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Eco Plunge Pools: A Design and Build Guide for Small Yards and Gardens
Paperback
General GardeningOutdoorsWater Gardens
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 3 2026
Pages: 338
Weight: 0.74
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
NATURAL POOLS, DESIGNED FOR SMALL SPACES
Natural swimming pools are becoming increasingly popular across America, and for good reason. They offer clear, refreshing water without the chemicals, equipment, and hard landscaping of a conventional pool. Instead, the water becomes part of the landscape, surrounded by plants and natural filtration that feels at home in your garden.
For many homeowners, though, there's a problem. Most natural pool designs assume generous properties with plenty of room for swimming and regeneration. If your backyard is smaller, every part of the design has to count.
A smaller yard doesn't rule out this approach. It just leaves less room for mistakes. The layout, proportions and circulation system all need to be carefully balanced to make the most of the space.
This complete guide gives you four different layouts to choose from, then takes you through the decisions and details needed to turn the right one into a working system.
Emmett Rawlings spent twenty-six years laying block in southern Indiana before building a natural swimming pool in his own fifty-two-foot-wide backyard. The design he developed has now kept his pool clear for eight seasons.
INSIDE, YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO:
- Choose the right layout for your yard, with four small-space designs to compare
- Size the swimming and regeneration zones, so the proportions work properly
- Plan the pool before you dig, with the key dimensions and construction details worked out
- Handle permits and fencing, including the important 42-inch code requirement
- Build the structure from the ground up, including footings, drainage, block, reinforcement and steel
- Install the pool liner, including how to form the corners without stressing the material
- Build the circulation system, from pumps and plumbing to manifolds and correctly sized openings
- Bring the water into balance, and know what to expect as the system establishes
A complete sample build takes you from the initial design through construction and planting, showing how the major elements come together in practice.
You'll also have 64 measured drawings to work from, covering dimensions, construction details and key building stages.
The complete build is explained from the ground up, including the parts a first-time builder is most likely to be unfamiliar with. You'll know what needs to be decided before you start and where mistakes can become expensive.
By the end, you'll know what can realistically fit in your yard, which of the four layouts makes the most sense, and what it takes to build one from excavation to first dip.
If you've been thinking I'd love a natural swimming pool, but my yard is too small, then this book is for you.
Build it once and build it right.
Scroll up and get your copy today.
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