Six facts behind the safest rooftop pool builder in Cairo
Safe, on a roof, means three things: the slab carries the water, the floor below stays dry, and somebody answers for both for decades. You can check each fact below before signing.
- Structural engineering in house. The engineer who works out what your slab is carrying is on our staff, and answers to the same company that pours the shell.
- Hydraulic and MEP engineering in house too. The pipework, the drainage, the pumps, the electrics and, indoors, the air handling all get designed by people on our side of the table.
- Our own site crews. The people fixing the steel and laying the waterproofing on your roof work for us, on our payroll.
- Two waterproofing names you can look up. Sika and BASF Master Builders Solutions. The system chosen for your pool is named on the quote.
- The warranty is written. On pools we build: 25 years on the structure, 10 on the waterproofing, 5 on the electromechanical works, in writing.
- One accountable team. The same company carries the pool from the first drawing through to maintenance after handover.
Every part of a rooftop pool that can go wrong sits with one company, with its name on the warranty.
One name since 2001, one office in Nasr City
We have built pools in Egypt since 2001, twenty five years under one name. The office is at 15 El-Lewaa Mahmoud Samy Basha, Al Mintaqah as Sādisah, Nasr City, Cairo Governorate 10506, Egypt. Office hours are Saturday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm. Closed Friday.
A ten year promise on waterproofing above somebody's bedroom only counts if the company that wrote it still answers the phone in year nine.
A rooftop pool gets designed with the building under it
A pool on a roof turns water, tile and equipment into a permanent weight on a slab with homes or offices beneath it. So the structure, the waterproofing and the drainage get designed together, with the building.
The load on the slab
What the slab can carry comes from the building's structural drawings and from what is already sitting on that roof. Our structural engineers work it out before any figure is discussed, looking past the slab to the beams and columns under it.
The answer decides the size of the pool, the depth of the water and where on the roof it can sit. Sometimes the pool moves over a stronger part of the frame, gets shallower, or becomes a plunge pool or a spa. Whatever the answer, you hear it from our engineers, with the reason, before you see a price.
Waterproofing over rooms people live in
On a roof, the waterproofing protects the ceilings of the people below as much as the pool itself. It goes on as a full system from Sika or BASF Master Builders Solutions, detailed around every pipe, light, outlet and joint that passes through the shell.
Waterproofing on a pool we build carries the 10 year written term. If you already have a rooftop pool losing water, or a damp ceiling under one, that is a different job, and it starts with our leak detection and waterproofing work, which finds where the water goes before anything gets opened.
Drainage and the plant room on a roof
Three kinds of water have to leave a roof pool by a planned route: the water on the deck after a swim, the backwash from the filter, and the pool itself when it has to be emptied. Each route gets designed with the building's drainage, so none of it ends up in a stairwell or on the balcony below.
The plant room needs a place with space, ventilation and its own drain, close enough to the pool to work well. Pumps, filters and vessels also need a way up. The service lift, the stairs and crane access get checked at the site visit, because on a finished building they decide which equipment can be used.
| Pool in a garden | Pool on a roof | |
|---|---|---|
| What carries the water | The ground | The slab, the beams and the columns |
| Where a leak shows | In the soil | In the ceiling below |
| Who gets involved | You and the builder | You, the building's engineer, the owners or management, the builder |
| How equipment arrives | By truck to the garden | Lift, stairs or crane |
| Programme | 90-day standard | Scheduled individually |
An indoor pool gets designed with the air around it
An indoor pool puts warm water inside a closed room, and that water gives moisture to the air every hour of the day. The ventilation, the dehumidification and the heating get designed alongside the pool by our MEP engineers, with the room's walls, glass and ceiling in mind.
Humidity, ventilation and the room itself
Damp air settles on the coolest surface in the room, so glass fogs, paint lifts and metal fittings rust. So the air system gets sized to the pool and the way it will be used, with fresh air coming in, damp air going out, and the air moving across the glass and the outside walls.
Tile, stone and fittings that suit a warm, wet room get chosen at the design stage, so the damp stays in the pool hall.
Heating the water through a Cairo winter
Most people who build indoors want to swim all year, so heating usually goes into the design from the start. Water temperature, air temperature and the size of the air system are worked out together, because warmer water puts more moisture into the room.
Pumps, filters and fittings come from Hayward, Pentair, AstralPool and Aqua Water Systems, with Schneider Electric on the automation.
The five stages for a pool above the ground or under a roof
Every pool we build goes through the same five stages. On a roof or indoors, the first two carry more of the work, because that is where the building gets checked.
| Stage | On a rooftop or indoor pool |
|---|---|
| 1. Consultation | The site visit covers the roof or the room, the access, the drainage and the space for a plant room. The visit and the consultation are free. |
| 2. Design and engineering | Our engineers settle the load, the shell, the waterproofing, the drainage, the pipework, the electrics and, indoors, the air and the heating. |
| 3. Construction | The shell, the waterproofing system and the pipework, built by our own site crews. |
| 4. Equipment and finishing | Pumps, filters, heating, lighting and automation go into the plant room, and the tile, mosaic or stone goes on. |
| 5. Commissioning and handover | Water in, every system started and set, and the pool handed over with the warranty in writing. |
The stages are the same ones behind our pool construction in Cairo for gardens and villas. The difference on a roof or indoors is the programme: larger, rooftop, indoor and custom pools are scheduled individually, and the dates are set at the design stage.
