In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have in-
ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting these
listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a pool
into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close to the
house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of the pool could
be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be left as is. It
could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with the last 3 or 4 feet
being a mixture of composted horse manure, top soil, peat moss, and other
yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?

Thanks, Dee

Dee wrote:
In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have
in-
ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting these
listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a
pool
into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close to
the
house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of the pool
could
be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be left as is. It
could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with the last 3 or 4
feet
being a mixture of composted horse manure, top soil, peat moss, and
other
yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?


Well, you instantly lower the resale value of your home. As much as I
love a good garden, an in-ground pool is worth much more on the market.
If you stay in your house for 30 years, it may not matter much, but if
you're going to sell in just a few years, that could make it one mighty
expensive garden without even counting the cost of building it.

It's also a pretty big deal filling in the hole in a way that it's not
going to settle dangerously. More is involved than simply dumping fill
in the hole. You're also going to have plumbing issues with the fill
mechanism and the drain. There will need to be permits taken out...
let's just say it's a big, expensive deal.

So you're talking about an expensive deal to fill in the pool. Then
you're talking about lowering the value of your home. You'll be burning
quite a bit of money to do this. I don't know where you are, but it's
hard to imagine a real estate market so tight that the agent you're
working with can't find you something better suited that doesn't involve
wasting so much money.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Compare the newest tax preparation software apps:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/taxes/index.html

Dee wrote:
In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have
in-
ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting these
listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a
pool
into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close to
the
house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of the pool
could
be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be left as is. It
could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with the last 3 or 4
feet
being a mixture of composted horse manure, top soil, peat moss, and
other
yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?

You're describing an absurd amount of compost & manure that would do no
good whatsoever buried four or feet deeper than the veggies' roots will
reach, & nutrients will never seep upward.

Maybe you could turn the pool into a koi & lily pond surrounded by raised
beds & with a big Chinese drum-bridge built over it. If you damage the
swimming pool you damage the property value, but if you turn it into a
beautiful pond well integrated into the landscape, you have something ten
times better than a dork-ass swimming pool for concrete lovers, with no
value loss & probable value increase since a well gardened home generally
sells faster than a well concreted one.

Here's one swimming pool converted to a koi pond:
http://www.kilk.com/pond/
The photos show the back yard evolving from suburban white trash with
failed pretensions, to a nice place to hang out in.

Here's another photo of a converted pool:
http://home.swbell.net/collardm/
You have to click on the pond photo to see it big. This one's cool because
it is so well integrated into landscaping that there's no hint remaining
that it was once a swimming pool.

Here's a page about converting a larger swimming pool to a koi pond; this
one isn't aesthetic as the pool was turned into a "practical" pond for
breeding & production, but the page includes some useful details about
what really needs converting & what issues need to be overcome for it to
work for fish:
http://www.koicymru.co.uk/ponda.htm

It could go without saying that koi are NOT the end-all of keeping fish.
Many native fish species adapt to bonds with great ease including crappies
which make delightful pond pets (or alternatively can be raised up &
eaten) & people with crappies seem to like them more than koi (crappies
will live happily with goldfish but large koi can be too aggressive for
crappies); they can be gotten from state fisheries, but in some places
they are easily captured in nets in shallow water. I had six crappies that
lived happily with some fancy-tail slowpoke goldfish without harrassing
the slow goldfish. Wild catfish also thrive in ponds & become very tame;
the catfish "school" when they are babies & don't hide like the adults, so
are easy to net a dozen at a time, though also available as babies from
fish farms & fisheries. I had several baby catfish that outgrew their
indoor tank so went out into the pond, where they did become a big
aggressive chasing after slow goldfish but didn't hurt them (I no longer
have a pond alas, this was some while ago). Many other native & game fish
make good pond pets. Here's a list of the easiest ones:
http://www.pondsolutions.com/faqs/pond-fish.htm
Low on the list are itty bitty mosquitofish which do well even in tiny
garden-feature ponds. They're sometimes sold at aquarium stores as
"tuffies" & I've had them living in a rainbarrel for years, which somewhat
makes up for no longer having a real pond. The mosquitofish or tuffies
come in a couple color forms but ponders should get only the rosy or white
ones because they gleam in the pond; the normal dark ones are invisible in
a pond. The rosy ones are even active when there's a scum of ice & can be
seen zipping around under the ice when larger fish would be inactive. I
love them though their sad fate is usually to just be fed to larger fish.

