<p>My relatives have a huge swimming pool that no one uses and it is getting too much for them to maintain. Any suggestions about what to do with it? They have talked about filling it in, but think that would take LOTS and LOTS of soil to do so, since it goes from about 3 to over 6 feet in depth. Thanks!</p>
<p>Well…I priced this in California a couple of years ago. Similar sized pool. 12,000 to break the top of the sides. I think drill some holes in the bottom part of the plaster, drain the pool and fill with dirt. </p>
<p>Landscaping or deck work was extra.</p>
<p>In some places it is not legal to fill in a pool - it has to be completely deconstructed and removed. A pool installer would know the local code as well as have some good ideas of what to do in this situation. Is the current pool in need of repair or is it the maintenance of cleaning and treating that is a burden? For us our pool person costs the same per month as our lawn person. We were at odds with our pool a few months back but we reconsidered when we found a new pool maintenance company.</p>
<p>Previous home we put a pool in. Current home had a pool. Next home (if there is one) will not have a pool!</p>
<p>The pool itself is in ok shape (I think), but water now very green. No one has used it as pool for many years now. They are reluctant to spend $$$ to do something about the pool. Even 10 years ago it was used but not at all for about 5+ years.</p>
<p>" Even 10 years ago it was used but not at all for about 5+ years."</p>
<p>I think eventually that becomes typical. That is what my pool guy said and that is what happened to us. </p>
<p>Where we used to live you have to tell the town you are demolishing your pool. You can not release the water from the pool into the sewer system. You had to truck the pool water away.</p>
<p>We sold our place with a pool. We now have a community pool. Much better. Havent used it. :)</p>
<p>I just went into a swimming pool for the first time in several years a couple of days ago. I told my wife…it was cool to have our own pool. I wish we had our own pool.</p>
<p>Then I remembered…what a pain to own a pool. :)</p>
<p>There are companies around that demolish pools. When you sell a house, you have to disclose there was a pool…at least around here.</p>
<p>You would have to run the numbers but maintaining the pool might be the more cost effective way to go. If, in their area, it is ok to fill in the pool it is not as simple as it sounds. Someone with some expertise would need to do it other wise there could be a big mess in the future. At the very least a certain number of holes need to be drilled in the bottom and I believe the sides - for drainage purposes.</p>
<p>I happen to live in a place where pools can not be filled in - they have to be removed. We looked into removing the pool and it was around the same cost to remove the pool as it is to put in a pool. This is why we decided to embrace our pool by finding a new pool person-he does weekly cleaning, chemicals, and any minor repairs.</p>
<p>Removing the pool in its entirety is too expensive. </p>
<p>I found the cost of maintaining a pool was about 5,000 a year…not including heating the damn thing.</p>
<p>Running the filter alone probably cost us an additional 100 a month in electric bills.</p>
<p>The pool guy was 150 a month. That included chemicals. </p>
<p>Needed a larger umbrella policy in case a neighbor hopped a fence and drowned.</p>
<p>That was 500 a year. </p>
<p>An extra 500 a year to clean the filter. </p>
<p>1,000 a year at least for equipment costs and to save for replastering.</p>
<p>Where am I now in costs? :)</p>
<p>dstark is right. I priced out to fill mine but gave up with quotes in the $10,000 range. In addition, you need a permit to do so. Landscaping is another issue, as my pool is surrounded with concrete patios, to redo these will costs me another 10K.</p>
<p>Its a pain in the xxx to have a pool around. Every day you pay money to maintain it. I would estimate a cool $2,000/year which includes electricity to run the pump, water bill, chemicals, supplies and breakages, never mind the cost of hiring a pool boy which is me. That is $400/swim, as I only use it 5 times per year.</p>
<p>Here is my budget for this year to maintain this pool and I have a SMALL pool</p>
<p>Electricity $500
Water replenishment $500
Replace filter $800
chemicals $200
pool robot $120
light bulb/gasket replacement $50</p>
<p>next year the pump maybe replaced.</p>
<p>The pool is already in the backyard, so no point in considering NOT having installed it at this point. Most of us were unhappy it was installed decades ago, but still have to figure our what to do now. </p>
