Millions of families give garden parties every year, but pool parties are even better. You must have been to a pool bar in a hotel on holiday where one of the bars faces onto the water and there are seats in the water, usually totally submerged so that the drinkers can sit at the bar in the water and enjoy their drink. Imagine holding a party in your garden with a pool and an in-pool bar!
These bars are known as pool bars or swim up bars and can be found in hotels, holiday complexes and the gardens of the well-to-do and the clever-with-their-hands.
It is doubtful whether anyone knows for sure where pool bars first turned up but they have been in the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain for a long time. I have also seen them on cruise holidays.
The first alternative is to build, have built or purchase pre-formed. Then you can choose the style that you like. If you are going to purchase a kit and have the vendors install it for you, then you just have to make an appointment and a week later, the job will be finished. If, however, you are going to use a local contractor or do-it-yourself, you will need a drawing, plan or design.
You will be able to get plenty of ideas from the Net and you could download images of styles of pool bars that you like. You can download these pictures and print them off, but it is better to download them into a folder or onto a flash card or memory stick so that you have them all together and you can take them with you to confer with friends, family and contractors.
It should not need to be pointed out that all the materials used in your pool bar must be impervious to and totally unaffected by water and chlorine, which is especially corrosive. This usually leaves a choice of concrete, resin and stone.
Concrete being the cheapest and stone being the most expensive material to use. If you go for concrete, you can have it covered with ceramic tiles. if you pick the correct ceramic tiles, it can look quite stunning or yo could select riven stone tiles which would be cheaper than solid stone or slate.
If you want some sort of entertainment at the bar such as a television or projector, this can be accomplished regardless of the amount of water, but you will require to call in an expert in these matters.
Otherwise, you could just enclose the electronic devices in a box like a fish tank, but do not forget that electrical apparatus has to have ventilation, so you will need a few holes in the sides and a couple of fans driving air into the housing.
It is definitely not a problem to build your own in pool bar and it ought to be a priority if you already have a pool.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now involved with Speedo Swimming Costumes. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Swimwear For Big Busts.