overflow swimming pools
It is impossible not to be amazed in front of an overflow pool. You immediately want to get closer, touch the water, dive ...
Overflow pools are actually built with very high technological standards and often offer wonderful scenic effects.
But what exactly is an overflow pool?
The vast majority of people think that when we talk about an overflow pool we are talking about a pool with a panoramic effect, also called an infinity pool. However, this is a big misunderstanding given that an overflow pool can be built in various ways, plus with different types of water overflow.
As the word itself suggests, in an overflow pool the water touches the edge of the pool and flows gently along the walls, ending up in a channel located on one side of the pool or along the entire perimeter.
Unlike the skimmer pool, in which the water recirculation takes place through the skimmers (nozzles positioned on one of the walls), the filtration in this kind of pool is much more efficient in terms of maintaining the quality of the water, which is always quite crystalline.
The overflow pool is much more elegant and prestigious.
Since the water level in these pools reaches the top of the edge, all the space that goes from the water surface to the upper edge of the pool is absent, with a much better aesthetic result.
The indisputable technological and aesthetic superiority of this type of construction logically increases its costs, but the overflow pool offers so many advantages that it can be considered without a shadow of a doubt THE pool par excellence.
There are actually five different categories of overflow and you can find a description for each of them right below.
INFINITY OVERFLOW
The infinity pool is the ideal solution for those who love the visual continuity between sea and sky or between earth and sky.
The water level reaches the limit of the wall and then falls by gravity into a compensation tank thus creating a spectacular cascade effect. The water can alternatively fall in a choreographed way into a smaller tank set at a lower level than the main one.
FLUSH OR ZERO-EDGE OVERFLOW
In flush or zero-edge pools, the water reaches the limit of the wall and flushes beyond the edge before falling by gravity into a slot, reaching the overflow tank.
Considering the absence of overflow channels, the visual effect is clean and modern. It is also possible to customize the edge by choosing different materials for its building.
HIDDEN OR UNDER-EDGE OVERFLOW
The hidden overflow swimming pool has revolutionized the concept of water overflowing. The pool’s water overflows under the pool’s edge, along the perimeter, hiding the overflow channel, thus achieving a clean and aesthetic final result.
Thanks to this technology it’s possible to easily adjust the level of the overflow that may eventually undergo some changes due to the settling of the ground or geological events.
TRADITIONAL OVERFLOW
The traditional overflow pool is made with a whole perimeter overflow channel.
The water comes flush with the outside pavement overflowing in a classical duct or into splits directly cut in the floor or at the edge.
RAISED OVERFLOW
In the raised overflow pool, the water flows out of edge into a channel placed at a lower level than the surface of the pool, forming in some cases a real cascade effect, and in others a simple wall of water flowing elegantly on the edge of the pool.
This is in fact a special type of flush overflow, with the difference that the edge of the pool is raised along the entire perimeter or along one or more sides.
The particular design of this type of swimming pool easily adapts to wavy, steep terrains with the cascading sides placed in sloping areas.