# Alternative uses for swimming pools



## Annie Mac

Not really sure if this belongs here, but I have only seen talk of pools in Family Safety. We're looking at buying a house. One of the houses we like has an unfenced inground pool. I have zero desire to be responsible for the upkeep of a pool and the added safety hazard (LO is under a year old), not to mention it seems environmentally irresponsible. Plus, we live in an area where you would get MAYBE 3 months use of it. Maybe. And I am just not a fish.

So, what else can we do with it? I suggested to my husband last night that we use it like a big plant pot, ie drill a few drainage holes, put gravel and soil in it and use it as a garden. That seems wrong on one level (I would be damaging something someone spent a lot of money on) and so right on another (I would be growing vegetable resources in a space previously used to suck up a water resource, and sticking it to the idea of suburban family living, which I'm still struggling with the idea of).

Any other ideas?


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## noobmom

A drained pool is as dangerous as a filled pool (falling hazard), so your only option is to fill it in. Unless you absolutely love the house and are willing to pay to have the pool filled in, I would just look elsewhere.


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## laohaire

I was interested in your question and did a few searches. This guy made a koi pond!
http://kilk.com/pond/
More similar ideas: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...563918975.html

The alternative is to simply remove it, seems like it might cost a couple grand to take it out and fill it in.

ETA: Sorry, I (duh) realized the koi pond wouldn't address your safety concerns.


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## 2boyzmama

The garden sounds like a wonderful idea, but that's a LOT of soil!!


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## Annie Mac

@Noobmom: Hmm, I didn't think about a falling hazard. Another thought I had was to leave it unfilled and let my kid use it (when she's older) for things like skateboarding. But who knows what she'll like to do, and yeah, in the meantime, it's a pit in the backyard.

@Laohaire: Wow, I love that guy's pond! Especially his filtering system. I don't think I have that in me, but I love it when people get creative like that.

@2boyz: yep, it IS a lot of soil. But what else do you fill a pool in with? I guess concrete, but yuck. Although maybe with some nice stones over the top, you could create a decent patio. Hmm...


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## MamieCole

When I read the title I assumed you meant kiddie pool. I guess turning it into a sandbox probably isn't very practical, huh?









Honestly, I'd either use it as a pool or buy a different house.


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## surrogate

To fill it in they usually jackhammer the concrete and then truck in dirt to fill, then pound and repeat to make sure it doesnt sink or compact later. Look at spending between 3-5K to do it.

Personally I would just put up a fence and maintain it! I would LOVE to have a pool, and during the months you can use it, it would be great excersise and alot of fun...jmho


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## GuildJenn

We filled in a pool at our first house. It had not been maintained (had a tree growing out of a crack in the shallow end). We did it ourselves but it took quite a lot of effort - we had to take out steel panels, jackhammer the concrete and make SURE it was draining properly, and then fortunately a neighbour a few blocks away was digging a basement so we trucked that over as fill and had to pound it in in layers.

THEN we had to let it settle, level it, till the weeds under, and sod it. It was a 2-year project. I assume with pros it's smoother.

So yes, it's a lot of work. But it was a great yard. We THEN had a raised-bed garden on the site, but really you wouldn't want to fill a deep pool in all with topsoil anyway - you want clean fill that suits your area, and then topsoil on top.


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## seasiren

seems like filling a pool would lower the value of your house. Swimming is too much fun to miss out on. put a fence around it.


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## Epiphany

Check out this gardenpool This family covered their inground pool with a hoop house and turned it into a fantastic greenhouse/ chicken coop/ water filtration system. They tell how they did it on their blog. Looks like a fantastic idea.


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## GuildJenn

Quote:


Originally Posted by *seasiren* 
seems like filling a pool would lower the value of your house. Swimming is too much fun to miss out on. put a fence around it.

In some markets it raises the value not to have a pool. My real estate agent said buyers are pretty much 50-50 pro & anti pool in my area, where pools are really only useable about 3 months of the year.


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## 2boyzmama

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Epiphany* 
Check out this gardenpool This family covered their inground pool with a hoop house and turned it into a fantastic greenhouse/ chicken coop/ water filtration system. They tell how they did it on their blog. Looks like a fantastic idea.

WOW! That's awesome!


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## Epiphany

I agree 2boyzmama! My DH stumbled on their blog last night and we were fascinated. Now I wish we had a pool to convert.


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## Annie Mac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Epiphany* 
Check out this gardenpool This family covered their inground pool with a hoop house and turned it into a fantastic greenhouse/ chicken coop/ water filtration system. They tell how they did it on their blog. Looks like a fantastic idea.

Whoa! Wow! I love it! Makes the pool look a whole lot better now.


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## zebra15

I wouldnt buy the house if you dont plan on fixing or using the pool.


