A dad has found a unique way to beat the heatwave by building a swimming pool in his back garden by following YouTube tutorials.
Alex Dodman dreamt of building a swimming pool at this home and thanks to some handy online videos, he did just that.
The 36-year-old ambulance worker has a hand at impressive home DIY projects, but not just your average putting up shelves or hanging a mirror, Alex previously built a home cinema and gym saving £75K, with this latest project being his most impressive yet.
Moving into his home in 2017 with partner Sarah, 36, a HR manager and their two young children Allie, five, and Eddie, two, Alex has been getting busy renovating the family home, ripping it out and starting over, but saved his biggest project until last.
Claiming that his friends and family are used to his wild ideas, Alex underestimated how tough this one would really be, building the pool entirely by himself.
Alex said: "I did everything myself, from picking up the materials and carrying them into my garden, to hiring a digger and digging the hole as well as the tiling and all of the plumbing.
"I watched a video on YouTube on my lunch break of someone building a pool and that same day I was on the phone hiring a mini digger.
"I had dreamt of having pool once the house was renovated, and I'd even earmarked a little patch to hopefully build it on one day.
"When I watched a YouTube video of a woman in Holland building pool, I knew I wanted to do it."
Alex supplies from local builders merchants, and hired a mini digger.
"I started building it in January 2020 and had dug the hole but then covid hit and couldn't get anything materials for ages," he added.
"In retrospect, it was a bit of a blessing that I had to stop. It slowed it down which meant I was able to take my time with what I was buying and ordering and knowing what I needed.
"Because most places were closed, I started buying the things I needed from Facebook market place which was a lot cheaper.
"I bought building blocks from people's left over building projects that were so much cheaper than the first lot of building blocks I bought from the builder's merchants.
"I also got plumbing pipes, the tools to drill the holes and swimming pool equipment from Facebook too, it was great.
"It even has it's own heater so it won't be freezing cold."
Taking up a hobby for DIY, Alex always knew he wanted to build his own swimming pool after seeing a corner of his garden that looked like it needed some TLC, in Saffron Walden, Essex.
Earmarking it for the future, Alex took it upon himself to learn all the skills required.
Buying most of the materials from Facebook, Alex's pool has saved him thousands as it has cost him £10K to build, comparing to more than £12K for a professional, in-built swimming pool.
Alex adds: "I did the whole thing by myself, from putting all the materials in my car and bringing them home to resurfacing the ground to make it flat. It has definitely been a challenge."
Alex took to TikTok to document his handy work, regularly updating his followers with the progress of the pool, with there currently being a 36-part video on the progression.
Alex adds: "I started making TikTok videos of pool in January 2020, so I had backlog of videos I had take so I broke it up and posted it in parts.
"I document a lot of my DIY around house, from the kitchen, to the home office, outdoor gym, pizza oven and the building of the pergola."
