Empty my pool

[CallumWK]

I have a 6 x 11 meter inground pool, and I consider emptying it, because it is more a burden than it is an enjoyment.

The house with pool was built 15 years ago, but I very rarely use it, and I'm single. At the same time it has to be maintained, and it actually prevents me from traveling for an extended period of time, because of that.

So I consider from emptying it and covering.

I have read on the internet about pools that get lifted out of the ground, or get cracks in the floor, because of the groundwater.

My pool is tiled concrete.

What are the risks here, considering I live in a flood free area. I have a 35 meter deep bore, and I have to put a timer on it, otherwise the pump runs dry after 10 minutes.

Edited November 13 by CallumWK

[Bagwain]

12 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I have a 6 x 11 meter inground pool, and I consider emptying it, because it is more a burden than it is an enjoyment.

The house with pool was built 15 years ago, but I very rarely use it, and I'm single. At the same time it has to be maintained, and it actually prevents me from traveling for an extended period of time, because of that.

So I consider from emptying it and covering.

I have read on the internet about pools that get lifted out of the ground, or get cracks in the floor, because of the groundwater.

My pool is tiled concrete.

What are the risks here, considering I live in a flood free area. I have a 35 meter deep bore, and I have to put a timer on it, otherwise the pump runs dry after 10 minutes.

It comes down to the level of the ground water. If you had it built, then do you remember if there was any water after the dig? 

If you are going to fill it, why worry?

[CallumWK]

16 minutes ago, Bagwain said:

It comes down to the level of the ground water. If you had it built, then do you remember if there was any water after the dig? 

If you are going to fill it, why worry?

 

Not sure something was lost in translation, but where you got the impression I'm going to fill it?

I consider emptying it, and leaving it empty indefinitely.

Firstly I planned to fill it with soil and make a flower bed of it, but friends advised against that, since it would render the pool unrecoverable if I ever decide to sell the house.

I don't recall if there was water after we dug the hole, but I think not.

The info about the borehole pump, which hangs at a 35 meter depth and runs dry after 10 minutes, as I presume that is an indication that the groundwater table is very low.

The pump is on an automatic timer, which runs it for 10 minute cycles every 30 minutes, to prevent it running dry. The borehole feeds my inground storage tanks, not the pool directly.

[jcmj]

There are several pool maintenance companies that you can use if you want to travel. If it’s a matter of cost then just empty it, as you stated, and fill it up when you plan to sell. Emptying the pool should cause no issues as it is cement and tile. It may need rerouted before you fill it up again and not sure about the pump. It’ll just look ugly, but if it’s a burden just do it. 

[degrub]

Depending on soil and pool depth, emptying a pool can cause cracks in the walls from both the weight of the soil, changing soil moisture cycles,  and hydraulic pressure. Now if they designed to walls to resist all of that for long periods,  then sure, should not have an issue. 

[SiSePuede419]

I rented a villa on a Thai island.  The pool was just steps outside.  We had to share the pool with other guests, but for the most part it was like having a private pool.

They even had a pool maintenance guy come by once a week.  Not enough.

There was a tree in the neighborhood nearby that had flowers that the wind would blow into the pool.

The French landlord was too cheap to buy a strainer or just didn't care and I ended up cleaning out the flowers and leaves from the pool WITH MY HANDS every single time I wanted to swim in it.

Pools are for stupid people.

Let's leave it at that. 😄

Edited November 14 by SiSePuede419

[The Old Bull]

The trick is to know someone with a pool not to own one. Every pool owner I know spends more time fiddling with it than swimming in it.

[Andycoops]

I didn't bother building a pool after I visited other expat house's and after a short period of time the novelty wore off and nobody was interested in putting in the time and effort of keeping it up just for appearances sake.

[Gsxrnz]

Put a cover over it, turn the pump off and forget it. Top it up once a year. You could leave it unattended for years and the water will still be recoverable.

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, The Old Bull said:

The trick is to know someone with a pool not to own one. Every pool owner I know spends more time fiddling with it than swimming in it.

 

I have a pool, love it and use it every day.

 

Cannot remeber the last time I "fiddled" with it ....... pool company takes care of everything.

[wolf81]

2 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

The trick is to know someone with a pool not to own one. Every pool owner I know spends more time fiddling with it than swimming in it.

 

I got a pool (2.5 x 12.5 meter) and it's pretty easy to maintain. I clean it about once every 2 weeks and it's about an hour of work - removing leaves, vacuuming in bottom of the pool & filtering the water.

 

I kinda enjoy that hour, as it's a bit of physical exercise, a nice distraction of my daily work of software engineer.

 

I also love swimming, try to swim every day. So make good use of it. 

Edited November 15 by wolf81

[spidermike007]

I think pools only makes sense if you use them a lot, or if you have a family that loves them. I've had pools before, I never used them enough to justify the high degree of maintenance that they require, not to mention the initial expense. So when I build my new house it is definitely not going to have a pool, it's just not a priority on any level. 

[thaiowl]

We've had a pool since 1996 and they are indeed a labour of love. We have a pool cleaner who comes three times a week and he's pretty good. However, there are always ongoing repairs required such as replacing pump bearings, replacing valves, repairing leaking pipes, replacing cracked/broken tiles, repairing pools lights etc.

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, thaiowl said:

We've had a pool since 1996 and they are indeed a labour of love. We have a pool cleaner who comes three times a week and he's pretty good. However, there are always ongoing repairs required such as replacing pump bearings, replacing valves, repairing leaking pipes, replacing cracked/broken tiles, repairing pools lights etc.