<p>There are no cracks in the pool, so that’s the good news. Sadly no one is at all interested in swimming in it, even when it was maintained, tho it hasn’t been for many months now. :(</p>
<p>The pool pump costs electricity to run and the vacuum needs servicing and replacement periodically as well. We seem to agree that it’s a money pit, especially in the homeowner no longer wants it.</p>
<p>I would find out the name of a reputable pool installer in your relatives area. This issue they are having is not uncommon. A good pool company would have ideas on what can and can not be done in the area. One additional idea would be to drain the pool and cover it with a good pool cover ( maybe one in a heavy canvas in blue or green) that way there is no monthly maintenance. This is an option that needs some expertise as well because you would want to know that the pool structure is sound.</p>
<p>In many foreclosed homes the bank will come in and drain the pool and then place a cage like frame work over the top of the pool - it is not very attractive but they are eliminating the monthly maintenance.</p>
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<p>You have not consider the rain water accumulated on the cover will be a problem。Last winter I just did that over the pool water, there was a LOT of water on top of the cover. And since it is not treated, the mosquitoes and frogs start swim in the water and the moss start growing. It took me a whole day to pump it out and I had to buy the pump which is $75. and the cover $150</p>
<p>I dont like draining the pool and just throwing a top on it because the pool may float.</p>
<p>Artloversplus, what did you do about an umbrella policy? </p>
<p>I forgot about the water evaporating. :)</p>
<p>However, here is some thing you can try which will lower the cost.</p>
<p>Replace the green water with good clear water, make sure the pool is filled and cleaned, pour two to three gallons of Chlorine in it. cover it with a good pool cover and periodically treat it with chlorine when there is accumulation of rain/snow water and pick up leafs. You still need to run the pump one to two hours a day to circulate the water under the cover. This way, the cost of maintenance is much lower. </p>
<p>The idea is to maintain only 2 to 3 inches of water instead of 6 feet of pound. In the summer, the water above the cover is going to be evaporated, so there will be nothing to maintain above the cover. Under the cover, since there is no sunlight or debris accumulation, the water quality will still be good for a long time.</p>
<p>You cannot pump the water out, a dried swimming pool in long term will crack and deteriorate to the extent that it will cost more to repair. The bank did it because they will sell it in short term. Just saw on HGTV, that flipper clean the dried pool and put a lining over the old concrete, it is not cheap. To sell a house with a dried pool is pretty deadly.</p>
<p>dstark, what umbrella policy you are talking about? normally an umbrella policy only covers the liability.</p>
<p>Well… What else do you want covered? </p>
<p>I am talking liability. I figured my risk was higher when I owned a pool.</p>
<p>I sold my house with a pool that needed to be replastered. There were some small cracks too. I couldnt decide whether to fix the pool or demolish it. I didnt know if prospective buyers would want the pool or not. Turned out the buyer did want the pool. I think I could have made more money if I fixed up the pool myself, because it was an eyesore. Hindsight doesnt help. :)</p>
<p>When I’ve gone to see open houses that happen to have swimming pools, they are always clean and the agent does admit that quite a few potential clients are NOT interested in the pool. We were positive we didn’t want a pool. Have enough relatives with pools, plus we have lovely ocean and beaches.</p>
<p>“the cover $150”</p>
<p>The covers I mentioned cost considerably more than $150. They run closer to $1000+ They are the type that are anchored in - professionally installed. They are pulled rather taunt so water should not accumulate. In the ads for these types of covers they will show a child or a large dog walking across the cover or sitting on the cover. The water can be kept in the pool but you would want to treat it before covering it. Not sure where this pool is located but folks in cold climates winterize their pools so I would imagine the steps would be similar in a situation where the pool would be covered for a long time.</p>
<p>how to clean algae from a pool</p>
<p><a href=“How To: Clean the Algae from a Green Pool to make it Clear - YouTube”>How To: Clean the Algae from a Green Pool to make it Clear - YouTube;