfect remedy. Thanks to their relaxing and rejuvenating features, spending time in a spa pool actively relieves stress as well as soothes the pain and discomfort that go hand-in-hand with a long list of ailments.

The improved blood circulation spa pools promote has also been linked to better cognitive function, enhanced skin and hair health, detoxification, lower blood pressure, and a wide range of other health benefits. A spa is the perfect place to relax alone or to enjoy some much - needed quality time with family and friends.

Integrated or standalone – which should I choose?

The design options are endless for those considering spa installation within their home or garden. The shape, size, styling and luxurious features can all be designed to satisfy your unique requirements. Your spa can also be integrated to enhance the experience provided by your main swimming pool or incorporated as a standalone feature.

Integrated spas are visually impressive. Whether you’re opting for the clean lines of a more contemporary design or embracing the classic, Roman baths inspired look, the wow factor is guaranteed.

By integrating your swimming pool and spa, you have the option of combining their filtration system. This is particularly beneficial where space is at a premium as a combined filtration system will minimise the space required for the plant room whilst still delivering the highest quality water treatment and spa experience.

Opting for a standalone spa can also be aesthetically pleasing, especially in spaces that host a broader range of leisure facilities, such as a gym, steam room and sauna.

Standalone spas ensure that the temperature of the spa water doesn’t impact the temperature of the pool water. Although the same outcome can be achieved by using a dividing wall to separate the pool and spa in an integrated scheme.

When protecting the pool, automatic slatted pool covers can be used to conceal an integrated spa system just as simply as covering a standalone pool and separate swimming pool.

What other spa features can I look forward to?

Whether opting for a standalone spa or an integrated design, there are various features that can be implemented to tailor your home spa.

The seating in your spa pool can be designed to include extended backs and foot wells to ensure a comfortable place to perch and relax for a multiple bathers. Underwater pool lighting can also consolidate the relaxing ambience every spa environment needs.

Hydrotherapy is a vital part of the spa experience. With the use of multiple air and water mix jets within your spa pool, you can enjoy the most stimulating or soothing massages to unlock many benefits.

The Good Spa Guide offers an insight into just some of the rewards that can be reaped with regular hydrotherapy sessions:

“Doctors often prescribe a course of hydrotherapy as part of a treatment programme. Hydrotherapy sessions are also used by athletes to improve and maintain their general health, and fitness, and by others as part of a healthy whole body routine. There is a huge sense of achievement and independence gained from aquatic therapy and water immersion, especially for those who are unable to perform these activities on dry land. The benefits of hydrotherapy also extend to wellbeing.”

Integrated hydrotherapy features can provide a soothing whole body experience or be used to target specific areas. Carefully positioned massage jets can alleviate aches and pains in the back and calves, whilst jet water cannons provide instant relief for neck strain.

Elsewhere in your integrated pool and spa installation, counter current units can be fitted into the pool to offer adjustable current for more rigorous exercise and a very different but just as beneficial approach to maintaining optimum health and wellbeing.

Should I opt for a spa with a movable floor cover?

Movable floors are becoming increasingly popular for pools because they offer so many benefits. The most important of these is being able to close the pool with a solid load bearing floor so that the pool space can be used for any other activity, from a chill out zone to a party space. This means you get to enjoy a versatile, multi-use room without permanently sacrificing space to accommodate the pool. Another benefit of a movable floor in a swimming pool is that you can set different depths for different bathers. For example, providing shallower water for children to paddle safely or extra depth for more experienced swimmers.

It is now possible to have a movable floor on a spa. While these do not have adjustable depths (not need), you have the fantastic benefit of closing off the spa by raising the floor, giving you back the spa space for other activity.

Covering your spa with a movable floor unlocks many perks. As the temperature of the water within your spa needs to be much higher to deliver the health benefits it’s known and loved for, movable floors can supply the effective and convenient coverage needed to reduce heating costs and restore the room atmosphere to normal levels. Spa safety is also enhanced with the use of a movable floor. We partner with Twinscape to provide the spa movable floor.

What do I need to know about spa servicing and refurbishment?

The benefits of professional pool maintenance are undeniable. With regular servicing, cleaning and maintenance, you can continue to make the most of your private pool, and the same applies to your spa pool.

Spa servicing covers many cleaning and maintenance musts. Our engineers will run the pool filter, test and adjust the sanitiser levels, complete visual inspections, undertake water balancing to ensure the spa’s pH is just right, and remove physical dirt and debris to name but a few servicing and maintenance tasks.

If you have a spa that requires refurbishment, our engineers can assist with this too. We have experience bringing old pools and spas back from the brink, transforming them into spaces you can really relish for years to come.

To discover more about our spa design, installation, maintenance and refurbishment services, please contact us today to discuss your requirements.