Ideas needed: Most economical way to fill up a swimming pool?

[sjcruiser]

Hello all,

I have a small pool (about 30,000 - 40,000 gallons) that takes up all my precious space in the back yard. Since it does not get much use, I'm thinking of filling it up (with sand, then soil...) and cover it with grass (or tiles). I'd like to get some ideas to get this done in an economical way. I'm kinda on a tight budget at the moment.

Thanks in advance!
Frank.

[mabrodis]

Just fill it with random dirt you can find, out in country-type places you usually see signs like "Free Dirt" or "Fill Dirt Wanted", they will be right next to "I love you Sam" and "C & S 4ever!" signs . Just look for some old lot that has piles of dirt, then ask around...

[miked]

when i read the title, my first thought was:
neighbor's hose!
lol.

[mabrodis]

Originally Posted by miked

when i read the title, my first thought was:
neighbor's hose!
lol.

LOL! That was my exact thought too...a neighbor's hose in the middle of the night...or better yet a fire hydrant...but he wants to fill IN the pool...odd...ship that pool up here and I'll put it at my house..

[Gumby]

Perfect place to hide the bodies.

[Eduardo96FZJ80]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Perfect place to hide the bodies.

Is that what happened to Hoffa?

[wob]

Charge the neighborhood kids to use it a skate ramp. Then buy dirt with the money.

[2badfjs]

Originally Posted by wob

Charge the neighborhood kids to use it a skate ramp. Then buy dirt with the money.

x2 skate the pool, in ground concrete? skate it!!!!!

where do you live? i'll skate it!

[TJDIV]

John Deere 510 Backhoe.


Got one here in Pensacola you can use.

[NorCalDoug]

Sorry Frank, but tight budgets and good ways to fill/cover pools might be mutually exclusive

How long are you planning on living in the house? If you don't plan to ever move, then fill it with rocks, concrete, boulders, dirt, sand, -- what ever you can find. Since you have budget concerns, you might want to haul all this stuff yourself. Fill dirt can usually be had for free, but you'll need to search the newspaper or craigslist.com for ads.

If you plan to move during the next few years, or don't want to haul several tons of rock/dirt around, it might be better to drain the pool and cover it somehow. How about buiding a deck over it? I don't know how wide your pool is, it shouldn't be too hard to do. This way, when/if you sell the house, the new owner could use the deck as is, or move it and fill the pool.

Long steel I-beams would easily hold the load across the span of your pool.

not necessarily a DIY job though.

Just a thought.

[Shahram]

What should you use to fill up your pool?

Vomit.

You always hear of rock stars dying in a pool of their own vomit. Find an out of work rock star, and work something out. Hey, they've got enough vomit to fill up a pool, and they need money. I don't see the problem with it.

That's capitalism, baby.

[Shahram]

Seriously?

Don't fill it. Have a lawyer friend draw up a nice waiver, bolster your homeowner's insurance, and rent the thing out.

Rent to whom?

Obvious.

[HawkDriver]

Originally Posted by 2badfjs

x2 skate the pool, in ground concrete? skate it!!!!!

where do you live? i'll skate it!

Count me in, shiite if I could be so lucky to have an empty pool in my back yard.

[TJDIV]

FYI:

Going on what Doug said...

my neighbor 2 houses down mentioned to me 3 days AFTER filling in his pool that they might be selling the house. Asked if I was interested. I would've moved INTO that house if the pool had still been there. They beat the hell out of it when they filled it too.....

Now it's a price thing. Looks like the house right next door is going to be mine.....everybody in town is selling selling selling....


FWIW; think long and hard about it, because even a half assed pool is worth something to someone......at least someone looking for a house with a pool.

[sjcruiser]

Thanks, Doug!

I've considered a wooden deck and use the pool as an underground storage place (but the dissed it). However, I also heard that if I leave the pool empty long enough, it's going to float up

I don't plan to sell the house within the next few years; so looks like I'll fill it with dirt/soil/whatever...I'll check on craigslist and local construction sites.

[NorCalDoug]

I think the floating pool thing really depends on where you live, the climate in the winter and the water table in your area.

That's a whole lot of concrete to be floating out of the ground...and I've never heard of a skate park floating up...so I find that story a little hard to believe. I've heard it before too...

Princess nixed it? Who wears the pants in your household? You or the princess. Tell her you're gonna cover it with a deck and that's all there is to it!!!














Yeah, right...

I'm usually in the "yes, dear" camp too.

If it were me filling it, I'd consider what Tom just said -- be careful when filling it, it would be nice to have it be usuable in the future if you consider selling the place.

[scottm]

I saw a hotel pool that floated up, what a mess. It came up at a wierd angle, plumbing dangling, ugly. Toxic waste is where the money is, a couple truckloads in the night then a layer of dirt, you'll be living in a nice lakefront home away from people like me.

[Rich]

It is not a legend. An empty underground pool lower than the water table is just a concrete boat trying to break anchor. During the wet winter the water table can be quite high.

[clemson55]

Make sure you at the very least break holes through the bottom to allow water to drain out. Otherwise all the rain is just going to seep down through the fill and the pool will become a marsh. Had a woman not long ago contact the landscape company I work for and she wanted to just fill in the pool. Told her the same thing.

[calamaridog]

Originally Posted by clemson55

Make sure you at the very least break holes through the bottom to allow water to drain out. Otherwise all the rain is just going to seep down through the fill and the pool will become a marsh. Had a woman not long ago contact the landscape company I work for and she wanted to just fill in the pool. Told her the same thing.

This is what I was thinking. Holes for drainage.

[bamachem]

bulldoze the sides in so they lay int he bottom. punch holes in the deepest part before you do that so the bottom won't hold water. after that, fill w/ construction debris/concrete until about 2' remains. top off w/ some fill dirt, then the top 6-12" with decent top soil then sod over it.

[sjcruiser]

Thanks all for the kind replies! I'm applying a city permit today (had thought that I'd only need to get a permit for building a new living space or something).

[PabloCruise]

I vote with the others urging you to fill it with water and use it!

Anything else will be lowering your property value...

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Pitbulls???

























































Gubs?

[dealmaker]

If the pool takes up all your space then it probably doesn't add value to your property. In fact, it probably detracts for the same reason that you are discovering. Ask some local appraisers. They should know what amenities add/subtract from value for your area.

Usually a pool needs to be "demo'ed" (filled) with a permit. Holes need to be punched in the bottom or else it will turn into a swamp. Soil needs to be compacted in the right way, etc.

If you want to do it cheap, do it the right way or it may end up costing you much more in the long run.

EDIT: Just finished reading the thread and see other people already mentioned most of the issues.

[chitown40]

You all are missing the obvious correct solution.











WASTE COOKING OIL TANK.

[White Shark]

Skate or DIE! I will come over and skate my flesh off, thereby filling your pool in. It may take a few years, but I'm willing to sacrifice my flesh for fat vert and sweet pool coping.