This was precisely the problem Geoff and Sue Dyckes faced with their two daughters, Hayleigh, 6, and Francesca, 7. “Keeping the girls entertained during the holidays was a constant problem for us. I think school holidays are difficult for everyone with children,” says Sue. “They get bored so quickly.” This year they believe they have found the answer to their problems. Inspired by a successful experiment last year with a 15ft circular inflatable pool, they decided to go the whole hog and build a swimming pool. And not just any swimming pool: reluctant to commit to a full-scale project with professional pool builders that would take up to six months and cost at least £20,000, Geoff and Sue decided to build one themselves in the garden of their home in Crawley, West Sussex.

“It’s been so easy,” says Geoff. “The time-consuming bit was digging the hole, but even that wasn’t too bad. We had a digging-out party one weekend, where I got six friends round and they helped dig. We all had some beer and a big curry afterwards.” Geoff, the director of a financial advisory firm, has no experience of building and describes himself as “your average DIY-er”.

The Dyckes bought the 21ft by 12ft pool in a flat-pack from their local pool supplier, Home Counties pools, for £6,500. The kit came with everything they needed, including wooden panels that bolt together to form the structure, a liner, a filter and an instruction video. They were also given support from the supplier who sold them the kit.

“They were always on the end of the phone if we needed them, and they came round to fit the liner,” says Geoff. “It was important to get it exactly right, so they said they would do it, but everything else we did ourselves. Once we had dug the hole and laid the concrete base, bolting the panels together took us about 45 minutes.”

Filling the 4ft-deep pool was a bit more time-consuming: pumping in the necessary 6,400 gallons of water took 28 hours. “If I was going to do it again,” says Geoff, “I would do the bulk of it at night, as the water flows faster then when other people in the area aren’t using the local supply.” The good news is that you can fill a pool even if there is a hosepipe ban because you are not technically wasting the water. As for the tricky stuff such as filters, heaters and testing the water for bugs, it is not so hard after all. Plumbing the filter in is “straightforward”, Geoff says. The same is true of the heater, which will extend the time they can use the pool by many weeks. Water can be tested for purity at the local pool suppliers.

“Self-assembly pools have opened up pool ownership to pretty much everyone,” says Christine Connor, of the Swimming Pool & Allied Trades Association (SPATA). “And even if you buy a self-assembly pool, you aren’t on your own. If anything goes wrong, someone from SPATA can come out and give you a hand.”

However, Dan Johnson, of themovechannel.com, says a swimming pool is not the best thing to build if you want to add value to your property. “Some buyers might be looking for a house with a pool, but they are in the minority,” he says. “In fact, with a pool you might find yourself alienating buyers who either have small children or don’t want the hassle of maintaining it.”

He adds: “You shouldn’t expect to recoup any of the money you spent on installing the pool on your asking price, should you move.”

This is not something that bothers the Dyckes, especially Hayleigh and Francesca. “I’ve told quite a lot of people at school about the new pool,” says Hayleigh, matter-of-factly. Francesca is having a pool party for her eighth birthday this month. Are their friends envious? “Yes.” The neighbours are pretty impressed, too. “They’ve watched us put it up from start to finish,” says Geoff. “Our next-door neighbour told us that her husband said it might be nice to have one. If you knew him, you’d know that was high praise.”

And the pool is not merely for children. “Although it’s not a full-size pool, you can certainly go for a swim,” says Sue. “And it’s a lovely thing to have, a real focal point for entertaining.” The area around the pool has been landscaped and decking fitted to provide an area for lounging in the sun or hosting barbecues.

Another addition to the pool the Dyckes are considering is a counter-current. This is a machine that sits at one end of the pool, pumping out an artificial current that you can swim against, which means you do not need a huge pool in order to get fit. Other added extras require a bit more consideration. “The girls wanted a slide,” says Sue. “But we decided that wasn’t a very good idea.”

With the summer holidays ominously close for parents of school-age children up and down the country, the Dyckes are confident that they have found the antidote to cries of boredom. Sue says: “When the sun comes out, all children want to do is be near a beach or a pool. If they are, they’re happy. It’s as simple as that.”

Swimming Pool & Allied Trades Association: www.spata.co.uk 01264 356210

Home Counties pools: www.poolboy.co.uk 01403 259755

BZc International (maker of the Dyckes’ Sunsoka pool): 01825 790524, www.bzc.co.uk

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