Here's an article that is more technical & how-to to create an
biologically ideal pond from an unwanted swimming pool:
http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebInd...lpdconvart.htm

The Biggs Wildlife Pond used to be a swimming pool:
http://bigsnestpond.net/Pond/
It's not a koi pond; they are dragonfly enthusiasts (you can't have both
koi & dragonflies, as koi eat them). The pages at this website promote
natural habitat ponding instead of just doing the standard koi thingy, &
Biggs just happened to have started from a swimming pool which now looks
like a pond in the woods. T hey do some serious bird-watching around their
pond too, & have recorded the numerous species sightings on the website.

Here's a group discussion of converting swimming pools to koi ponds:
http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/...article_id=136
It's surprising how many people agree swimming pools suck & would rather
have a big garden feature with fish and/or water lilies.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com


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"Warren" expounded:

Well, you instantly lower the resale value of your home.

That's not true. Many people find a pool a liability they just don't
want, it raised your insurance, etc. When I was selling real estate I
was surprised at the attitude towards pools when doing a market
analysis. They can actually lower what a potential seller might get
on the market.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

Yes, Ann is correct, pools do not increase the value of one's home, at least
in my area.

My only concern would be leaching of salt solubles over time from the
concrete into the soil.

Dave

"Ann" wrote in message
...
"Warren" expounded:

Well, you instantly lower the resale value of your home.

That's not true. Many people find a pool a liability they just don't
want, it raised your insurance, etc. When I was selling real estate I
was surprised at the attitude towards pools when doing a market
analysis. They can actually lower what a potential seller might get
on the market.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

I also didn't want a home with a pool. Just tell your realtor to only show
you homes without inground pools.


"Dee" wrote in message ...
In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have in-
ground pools.

"Dee" wrote in message ...
In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have in-
ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting these
listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a pool
into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close to the
house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of the pool
could
be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be left as is. It
could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with the last 3 or 4 feet
being a mixture of composted horse manure, top soil, peat moss, and other
yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?

Thanks, Dee

That's an expensive way to get good soil. For a vegetable garden, you only
really need to concern yourself with the upper 24", if that much.

What about a nice, big pond in that pool?


--

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

"Ann" wrote in message
...
"Warren" expounded:

Well, you instantly lower the resale value of your home.

That's not true. Many people find a pool a liability they just don't
want, it raised your insurance, etc. When I was selling real estate I
was surprised at the attitude towards pools when doing a market
analysis. They can actually lower what a potential seller might get
on the market.

Ann, he's talking about a pool whose bottom has been busted up for drainage.
That is DEFINITELY a liability if any part of the structure shows at ground
level and the next buyer wants to remove it.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I should clarify a few things.

Reduction in house value - Several realtors I've spoken with say an
average-sized pool adds only about $10,000 to the value of the house, even
though installation of a pool can run $25,000 or more. The person who may
potentially lose money on a pool is the house owner who has one installed
and then thinks he will get all his money back. As was pointed out by Ann,
a pool can be perceived to be a liability and a white elephant - and that's
exactly how I perceive it. I would be offering less for a house with a
pool, so I would not be "losing money".

Plumbing and drain issues - duly noted, thanks, although I believe pools
have recirculating pumps and are not hooked up to the house plumbing. The
inlets would have to be plugged with concrete or something.

Permit issues - duly noted, even though I am looking at houses in the
country, this is something to be aware of.

Water garden or Fish pond conversion - thanks for the links, they are very
pretty ponds, but I'm interested in vegetable gardening.

Soluble concrete salts - thanks, good idea, I will look into this.

Insurance liability due to busted up bottom - thanks, I will ask my
insurance company about this.

As another plus, some of these houses have little gazebos or pool houses
that would be just perfect for a nice gardening shed and potting bench :-)

Dee

In article GOQDd.2527$lG.1719@trnddc03, "David J Bockman"
wrote:

Yes, Ann is correct, pools do not increase the value of one's home, at least
in my area.

But a pool filled up with dirt to grow carrots & lettuce certainly would
decrease property interest hence value. Removing the pool entirely, or
converting it to a biological pool in a maximumly aesthetic manner, would
be either a plus or a zero-sum impact, but a pool filled with dirt would
not be the crowning touch to insure a sale.

-paggers


My only concern would be leaching of salt solubles over time from the
concrete into the soil.

Dave

"Ann" wrote in message
...
"Warren" expounded:

Well, you instantly lower the resale value of your home.

That's not true. Many people find a pool a liability they just don't
want, it raised your insurance, etc. When I was selling real estate I
was surprised at the attitude towards pools when doing a market
analysis. They can actually lower what a potential seller might get
on the market.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com


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---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

Dee wrote in :

In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have
in- ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting
these listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a
pool into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close
to the house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of
the pool could be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be
left as is. It could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with
the last 3 or 4 feet being a mixture of composted horse manure, top
soil, peat moss, and other yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?

