VANISHING EDGE POOLS

40 years and more than 80 awards later, building first class pools of distinction is still our pride and joy. Founded as a family company, Aloha Pools is renowned for meticulously designing and constructing some of Melbourne’s most spectacular residential pools in the most exclusive areas. We take great pride in our reputation for innovative design, attention to detail and an end result that is nothing short of spectacular.

We believe that every aspect of the pool design and construction process should work in harmony, which is why we work along with inspired landscape architects, designers and builders. We ensure a seamless integration process from design to construction, unparalleled in the industry.

Aloha Pools are designed to create a balance between aesthetics and functionality. The negative edge pool being the perfect example- visually enhancing the surroundings whilst remaining perfect for swimming. It is essential that pools retain aesthetic value so that when un-used it remains an asset to the property.

Aloha vanishing edge pools, designed to produce a visual effect of water vanishing to the horizon, are pools that add stunning value to ones property. Aside from its aesthetic value, the Aloha horizon pool can be an elegant self cleaning pool.

Wet-edge/Vanishing Edge: “A term used for a swimming pool which produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon. The pool appears to be vanishing, or extending to “infinity”. Often the water appears to fall into an ocean, lake, or other similar body of water.”

They are also known as follows:

• Wet-edge

• Vanishing edge

• Negative edge

• Horizon pools

• Spillover edge

Most of these terms depict the style of the pool rather than describing specific construction details. The most common form of wet-edge pool is the “spillover”, where the water gently spills over the side of the wet-edge. In contrast, wet-edge pools with a “wet deck” where the water sits level with the surrounding deck or paving areas. This is bordered by a trough or gutter which sits level with the top of the pool, and the excess water flows through this instead of over the side of the pool.

When it comes to the design of a wet-edge swimming pool the possibilities are nearly infinite as far as the shape and materials that can be used. This allows each vanishing edge pool to be designed and constructed to suit the client.

The design and shape of the swimming pool wall that will form the wet-edge has to be carefully considered. Attention to detail at this stage is critical in order to avoid difficulties during construction. A well thought out design will ensure that the water runs smoothly over the edge of the pool and is caught by the gutter or tank system. High wind areas add another dimension to this challenge, as wind can sweep larger amounts of water over the side of the wet-edge.

All wet-edge swimming pools are constructed with a holding tank, also known as a balance tank. This is a collecting area where the water that spills over the side of the pool is held. The water is then pumped back up to the pool ensuring minimal water loss. In domestic situations, it is only necessary to run these pumps on a part time basis. As such, the holding tank has to be a sufficient size to store any water that may spillover whilst the pump is not running and immediately returning the water back to the pool.

Skimming action (which clears the surface of the water of leaves and other floating debris) takes place along all wet-edge sides of the pool, instead of being limited to the narrow skimmer box used in traditional pool construction.  This means that general floating debris is shed or collected a lot faster than on a conventional concrete swimming pool.

• Vanishing edge swimming pools provides a visual enhancement of the view.
• The water sits level with or even above the surrounding paving level.
• Swimming in a standard lap pool creates waves which bounce off the walls of the pool and create additional turbulence for the swimmer. A wet-edge lap pool eliminates this problem as the waves travel to the edge of the pool and then spillover the sides.
• Balance tanks can be sized to hold additional rain water, which can be used to top up the pool and reduce mains water consumption.