For architects, structural engineers and hotel project teams
If you are designing the building, the best time to bring the pool in is while the slab and the services are still on paper.
Resort and hotel pools get designed with your architects and consultants. Our structural, hydraulic and MEP engineering stays in house, so drawings, revisions and site questions come back from one company, and your structural engineer deals with an engineer.
Where rooftop and indoor pools go in across Greater Cairo
Crews leave the Nasr City office six days a week. If you are weighing up any swimming pool company Cairo has for a roof, ask where its engineers sit and how far its crews travel. These are the places we work.
| Part of the city | Where roofs and indoor pools come up |
|---|---|
| East Cairo | Nasr City apartment roofs, Heliopolis, Madinaty |
| New Cairo | Fifth Settlement penthouses, Mostakbal City roof terraces, the New Administrative Capital towers |
| West Cairo | Sheikh Zayed, 6th of October |
| Outside Cairo | the North Coast, Ain Sokhna, the Delta, Upper Egypt |
Work outside Greater Cairo is confirmed after a site visit.
Measured against a contractor who only builds in gardens
A garden pool contractor often has nobody to ask about a slab, which leaves you hiring a structural engineer, a waterproofing company and an MEP designer separately. None of them answers for the whole pool.
With us you get structural, hydraulic and MEP engineering under one roof, our own site crews, a named waterproofing system and a warranty split between structure, waterproofing and equipment, all from one company.
Who should talk to another contractor
If you want the pool poured before an engineer has looked at the slab, go elsewhere. Our rooftop work starts with the consultation and the design, in that order.
If the lowest figure decides it, we are the wrong company, and we will say so on the first call. In-house engineers, our own crews and a written warranty cost more than labour put together for one job.
How the price and the programme are set, after a free site visit
Six things set the figure on a rooftop or indoor pool, and a photograph shows none of them.
- The structure. What the slab carries now, and what it can take.
- Size and depth. The volume of water decides the weight.
- The waterproofing system. Chosen for the pool and the rooms below it.
- Drainage and the plant room. Where the water goes and where the equipment sits.
- Access. Lift, stairs or crane for the equipment and materials.
- Indoors, the air and the heating. Ventilation, dehumidification and water heating.
Seeing the roof costs you nothing, nor does the consultation, and you are under no obligation. Our own rate book sets the figure. The programme gets set at the design stage and written down before you sign. Milestone payments, or a deposit and six monthly instalments against post-dated cheques. On milestone terms, each instalment falls due when a construction stage is finished and inspected.
Call or WhatsApp +20 102 626 1818 and pick a day for the site visit.
Eight answers to have before anyone quotes a rooftop or indoor pool
Ask for these from your building's engineer or management, or have them ready for the site visit.
- The structural drawings for the building, or the name of the engineer who holds them.
- What already sits on the roof, such as tanks, units or a garden.
- Written approval from the building's owners or management for a pool on that roof.
- The drainage points on the roof, and where they run down the building.
- A space for the plant room, with power and a drain.
- The size of the service lift, or whether a crane can reach the roof.
- For an indoor pool, a route for fresh air and extract, through a wall, a riser or the roof.
- How you will use it, so the depth, the heating and the air get sized to the swimming.
Frequently asked questions about rooftop and indoor pools
Can any roof take a swimming pool? That depends on the slab, the frame under it and what already sits on the roof. Our structural engineers work it out from the building's drawings and tell you the size of pool the roof can carry, or that it cannot carry one.
How long does a rooftop or indoor pool take to build? Larger, rooftop, indoor and custom pools are scheduled individually. The programme gets set at the design stage and written down before you sign.
What stops a rooftop pool leaking into the flat below? A full waterproofing system from Sika or BASF Master Builders Solutions, detailed around every pipe and joint, with drainage routes designed with the building. On pools we build: 25 years on the structure, 10 on the waterproofing, 5 on the electromechanical works, in writing. On a repair to another company's pool, the term is agreed per job and written on the quote.
Why does an indoor pool room need its own air system? Warm water keeps putting moisture into the room, and without ventilation and dehumidification sized to the pool it settles on the glass, the walls and the ceiling.
What does a rooftop or indoor pool cost? It depends on the structure, the size, the waterproofing, the drainage, the access and, indoors, the air and the heating. The site visit and the quote are both free, off our own rate book, with no obligation.
Do you build rooftop pools in Nasr City? Yes. Our office is in the district, and rooftop pools around our Nasr City office are the shortest trip our engineers and crews make.
Can you put a pool on a tower in the New Administrative Capital? Yes, when the slab and the developer's approval allow it. We work with architects, developers and main contractors on pools going into the New Administrative Capital, where most buildings are still going up.
Can I add a pool to a penthouse terrace in Mostakbal City? Often, once the terrace slab, the waterproofing and the drainage have been checked. Roof terrace pools in Mostakbal City are inside the area our crews cover from Nasr City.
Send us the drawings and book the site visit
Tell us where the pool goes, how big you want it, and who holds the building's drawings. After the site visit and the engineering, you get a quote off our own rate book with the programme in it. Say no and you owe us nothing.
Call or WhatsApp +20 102 626 1818, email info@arcgroup-eg.com, or send us your project details. The office is at 15 El-Lewaa Mahmoud Samy Basha, Al Mintaqah as Sādisah, Nasr City, Cairo Governorate 10506, Egypt. Office hours are Saturday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm. Closed Friday.