Filling in a swimming pool

[nichio3478]

Hi all,

We've just bought a house with a very dilapidated swimming pool which we need to fill in.

I've just been looking at the cost of getting aggregates delivered and it's no cheap!

I was thinking that given waste disposal is a cost for most projects, would the ability to dump inert material for free be attractive to contractors or is the transport of such waste the big cost?

Thoughts appreciated!

Thanks

[Mr Magooagain]

Sub soil then top soil is best. You could mix some clean hardcore in with the subsoil but I wouldn’t recommend anything else going in there.
Make sure the side’s and base are very well punctured if concrete and blocks.

[Pieman68]

You're opening yourself up to being taken advantage of in my opinion

Our golf club very kindly offered a local contractor similar terms, with the aim being to use the aggregate to level off the 2nd tee

The local contractor then passed the offer on to a contact of his

The 1st load dumped, several of the players thought we had been fly-tipped. Shoes, bathroom sealant tubes and other assorted mixed waste was distributed evenly through the rest (similar texture to horse manure although we were assured it was soil and straw)

Ended up costing us more to have it taken away than the aggregate would have cost!

[Zetec-S]

Yeah, I wouldn't give out an open invite. But plenty of people on facebook like to give away free "soil", if you have means of collecting and transporting it that might be an option. At least you can control what goes in.

[andburg]

Don’t fancy making it a fish pond or just building a deck over the top?

Could even put a hatch in and have a man cave …

[Spare tyre]

For fun you could build a ramp down to it, cover over with steel or something then have a sump pump. Could be cool

But the adult thing is probably not the above

[otolith]

I remember a TV program where they turned a dilapidated swimming pool into a sunken garden - I guess the important thing is making sure that it doesn't turn back into a pool when it rains!

[Semmelweiss]

Mr Magooagain said:

Sub soil then top soil is best. You could mix some clean hardcore in with the subsoil but I wouldn’t recommend anything else going in there.
Make sure the side’s and base are very well punctured if concrete and blocks.

This is the right way to go about it. Shortcuts lead to short-term unsatisfactory results.

Measure the pH of the area surrounding the pool in multiple locations. Dig a hole about half a sq. metre and excavate the topsoil. Excavate about 30cm of subsoil and get an idea of the composition.

Try as best as you can to match the subsoil and topsoil with similar characteristics to fill the pool area. The important thing to remember is to note how your garden drains - if it is on clay / loam / sand.

Where the pool is, you will have a constant reminder if you are going to plant lawn there for many years, unless you rotovate the entire lawn and put a similar layer and depth of topsoil....

Just my opinion, of course. I am sure there are more expert views, who will differ.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

As it seems like its expensive to fill it in, could you not just resurrect it?

[cb31]

Wouldn't you have to demolish the walls and floor, otherwise you would have a "sealed box" which water cannot get away from? It would just become a pool full of soil if there was no drainage.

[lost in espace]

Sump pump and deck over.

[AdeTuono]

Chainsaw Rebuild said:

As it seems like its expensive to fill it in, could you not just resurrect it?

I just bet the OP hadn't thought of that...

[Edible Roadkill]

I like the lowered garden idea is you can somehow sort drainage out.

[otolith]

This is the one I was thinking of, but their pool was a more interesting design to begin with.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zjwr1

[Collectingbrass]

nichio3478 said:

Hi all,

We've just bought a house with a very dilapidated swimming pool which we need to fill in.

I've just been looking at the cost of getting aggregates delivered and it's no cheap!

I was thinking that given waste disposal is a cost for most projects, would the ability to dump inert material for free be attractive to contractors or is the transport of such waste the big cost?

Thoughts appreciated!

Thanks

The thing is you'd probably need to be a licensed tip for any reputable contractor or haulier to consider you, so offering an unlicensed "free" dumping ground leaves you exposed to cowboys and all they can carry. It would be worth checking with your local Environmental Dept that there isn't a minimum volume for licencing that you might come in under.

It would also be worth looking at the lie of the land on the rest of your property with a critical eye. The spoil from the original pool excavation must have gone somewhere and the odds are it won't have gone far. You might be able to refill it with a bit of onsite reshaping.

[jjones]

"Last man on earth" style toilet, diving board with throne attached which deposits directly into the pool. All natural, free solution. May take a while but think of the satisfaction when finally complete.

[paulwirral]

There was a programme on tv recently along the lines of “ Britain’s best shed “ or something along those lines , George Clark I think it was , but he featured an old pool that some had built a roof structure over and was using it as a garden studio .
I’m really not doing it justice as it looked great but you’re halfway there already as you have the pool , the steps lead down to a sunken office and you don’t need that much height due to re purposing the pool depth .

[bobtail4x4]

I was thinking secret bunker.....

[Stella Tortoise]

Get a skateboard.

[Douglas Quaid]

Put water in it and enjoy the feeling floating about in a pool. It’s a dream to have a pool at home.