14 replies to this topic

[Chris Dabbs]

Hi Everyone,

Another newbie to the forum here. I'm in the throes of a serious housing project, building an accessible villa in the south west of France with a swimming pool. The simple, but bloody expensive solution to getting in and out of the pool would be a hoist, but I'm baulking at the thousands I need for this.

My current plan is to get a ramp built round two or three sides of the pool so that my chair is level with pool-side. The plan then is to transfer across into a shallow area of the pool, someone I know has made the first 1.5 metres of the pool only 20cm deep, which allows him to keep the "freeboard" from the water surface to the side of the pool and only need a 30cm lift out which I can manage easily enough.

It also provides him with a permanent shallow area to sit around in etc....

I was just wondering if anyone else has come across a different solution in thier time in a chair?

Look forward to hearing from you,


Chris

[Simon]

We have a place we rent to disabledholiday makers in Algarve. If you are doing it to rent, the ramp is way too restrictive as not everyone can use one plus there's the corrosion issue on the w/chair from the water which should be salt water not chlorine for health reasons. If its only for you then suppose it'll work. Otherwise,you only choice is an expensive pool hoist like we've got.

[bubbleandsqueak]

I'm not sure if I understand what your saying but what I understand is that you want a ramp into the pool.

I have an idea of taking the in ground pool and making it above ground/under ground making it about 3-4 ft above ground that way someone in a chair would be able to transfer onto the wall of the pool. And to get out of the pool you could make step like seats so that you would be able to work your way up to the wall rather then having to pull yourself up a 4 ft wall in the water. And same for on the out side, steps going in so one could walk up and then walk down into the pool.

I'm not sure is this would be cheaper but you wouldn't have a lift that could brake down/ need any repairs/up keep.

And would look vary nice If you want me to I could draw something up so you can better under stand it.

Edited by bubbleandsqueak, 21 June 2006 - 06:46 PM.

[russ1]

Chris - your idea sounds pretty good (and not disimilar to bubble and squeaks proposal) - It would suit most paras and some low level (C7 /8 ?) and mobile quads. It's not going to work for everyone but sounds like an excellent compromise if your villa is for you or aimed at rental to paras rather than quads.

The other option is as simon suggests a roll in ramp into the pool itself using a shower chair or similar to get in.

As far as I'm concerned your solution would be far more preferable to me and would sell the villa over one with a traditional pool and a hoist as I don't need a hoist and hate using them but I struggle doing the necessary floor to chair transfer to use a norml pool without. I suspect most para's would agree with me but you are limiting your appeal.

[lune14]

The aquatic center I swim at has great accessbility. One pool is a wave pool which mimicks the ocean as it goes from a depth of 4 inches to 7 feet so it's perfect to roll into, float out of your chair and have your attendant, etc remove your chair from the water. I really enjoy this method of getting into the water and it's SO easy on my shoulders, which have slight impingments.

In addition to the wave pool they have a standard lap pool which is 5 feet in depth. At one end of the lap pool they have incorporated a ramp that goes from the pool's edge gradually down into the 5 foot depth, again allowing you to swim out of your chair. I don't submerge my own chair however but rather the center has this unique chair they have devised from PVC piping, added to standard hard rubber rear wheelchair wheels/tires and added standard 6 inch casters to the front. The seat and back are made from a mesh nylon material allowing you to "drain". It's very easy to shower in as well (although I hose it down with disinfectant before and after I use it personally and I shower in my swimsuit-- no naked bum on something I'm unsure about!!)

They also used standard brakes on the chair and although I can see they will be needing to replace the casters eventually due to rust the whole idea of the pvc piping was a fantastic idea. I will try to take my dig cam out there next time and shoot some pics for you if you'd like??

[Quadzter]

Luna I was wondering if you are able to get any pictures of those chairs. I am working with the city and trying to come up with more accessible pool. Presently our city does not have a facility that I would be able to go swimming in. With my level injury I am unable to use the chair lifts to enter the pool. I'm going to request a lift that you can use a sling with or to put in a ramp. Also the chairs that I've seen don't have enough back support for my level of injury.

