Читать книгу How to Build a Pool and Hot Tub in your Basement - Adrian Martin - Страница 6

I used a design and modeling tool called Google Sketchup to design my basement. It is free, powerful, and easy enough for the average person to use. Download it from the Google website. I won’t be explaining step-by-step how to use this tool but it has a help section, and YouTube has tutorials. What is most important to understand is that this tool exists and can be very useful at helping you discover the limits of your area as well as spot design problems before you start building.

What you will want to do is take a tape measure and some graph paper down into your basement and start to draw out the length of your walls and to mark the position of important objects like support pillars, windows, doorways, furnaces, water heaters, floor drains, and any roughed-in plumbing. Also note the locations of DWV (drain, waste, ventilation) pipes, and any existing outlets or wiring - like smoke detectors.

Transfer your wall measurements into Sketchup, pull up walls, pop out windows and then create a hot tub shape. Mine was a square with 6 feet by 6 feet of interior space. My swim spa was a rectangle roughly 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. Then, move those shapes around your model, trying them out and seeing where they might fit best.

Originally, I had planned to try to save money by using one set of equipment to handle both pools. I eventually abandoned this idea, but for a while, I was trying hard to keep the pools very close to each other so as to facilitate the sharing of pumps, filters, heaters, and pipes.

Here are a few of the many models I created. You can see the various ways I tried to situate the pools.

Dimensions of my basement. This type of measuring is essential so you can plan the location of equipment.

It took awhile and a lot of 3D modeling to detemine how to layout the pools and other parts of the basement - like the exercise area, bar, and TV.

Here I experiment with placing the pool in a dark corner of the basement, and situating the hot tub near a window.

I got creative by adding water texture and wooden decking texture as well as plants to better understand how things would look, feel and work in this trial layout.

The 6 foot tall figures help understand the space. I also added an exercise bike and table and then tried out the idea of a curved bathroom wall.

The model can be spun and flipped, allowing you to see problem spots. I think the pool is a little cramped. I may have to move it, but where?

Another thing that bothered me was how far apart the pools were. I need them closer so they can share equipment so let’s move the hot tub.

I finally settle on the permanent position of the two pools. I have adequate room for pipeage, while still maximizing the basement space and leaving the room walkable and open.

Now that I know where the pools, TV and bar will be, I can work out a lighting plan, locate outlets, and plan for the equipment area.