Before You Dig
The six decisions that make or break a natural pool, including the one everybody argues about.
A 40 page planning pack for anyone about to build a natural pool, written from ten years of building them. What I design to, why the free advice contradicts itself, and how you'll know in the first year whether you got it wrong.
Send me the packOne email with the pack, then a note from me when I publish something new. No sales sequence.
Six decisions, in the order you have to make them
Most people start with a method, usually the one they saw first on YouTube, and try to bend their site, their climate and their budget to fit it. The pack goes the other way round. Settle these six and the method falls out of them.
Which kind, and how big
Formal natural pool or swim pond. Same methods, same water, very different to live with. Splash, family or lap.
The regeneration zone
18%, 30%, a third or half? The ratio I design to, by climate, with a table for the eight regions where natural pools are most popular.
The filtration system
Airlift, wetland filter or two pumps. A fair hearing for each, and why I build mine the way I do.
The liner
EPDM, RPE, HDPE and PVC compared, the one rule that runs through every plan I draw, and the shortcut that costs you twice.
Your climate
Cold, warm temperate, or hot and tropical. What changes, and the four things that keep water cool.
Ground and structure
The test hole, the groundwater that lifts your liner, holding the walls up, and which timber is safe near the water.
Three tablesSize tiers with the footprint each needs, typical equipment, and what it costs to build in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia.
Two worksheetsA site checklist to take outside, and a decision sheet that tells you which kind of pool you're building.
A look inside a real plan setThree pages from my two-sided wetland plan, so you can see the distance between understanding a natural pool and having a design you can build from.
Written to be read, not skimmed
Two kinds of people, in my experience
Building at home
You'll do the work yourself, or you'll bring in a landscaper or a builder and manage them. Either way, nobody on site has built one of these before, and you want to get it right first time because you've read the posts from people who didn't.
Building for guests
A wellness retreat, a lodge, a guesthouse. You have an architect, maybe a contractor, and none of them has done a natural pool either, because there isn't a natural pool professional within a thousand kilometres of you. You need drawings your team can build from, and somebody to check the thinking.
Who it isn't for. If you want somebody to arrive and build the whole thing turnkey, that's a different conversation, and if you have an experienced specialist nearby, use them. And if you want chlorine-blue water with nothing living in it, a natural pool isn't for you.
I'm Andy. I build these.
I've been designing and building natural pools since 2016 through my company, Leaf & Stone Natural Pools, in Cape Town. We build new pools and convert chlorine pools, and I've made most of the mistakes in this pack at least once on my own jobs, which is how I know what they look like.
I have my own showcase pool in Kalk Bay that runs year-round. Through the DIY Natural Pool Academy I sell plan sets and do one-on-one design work for people building a long way from me, most of them doing the work themselves. Every decision in the pack is one I've had to explain to somebody by video call while they stood in a hole.
"Working with Andy has been wonderful. He has guided us through the process step by step. If you are thinking of building a living pool, Andy is your man. He is responsive, professional, knowledgeable and, most importantly, his pools work. It's the best investment we made during the build. Worth the time, effort and expense, multiple times over."
Lindy van HasseltPrince Albert, South Africa
"Building a natural pool isn't a one-time transaction, it's a journey. Every project is unique, and Andy brings a level of care, expertise and attention that reflects that. From the initial design through construction and ongoing maintenance, he has guided us every step of the way."
Riaan LandmanOwner, Potkook Mountain Lodge
Settle the decisions first. The method falls out of them.
Forty pages, two worksheets, three tables and a look inside a real plan set. Put your email in below and it's on its way.
Send me the packSend me the pack
Put your email in and Before You Dig is on its way.
The pack straight away, then a short series of emails over the next month, and one a month after that. Unsubscribe any time.
Natural pool plans, one-on-one design consultations and courses for people building it themselves, or managing the people who are.
Andy Jamieson has designed and built natural pools since 2016 through Leaf & Stone Natural Pools in Cape Town, South Africa, and consults on builds around the world.