Would you have any input or anybody else on my situation.

[DaveP]

Hi Chris

Long time no email! How you doing mate?

I've built several pools for clients and the one that's work well, is this one...



The edge of the pool is 50cm above ground (average wheelchair seat height) so all it takes is a transfer on to the edge, then into the pool. When getting out, the transfer back into the chair is simple - but obviously not suitable for everyone.

This pool is only a small pool but on a larger pool I designed, the edge of the pool was 1m wide, so there was more room for transferring.

Another idea is to ramp on the outside of the pool, so you end up around 50cm below pool level and around 1m away from the edge, then transfer on to the ground area around the pool and then into the pool.

[Quadzter]

Thanks Dave for your input but I am unable to transfer by myself and have to rely on a lift and a sling. The pools that you build are good idea. An idea for you in the future is to add an open cylindrical void with a cap on it so you'd be able to add a lift in the future.

[carpenter]

Quadzter, on Sep 20 2006, 09:58 PM, said:

Thanks Dave for your input but I am unable to transfer by myself and have to rely on a lift and a sling. The pools that you build are good idea. An idea for you in the future is to add an open cylindrical void with a cap on it so you'd be able to add a lift in the future.

Gosh, if you are smart enough and sufficiently wealthy to be building a villa in the south of France, You just have to be able to ask the pool folks to build a pool like the above which you can transfer into, or one which you can run the chair into for a transfer into the water. If any sort of transferring is at issue. That may well be waist deep water which you merely float off into. But what of it? There doesnt seem to be any reason for having a hoist in the picture.


I am not seeing the issue here.

[Quadzter]

Hello Carpenter, I do not know where you got the information in my financial status or where I worK. If you looked I am from Canada not France and I am very poor. The other note about transferring, do you know anything about the level of a quadriplegic in the amount of movement they have? You should check out this site http://www.apparelyz...onality/c4.html and look at the types of paralysis for c3, c4, c5. If a pool where do have a ramp or the proper lift to transfer somebody with my level of injury there would not be any issue.

I didn't think there was any issue to begin with, I was just giving some advice on how to make the previous pool in the picture more accessible for somebody with a high-level injury.

[DaveP]

This thread started off looking for ideas to help make a swimming pool more accessible, without the need to have to buy a hoist or other lifting device, which are very expensive.

If you're designing a swimming pool for a specific person's personal requirements, then that's a different story, but when building a pool as part of a villa for rental to wheelchair users, we're faced with the cold hard fact that we can't always meet everyone's needs, so the aim is to find a compromise that goes towards meeting most people's needs, within a certain budget.

Of course, this means most quads that can't transfer have it harder, but again, the cold hard facts are, that not many high quad want to swim. So if you're working to a tight budget and faced with the decision of whether to cover the extremely high costs of a pool hoist when it's not going to be used very much, unfortunately, most villa owners just can't justify these costs.

I had lengthy discussions with a local hotel about buying a pool hoist and they asked me to justify the costs. They then asked me whether it was more prudent for them to use this money to adapt other rooms or buy the hoist. It's one of those difficult situations with no easy answer!

[Simon]

Hi Quadzter
I'm c4 complete, our pool hoist can take a seat or importantly for higher level tetras like yourself or myself a sling.
Its an Oxford Dipper, you can see it in use here http://www.ouricodom..._poolHoist.html
Sunrise Medical make them http://www.sunrisemedical.com
They are in Canada too, but the hoist costs around £4000 (7500€) which is 10,500 Can$
Hope this helps
Simon

Edited by Simon, 14 October 2006 - 12:13 PM.

[carpenter]

My apologies Quadzter. The response was meant to be to the original poster, Chris, way up top. Some how the reply button latched onto your comment. That was not intended. The comments made are completely irrelevant to your situation.

I do apologize for creating confusions.

[BillS]

Walt Disney World has been adding bump steps to some of their pools. It works out well for me. Here's a picture of the ole at the Wilderness Lodge quiet pool.

[sixtochill]

Yo bro visti dolphinlifts.co.uk. peace.