Thanks, Dee


In the crazy idea department, you could turn a in-ground pool into an
underground tropical greenhouse. Roof the deep water zone with
polycarbonate, leave the shallow half open so you don't bake yourself.

When you need to clean, shouldn't be a problem as it's probably already
waterproof. May need extra ventilation ... don't know if you can convert
water pump infrastructure. You can grow food in containers (a la square
foot gardening) to avoid busting up anything.

I've never done anything of the sort, just speculating.

Dee wrote:
snip
Several realtors I've spoken with say an
average-sized pool adds only about $10,000 to the value of the house,
snip
I would be offering less for a house with a
pool, so I would not be "losing money".

If you offer less for a house that has a higher market value, you are
right. You would not be "losing money" because your offer would never be
accepted.

If you don't want a pool, and plan to use that strategy if you find a
house that you like that has a pool, don't waste people's time. You'd be
wasting the seller's time, the seller's agent's time, your agent's time,
and your own time.

"Several realtors"? You don't already have a single agent working for
you? I hope you realize that good buyer's agents won't work with you
until you're ready to be serious, and work exclusively with them. Why
would a good agent waste their time with you if tomorrow you'll be
working with someone else? Answer: A *good* agent wouldn't. They have
better things to do. Things that will be more fruitful. Agents that
would work with you under those conditions have nothing better to do
because they're not very good. If an agent doesn't ask you to work
exclusively with them before you look at a single house, move on, and
find a better agent.

I went off on that tangent because the point is a good agent also will
find out you plan to make unrealistic offers on houses with pools, and
they also won't show you houses with pools. So if you are clear in your
desire not to have a pool, a good agent won't show you houses with
pools, and this whole idea of what to do with the pool you don't want
becomes moot.

(Well, actually it would be moot anyway if you were going to make a
lower offer for a house that's worth more because of the pool. A seller
desperate enough to accept that kind of offer sold their home before you
came along with one of your "several realtors".)

And that's why this question doesn't come up very often.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Compare the newest tax preparation software apps:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/taxes/index.html

"Dee" wrote in message ...
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I should clarify a few things.

Reduction in house value - Several realtors I've spoken with say an
average-sized pool adds only about $10,000 to the value of the house, even
though installation of a pool can run $25,000 or more.

You've missed a possibility he A buyer who loves the house, the
neighborhood, the schools, etc., but has to pay to have the pool dismantled.
I have no idea what that costs, but I have a friend who had a guy come to
his farm property with an assistant and two backhoes, and dig a 1/2 acre
pond: $13,000.00. Based on that, I'll take a wild guess and say it might
cost $8k to $10k to dismantle a pool, if it took a couple or three days.

"Salty Thumb" wrote in message
news:0fVDd.4282$lG.3102@trnddc03...
Dee wrote in :

In my house-hunting, I am finding that a good proportion of them have
in- ground pools. I am not a pool person and have been rejecting
these listings out-of-hand.

But the idea occurred to me that it might be possible to convert a
pool into a vegetable garden. Pools are usually in full sun and close
to the house, so the site would be good. I'm thinking the floor of
the pool could be busted up to insure drainage and the walls could be
left as is. It could then be filled with subsoil or whatever, with
the last 3 or 4 feet being a mixture of composted horse manure, top
soil, peat moss, and other yummies.

Has anybody tried this? Any pros or cons I am not seeing here?

Thanks, Dee


In the crazy idea department, you could turn a in-ground pool into an
underground tropical greenhouse. Roof the deep water zone with
polycarbonate, leave the shallow half open so you don't bake yourself.

When you need to clean, shouldn't be a problem as it's probably already
waterproof. May need extra ventilation ... don't know if you can convert
water pump infrastructure. You can grow food in containers (a la square
foot gardening) to avoid busting up anything.

I've never done anything of the sort, just speculating.

I like this idea!

(paghat) expounded:

But a pool filled up with dirt to grow carrots & lettuce certainly would
decrease property interest hence value. Removing the pool entirely, or
converting it to a biological pool in a maximumly aesthetic manner, would
be either a plus or a zero-sum impact, but a pool filled with dirt would
not be the crowning touch to insure a sale.

Absolutely true, also. There's a house around the corner from me that
the owner filled in the pool.....with concrete, if you can believe
that. Must have cost a fortune. Now they've got a huge block buried
in their yard, it's a patio, but boy, ya gotta really like that patio,
cuz it ain't going anywhere without a lot of effort!
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************