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Pool Houses

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History of Pool Houses

12' x 28' Sandstone Vinyl Pool House
Shown with Virginia Slate Asphalt Shingles, Sliding Glass
Door, Set of Screens & Screened Door

The history of the pool house itself is a bit sketchy, but it probably began as a cluster of bushes on the banks of a river someplace. When those bushes were originally used as a changing room is also uncertain, but it must have been sometime after the famous expulsion from the Garden of Eden, when humans discovered modesty.

The only thing that is certain is that it began with two of the favorite activities of all time – swimming and bathing. These activities, especially before indoor plumbing, were often one and the same, as people, who had to use lakes, rivers, creeks, and ponds, for bathing, would take a swim afterward.

However, in the sixth century, B.C., the Greeks began the history of the public bath, when men and women cleansed themselves in basins near places of physical and mental exercise. Later, the baths became more elaborate, having pools, surrounded by tiers of steps for lounging, as well as large overhead basins, and showers pouring from the open mouths of huge, marble lions.

Although the Greeks started the public bath, the Romans adopted, then adapted, the idea, with a flourish. With their renowned extravagance, they took public bathing, which was already a ritual, to an art form. They built gigantic bathhouses, called thermae, from stone and tile, or, for the elite, marble, with expensive gilding accents. Even the more common bathhouses were luxurious, with vaulted ceilings, well-lighted rooms, colorful mosaics and paintings, and silver faucets. The ingenious engineers of the time even devised a few methods for heating the rooms and the baths, by diverting water from heated natural springs into pipes beneath the pool.

Bathing was a daily – and chiefly public – routine in Roman society, and, apart from its hygienic value, provided one of the most popular ways of socializing, conducting business, and exchanging gossip. Even the wealthy, who had baths in their own homes, often preferred to cleanse themselves at bathhouses, in the company of others.

Many bathhouses had pools, gardens, game rooms, libraries, theaters, lecture halls, sports, recreational facilities, and even live entertainment. After bathing, people could stroll through elaborate gardens and courtyards, watching performers, such as acrobats and jugglers, while enjoying food that they had bought from vendors.

These bathhouses also had dressing rooms with storage niches where patrons could keep their clothes while they bathed. It’s amusing (for us, but, undoubtedly not for the unfortunate bathers of the time) to note that, way back then, thieves were causing much consternation at the bathhouses, as they often raided the nooks while people were enjoying the facilities. As a precaution, many bathers hired the bathhouse slaves, called capsarii, or brought their own servants, to guard their belongings; but this wasn’t always effective, as the heat of the baths lulled many a servant to sleep. Another problem was that the ones who stayed awake often sold their masters’ valuables.

The truly comical part of it is the way in which many of the victims dealt with the crimes, by calling upon the gods to help them to recover their belongings and bring the culprit to justice. They did this through the use of curse tablets, which were entreaties, inscribed upon pieces of lead or pewter, beseeching a god to wreak vengeance upon a thief and retrieve their stolen items.

These tablets were folded or rolled, and cast into springs, or nailed to the doors and walls of the bathhouse. Some of them were written backward, which was thought to be more ominous. Fascinatingly enough, this method was surprisingly effective. Nonetheless, the ones that were truly ingenious were those who transferred ownership of their possessions directly to the god, in hopes that he would demand retribution on his own behalf. Evidently, the fear of the gods at the time was extremely powerful, as many thieves, upon hearing that their names were on the curse tablets, were so frightened that they would purchase the tablets as a way to reverse the curse.

As time passed, the popularity of bathhouses declined (as did the Roman Empire itself), and swimming pools were built for recreation. Because most of them were outdoors, there arose the need to have places for people to change into their swimming attire (apparently, most of these pools were nowhere near clusters of bushes; or, if they were, the bushes must have been thorny!). So, began the reign of the pool house, or cabana (from the Latin, capanna, meaning “little hut”), which was used as a dressing room.

Pool houses soon became ubiquitous on the beaches in resort areas, as well as the grounds of public pools. Today, they are taking their place among the most popular backyard structures, as people are discovering that the presence of a pool is not a prerequisite for owning a pool house. With its new looks, as well as many sophisticated features, including skylights, cupolas, double-paned and screened windows, shutters, and hot tubs, it can be used as anything from a changing room, to a spa, to a guesthouse.

GazeboCreations.com offers pool houses in radiant maintenance-free vinyl, with several choices of colors for vinyl siding, trim, and shingles. Oh, and one thing that should bring you peace of mind – even though you won’t be inviting any Roman bathhouse lurkers to your parties – is that our pool houses are also available with steel doors.

12' x 24' White Vinyl Pool House
Shown with Oxford Gray Asphalt Shingles, Full Set
of Screens & Screened Door

Quick and well packaged delivery. Product is absolutely beautiful.

L.S. - Carriere, MS

Assembly went well and I was impressed with the final product. I will refer you my requests for any gazebos

M.M. – Winter Park, FL

Arrived in a timely fashion, nothing was missing, instructions were easy to follow. I would do business with them again and have recommended them to others.

T.D. - Watsonville, CA

…I must tell you how thrilled we are with the gazebo - we just wish we had done it years ago!

M.S. – Raleigh, NC

We are very pleased with how the gazebo turned out and I would be happy to be a reference for your company.

S.F. – Warrington, PA

…We love it. I had my first nap in [the gazebo] today.

S.E. – Stoughton, WI

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