 

Your pool cleaner does not take care of maintainance as well ?

 

I use Lomatec take care of my pool, cleaning and maintainance.

 

https://lomatec.net/

 

 

 

[digger70]

Empty my pool 

 

Don't empty your pool. It's a perfect place to grow some fish .Fish you can eat.

Barramundi /Nile Tilapia/Walking Catfish/Striped Catfish/Common Snakehead and more are pretty easy to grow and Eat.

[newnative]

     We love our pool and use it about every day, weather permitting.  Sometimes twice a day.  Our pool is 3m x 9m and salt water, which we really like.  3 x 9 is a good size for us--not too big or too small--and it fits on our lot well.  We pay 1500 baht a month for our pool guy, plus the cost of supplies, and he comes 3 times a week and pretty much does everything.   Bargain.

     We have mostly palms near the pool to cut down on the number of leaves blowing into the pool and the pool stays very clean.  The pool guy has a front gate key and lets himself in to do the cleaning so we don't need to be home.  If we go away traveling he will water our outdoor plants as needed.  

     We keep a small hand net that we use now and then if something gets in the pool between the pool guy's visits but that is about it for our work.   A pool is a big asset in Thailand that I think it worth keeping and maintaining.

[Fortean1]

Our pool is 5 meters by 12 meters.  Originally built in 2012 as a salt water pool that became a chlorine pool.  Our pool lady and teenage helper come twice a week at a fee of 2,500 per month.  Our Hayward pump motor lasted 11, rewired three times.  Finally bought a pump advertised in Hua Hin.  After a few months it works for one filter cycle only.  It requires priming the water well and using only one valve out of three for the four outflow outlets in the pool bottom.  I am 76 so even just priming the pump is a chore.  My wife at age 79 does not use the pool.  I might use it every few weeks.  Any advice on pump motor brands is welcome.  Terry, a few miles south of Hua Hin.

Edited Saturday at 03:09 PM by Fortean1
typos...

[RocketDog]

On 11/15/2024 at 4:43 AM, jcmj said:

There are several pool maintenance companies that you can use if you want to travel. If it’s a matter of cost then just empty it, as you stated, and fill it up when you plan to sell. Emptying the pool should cause no issues as it is cement and tile. It may need rerouted before you fill it up again and not sure about the pump. It’ll just look ugly, but if it’s a burden just do it. 

I recently emptied my pool to regrout it which took two weeks or so. As I was working on it it occurred to me how dangerous it is to have an empty tiled concrete inground pool. Falling from even two meters onto a tiled floor can't be good for you.

My thinking is that you can't really keep it empty anyway when it rains it's going to fill up. In any event if you're going to leave it empty there should be a cover over it or a fence around it.

[jaideedave]

On 11/15/2024 at 9:12 AM, spidermike007 said:

I think pools only makes sense if you use them a lot, or if you have a family that loves them. I've had pools before, I never used them enough to justify the high degree of maintenance that they require, not to mention the initial expense. So when I build my new house it is definitely not going to have a pool, it's just not a priority on any level. 

Our house came with a pool.We used it all the time for the 1st year or so. I had major surgery and couldn't use it for over a year. My Thai family seldom use it anymore.I finally drained it and roped the area off.

My electric bill dropped by almost 3k as a bonus.

[CallumWK]

1 hour ago, RocketDog said:

In any event if you're going to leave it empty there should be a cover over it or a fence around it.

 

That's the plan to have it covered. Still also playing with the idea to partly fill it with sand and have flowers in it.

 

This is my pool, as you can see the jacuzzi is elevated, so would make a nice seating area, with the pool filled up to the elevated level.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, jaideedave said:

My electric bill dropped by almost 3k as a bonus.

 

Guess there were other issues. I run my pumps for 7 hours a day, have 800m² of lawn that get automatically irrigated daily, a deep well with 1Hp pump, and of course fans that run all day and an aircon that runs at night.

My total bill is rarely over 3K

Edited Sunday at 12:48 PM by CallumWK

[RocketDog]

18 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

That's the plan to have it covered. Still also playing with the idea to partly fill it with sand and have flowers in it.

 

This is my pool, as you can see the jacuzzi is elevated, so would make a nice seating area, with the pool filled up to the elevated level.

 

 

 

 

Guess there were other issues. I run my pumps for 7 hours a day, have 800m² of lawn that get automatically irrigated daily, a deep well with 1Hp pump, and of course fans that run all day and an aircon that runs at night.

My total bill is rarely over 3K

I am an avid Gardener and I know it's easy to say just fill it up and plant things in it. But keep in mind that it is actually a giant concrete Bowl and it rains a lot in Thailand. How do you intend to drain that bowl when it fills up with water and all the plants die because they can't get oxygen and are drowning?

Besides that sand is hardly a good growth medium for any kind of plant except cactus.

 

The cover seems like a good idea until it's been there for a couple of years and the sun has had its way and you fall right through it and hit the bottom.

Truthfully the best solution I could think of would be to essentially build a deck over the whole thing, put a sump pump in the bottom, and some planter boxes strategically placed around it for ambiance.

 

You talked about the potential problem when you go to sell the place and a deck would be the kind of thing that would appeal to half the buyers and the pool would appeal to the others so they could both choose which they wanted with relatively low cost.

 

In any event it is truly a problem I have thought about with my pool and I wish you the best of luck.