Swimming Pool & Landscaping

Hi Guys.
I've just had a house built outside Bandung an was wondering if anybody knows any landscaping company that can sort out the garden for me - just more or less level dirt at the moment but I want it planted with low maintenance stuff and possibly a pool -Ideally by one company- so any advice would be welcome - type of pool =type of plants etc

Most of the garden centers around Udon would probably offer this service or would know of someone that does. There is a garden center near the airport on the ring-road that will deliver and plant what you purchase from them.

Re. pools, I would recommend GDL Pools. A friend of mine is having a pool built, the quote he received was 30% less than the competitors in the area. gdl-pools-udon-thani-t12903.html

Thanks for the info -- I have been in touch with a Bangkok company but they seem very expensive - 5000 Bht just to come an do the plans

There's a sponsor on here. Dokya Garden Accessories. I'm sure they do the full landscaping you require.

http://www.udonmap.com/en/udonthani-bus ... ories.html

Thaiice, be careful with swimming pools, you have many different types of pool systems hence price variation. The best and most expensive pool system is the 'overflow edge', top of water level is at top of pool, water runs over, into gutter and into surge tank, surge tank minimum size 7% of pool volume, from surge tank to pumps and filters and back to pool.
The next system is a skimmer box, water level about 120mm below top pool wall, water sucks through the skimmer box, to pumps and filters etc and back to pool.
The cheapest system is one where there is a skimmer box at the end of the pool housed in a large plastic box (600mmX900mm approx) containing the pump also, stay well away from this system as they do not work, they have a bag system to filter water and are extremly labour intensive and very hard to keep water clean. Fine dirt particles goes straight through the bags and water is always dirty, they are sh-t putting it bluntly.

The first two systems work well, your equipment needed for a good system is 1, Sand filter 2, Salt water chlorinator 3, Either Australian or American pumps, Hayward or Hurlcon, stay away from Chinese pumps as they are only good when used as sea anchors. 4, Vaccum system connected to sand filter. The system should be controlled on timers and be fully automatic, all you have to do is balance the water, PH and salt content. Sand filter size and salt water chlorinator size depends on water volume.

Pools are a lot of work so be sure of what you want and dont base your purchase on price alone, I have seen many Thai pool companys leave the expensive equipment off quotations only to hit the client up nearing completion, make sure all is itemized very clearly.

Thanks for the info --

as info read also this: Q: What is the difference between a Sand, Cartridge, or D.E. filter

A: Sand – Filter Range 20 to 40 microns. The oldest and most popular method of filtrations is sand. Sand filters use a special filter sand, normally .45 to .55 mm (also known as pool-grade #20 silica sand), because it has sharp edges that serve to separate particles, allowing filtration to take place. Sand filters are the least expensive of the three types of filters but only filters particles down to 20 to 40 microns in size.

Cartridge – Filter Range 10 to 20 microns. Cartridge filtration has been available for a relatively long time, and recently has begun to enjoy rapid growth and acceptance. When water passes through a cartridge filter, dirt is screened out at the surface of the cartridge element. When clean, the element will trap larger particles, with finer particles being filtered out as the pores of the element become clogged by the larger debris. The cartridge element can be removed and cleaned by pressure washing inside and out with a garden hose.

D.E. (Diatomaceous Earth) – Filtration Range 1 to 3 microns. Many pool professionals consider D.E. filtration to be the finest, because it is capable of removing smaller particles than either sand or cartridge. Diatomaceous earth is a porous powder with microscopic openings, that, when magnified, look like tiny sponges. Clear water can pass through these openings but particles, as small as one to three microns are trapped the first pass
through the media. All D.E. filters have internal elements that become coated with D.E. It is this “filter cake” that strains dirt, dust, algae and some forms of bacteria from the water. Similar to sand filters, when a D.E. filter becomes dirty, it is cleaned either by back washing the clogged D.E. to the “waste” line or regenerating and draining. To restore filtration, a fresh “charge” of D.E. is added to the filter.
my pump and filter from sta-rite ( american made) has cost me 36.000 baht ( set) , price now 40.000 baht...,
1 HP pump adequate enough for my pool from 10 x 5 M...i clean the filter about every 2-3 months depending the usage of the pool, using each time ,2.7kg of DE powder, 1 bag 20kg = between 900-1200 baht ....
in my case , i take out the element , hose it clean with the water hose , replace , and add the DE powder, all this takes less than 30 minutes , but for some maybe all ready to much work...
i have a friend , who has a sand filter pool ,( now with zeolite) his water never comes near the clarity of my pool + he always has some problem..., he is now planning to follow my advice replacing the sand filter by a DE filter , so he also get rid of all his headache...
i am using a floating chlorinator, with 90% chlorine tablets inside, very easy and never had problems...
and the automated chlorinators use in a saltwater pools are expensive ( if you buy the good ones ) , you can buy a lot chlorine for this over the years , only saltwater is more skin friendly than chlorine , but i think i will not die from this...
and indeed , stay away from all things made in china....
as of skimmer system or overflow ( and surely not the coffee bag system , in the stair)
depending the size of the pool , if go bigger than 10x5m i would advice an overflow, you can also make a
semi -overflow,up to 10x5m skimmer system ok...
no matter what system you choose , as long as you are happy..
good luck....