Basement swimming pools in London.
Kensington · W8 · a pool two floors below the streetCompleted work, photograph
Indoor pools below London houses. Engineered, waterproofed and built by one team.
A pool is engineering before it is a room.
A basement pool is an indoor pool below the house, with its own plant. We are NU Projects, design and build in Fulham SW6 since 2010. A basement runs £450 to £780 a sq ft, construction only. Call 020 7731 6841, and a budget estimate typically follows within seven days.
A pool is the heaviest thing a house will ever hold. The slab, the walls and the waterproofing are designed around it first.
A pool hall is a wet room the size of a reception room. Air handling and dehumidification keep the moisture out of the house above.
The plant room needs real space for filtration, heating and air. We draw it early, because it shapes the floor around it.
Waterproofing is designed to BS 8102 Grade 3, the grade for habitable rooms. Drainage and pumps are designed with it, not after it.
Local rules decide the depth. Kensington and Chelsea allows a pool a little extra depth, in one storey.
One team designs, engineers, prices and builds it. Our own quantity surveyor prices it open book.
What the work includes
- Structure designed for the weight of the water
- Pool hall dehumidification and air handling
- A plant room planned in from the first drawing
- Waterproofing to BS 8102 Grade 3
- Spa, steam and changing rooms beside the pool
- Lighting, finishes and joinery to a super prime standard
- Basement swimming pools by area
- Basement swimming pools in Chelsea, Basement swimming pools in Kensington, Basement swimming pools in South Kensington, Basement swimming pools in Holland Park, Basement swimming pools in Notting Hill, Basement swimming pools in Knightsbridge, Basement swimming pools in Belgravia, Basement swimming pools in Mayfair, Basement swimming pools in St John’s Wood, Basement swimming pools in Hampstead, Basement swimming pools in Fulham
- What it costs
- See a range in a minute. Then send us the address for a proper number. Open the calculator
- Where we work
- Fulham, Chelsea, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Mayfair, Notting Hill and Holland Park, Chiswick, Wandsworth, Putney and Barnes, Hampstead and St John’s Wood, Weybridge, Cobham and Oxshott, South Kensington, Marylebone, Bayswater and Maida Vale, Pimlico and Westminster, Battersea and Clapham, Richmond, Twickenham and East Sheen, Islington, Highgate and Primrose Hill, Greenwich, Dulwich, Camden, Wimbledon, Bermondsey, Brixton, Ealing, Acton, Hammersmith and Brook Green, Earl’s Court, Queen’s Park and Kensal Rise, Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury
The plant room is drawn first. It decides the floor around it.
From the first test to the first swim.
- 01
Site and rule
The local basement rule and the ground, tested before design starts.
- 02
Structure for water
Slab, walls and tank designed together by the engineer.
- 03
Plant and air
Filtration, heating and dehumidification sized and placed.
- 04
Consents
Planning, building control and party wall notices handled.
- 05
The cost plan, then one contract
A price built line by line from the drawings. Provisional sums named.
- 06
Build, commission, hand over
Water tested, plant commissioned, then aftercare from the same team.
Ten checks before you appoint a basement pool builder.
- 01
Completed pools, not renders
Ask to see finished pools below ground, with the plant room.
- 02
Who designs the tank
Ask who engineers the pool shell and who checks it.
- 03
The local depth rule
Ask how the council rule limits depth on your site.
- 04
Plant room size
Ask where the plant goes and how it is reached for service.
- 05
Dehumidification
Ask how the pool hall air is kept from the house.
- 06
Waterproofing grade
Ask for BS 8102 Grade 3 and how it is tested.
- 07
Drainage and pumps
Ask what happens if a pump fails. There should be a second.
- 08
Noise and vibration
Ask how plant noise is kept from bedrooms and neighbours.
- 09
Who maintains it
Ask who services the plant after handover.
- 10
One contract
Ask whether design, structure and fit-out sit with one team.
What owners ask before building a pool below ground.
Further reading, from the journal
Can a London basement have a swimming pool?
Often, yes. The structure, the plant and the local rule decide it.
We test all three against the house before design starts.
How much space does a basement pool need?
The pool itself, a surround, and a plant room beside it.
The plant room is often missed. We draw it first.
How do you stop a basement pool making the house damp?
A pool hall has its own air handling and dehumidification.
The air is kept apart from the rest of the house.
What waterproofing does a basement pool need?
We design to BS 8102 Grade 3, the grade for habitable rooms.
Drainage, sumps and pumps are designed with it.
Tell us about the pool.
Your name and one way to reply are enough. It goes straight to the studio.