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 Wednesday at 02:21 PM 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 7 hours ago 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 4 hours ago 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/