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## Anastasiya

My parents filled in their 16*32 inground pool, 8 feet deep at the deepest, and it didn't cost anywhere near 3-5K. Maybe just under 1K.

Now they are waiting for things to settle and then they'll sod it.


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## Caneel

I also live in an area were pools have maybe a 3 month window of use. Pools are generally thought, at best, to not add value to a house. I know of at least 3 families that filled in their pools, one was a pool they installed, the others filled in the pools of houses they purchased.

Unless you can get clean fill for free, the total fill (fill and top soil) alone will run into the four figures. Last time DH got a load of top soil (but you would not use pure top soil) it was several hundred dollars delivered.


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## ErinYay

Obviously the only viable, long-term solution is:

GIANT BACKYARD BALL PIT!


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## St. Margaret

Erin.

We dislike pools, too, but around here you can use them year round, so until we knew we were staying somewhere forever, we'd probably just fence it, since it would be cheaper. Can't you fence it and drain it, and then not spend money on upkeep? I don't know...

Pool terrify me when it comes to kids, but I do love the idea of having one someday, I love to swim but hate going to the pool


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## odenata

I'm also in an area where a pool is considered a negative selling point, so it really depends on your local market. You could be adding value by getting rid of the thing.

How is the market in your area? One idea would be to make an offer on the house and ask for the sellers to cover the cost of filling in the pool, or to ask for sellers to pay closing costs and use that money to fill in or convert the pool.

That garden pool is amazing...


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## crunchy_mommy

You can check craigslist, ours always has 'free clean fill' posts. I've also heard you can put a sign in your yard saying 'clean fill wanted' and people will just drop it off.

Or you could have steps poured in all around the perimeter & turn it into some sort of amphitheater thing??


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## Annie Mac

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Ball pit, hee hee! We still haven't found a house







and time is crunching down on us, but the pool house is off our list now. Not just because it has a pool, other reasons too. Although our realtor said he'd maintain it if he could come swim in it whenever he wanted to!


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## Arduinna

If you are that anti-pool I would buy a house without one.


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## ErinYay

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Annie Mac* 
Although our realtor said he'd maintain it if he could come swim in it whenever he wanted to!

I see the record home sales low is impacting everyone!









We live in Indiana, so when we were househunting, we didn't consider a house with a pool at all, due to safety issues, but also maintenance costs and increased homeowner's policies. And in an area like this, and probably where you are, too, pools are uncommon enough to make resale a pain due to high numbers of "I'm-not-paying-for-a-pool" buyers. In a warm area where pools can be used year-round, that wouldn't be an issue, and I'd JUMP to buy a pool'd house.

Fiscally, pools don't make sense in areas with 4 distinct seasons for us.


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## MamaPhD

I guess the OPs issue has been resolved. But wanted to quickly add you can't leave a pool drained. The structure needs the weight of the water to stabilize, so if you leave it empty, you are most likely damaging the pool and it will crack and become unsuable very quickly.


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## funkymamajoy

Our neighbors have a nice patio around a kidney shaped lawn.


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## MammaG

I was going to suggest you learn to skateboard in the summer (I thought of a ball-pit, too, with a rope for swinging into it!), then fill it up in December and ice skate all winter.

But that pool garden is seriously awesome!


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## jump mama jump!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaPhD* 
I guess the OPs issue has been resolved. But wanted to quickly add you can't leave a pool drained. The structure needs the weight of the water to stabilize, so if you leave it empty, you are most likely damaging the pool and it will crack and become unsuable very quickly.

Not to mention it will fill with rainwater and quickly become a cesspool of mosquito-breeding. Something to think about especially if triple E/west nile virus is in your area.

ETA: even with a tarp, it will still be weighed down by and collect rain.

We just bought a house with an above ground pool that has not been maintained in 2+ years and is rotting apparently and are getting quotes on and determining how best to destroy and remove it before out neighbors try to kill us due to the mosquitoes.


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## noobmom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaPhD* 
I guess the OPs issue has been resolved. But wanted to quickly add you can't leave a pool drained. The structure needs the weight of the water to stabilize, so if you leave it empty, you are most likely damaging the pool and it will crack and become unsuable very quickly.

I didn't think of this, but that makes sense.


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## Annie Mac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaPhD* 
I guess the OPs issue has been resolved. But wanted to quickly add you can't leave a pool drained. The structure needs the weight of the water to stabilize, so if you leave it empty, you are most likely damaging the pool and it will crack and become unsuable very quickly.

One more reason to not want a pool! Just thought I'd update. We found another house, paperwork going through now, hopefully everything is OK. No pool; however, there is a pond. What's up with people and their water features aka mosquito breeding grounds? I double checked to make sure the sellers were taking their koi with them, and I'm pretty sure I can deal with draining and refilling a pond.


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