Stainless Steel Pool Renovation

A large number of public swimming pools in Sweden and Scandinavia were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and in recent years many have needed complete renovation because of leaks. An alternative to traditional repair, which normally includes demolition, concrete casting, waterproofing and tiling, is to cover the leaking basin in stainless sheeting.

A new stainless steel pool can be installed in your existing concrete pool. If the concrete structure is not sufficiently stable, the framework can be built as a self-sustaining structure during renovation. Renovating your pool in steel will give you a guaranteed watertight design with a more-or-less unlimited lifespan. Renovating your pool in steel allows you to choose any shape you like.

In older pool models, the water surface is normally around 3 decimeters or a foot below the edge of the pool. When we renovate in steel, we raise the water surface to deck level and install new bottom inlet channels on the existing pool floor – all to leave the existing concrete as intact as possible.

A swimming pool renovated in stainless steel has very low maintenance costs. It is also completely recyclable, and these two parameters are very important in life-cycle costing.

CapEx and OpEx are used as expense models to evaluate the most suitable option, whether building a new or renovating an old swimming pool. Both capital expenditures for installation and operating expenditures were crucial parameters for the Ollerup gymnastikhøjskole in Denmark in planning the renovation of the school’s outdoor swimming pool, which was built in the 1920s.

Ollerup Gymnastikhøjskole, Denmark 2015

Preparatory Work

• Recess for two centrally located bottom inlet channels
• Shortened pool wall height for new overflow channel at deck level

Renovated Swimming Pool

• Two centrally located bottom inlet channels
• New overflow channels lengthwise
• Covering of existing walls and pool floor in the same advanced three-dimensional design that existed previously
• Underwater lighting and underwater windows

The capital expenditures for our installation were 20%–25% less expensive than a cast and tiled pool. Operating expenditures over time are next to nothing, amounting to 77% less than a cast and tiled pool.

Swimming Facility, Ludvika, Sweden, 2012–2013

The pool was built in 1966 and most recently renovated in tile in 2007. Shortly afterward, tiles began to loosen and eventually the entire pool floor had come loose. In 2012, SteelPool Sweden AB was contracted to renovate the swimming pool in steel, and this work was completed in 2013.

Modernization of the competition pool was included in the renovation project.

The water surface was previously 3 decimeters below deck. To raise the water surface to deck level, a cut was made in the concrete, and we placed a new overflow channel at a higher level.

This raised the water surface. Next, we covered the existing pool walls with steel.

The pool was equipped with new bottom inlet channels for improved water circulation. These were placed in the existing pool floor. We wanted to leave the existing concrete structure – in this case 45-year-old concrete – as intact as possible.

Water is added through a single bored hole in the concrete wall. The hole need not be watertight, because the steel pool is the new waterproofing layer.

Cost Analysis of the Ludvika Pool
The tile renovation in 2007 was 8% more expensive than installing a new steel pool in the existing pool basin. The tile renovation was expected to last for at least 15 years – but it didn’t. The municipality had to start looking for alternatives after only four years because the tiles on the pool floor were coming loose.

The new steel pool will last forever, with very little maintenance.