Ideas to cover over swimming pool???

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by Skcoddam, 16th Feb, 2020.

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  1. Skcoddam

    Skcoddam Member

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    We are interested in purchasing a particular first home, but it has a swimming pool which we are not so keen on at the moment due to having young kids.

    We are considering options such as building a decking over it to make the space usable. Does anyone have any ideas for types of covers/structures to solve our issue?

    pool is roughly 11x3.5m- photo attached

    thanks
     

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  2. Big Daddy

    Big Daddy Well-Known Member

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  3. Big Daddy

    Big Daddy Well-Known Member

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    Else drain it and put a temp roof such as colorbond and use it as a games room or wine cellar
     
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    If you drain it, water pressure will cause it to pop out of the ground.

    Swimming lessons are a skill for life.

    Put down your phones and supervise the kids when in the pool area. Better yet, ban phones from the pool/yard.
     
    Last edited: 16th Feb, 2020
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  5. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Though young kids would be the reason you want the pool. Make sure safety fences are in place.
     
  6. Shogun

    Shogun Well-Known Member

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  7. kierank

    kierank Well-Known Member

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    Our three grandchildren (aged 5, 2 and 1) live in Melbourne and we subside the cost of their swimming lessons for exactly this reason.

    Our current PPOR has a swimming pool; our next PPOR has a swimming pool at the back and the Pacific Ocean our the front.
     
  8. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    If it was an IP I'd say don't buy it.
    As a PPOR pools can be great, but if you don't like or need a pool then find a different property to buy.
    Covering it will just cause more issue's
     
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  9. Something_Wrong

    Something_Wrong Well-Known Member

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    Pools are great with young kids, I have 3 kids who spend lots of time in and out of the pool all day, especially now its Solar heated.

    Gee even I use it 2 or 3 times a day, nothing better than Mowing the front lawn, go for a swim, mow the back lawn, then go for a swim, do the edges have a swim.
    Clean the pool have a swim

    The biggest issue is getting them to hang up their towels between dips.

    Would not be hard to build a deck over it, but as the empty pool would degrade very quickly and ground pressure would destroy in as well. You also want no water for Mozzies to breed in.
     
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  10. Brady

    Brady Well-Known Member

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    I'm another + for getting kids into the pool. Australia is surrounded by beautiful beaches. Our climate makes pools pretty attractive in many places.
    Imagine being the kids growing up in a house only to find out years on that used to have a pool that didn't get to use.
    Looks like the pool is in good condition
     
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  11. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    Fixed that for you :D
     
  12. Toucan

    Toucan Well-Known Member

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    Fill it in with dirt & pave over the top, if you don't want it.
    There's no real way to "save it for later" if that's what you meant? If you empty it, it will pop out of the ground as someone else mentioned.
    I have young kids & wouldn't want a pool at my home, that would be too stressful for me. But my kids have swimming lessons.
    Plus the ongoing costs for maintaining it..
     
  13. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    How old are your kids? Would you want to have a pool once they are a bit older?

    We put in our pool when our kids were a few weeks short of turning two, six and nine. So the older two could swim but not the young one.

    They learn to swim quickly with access to a pool and it was great for them as kids. But I understand your concerns.

    Our kitchen flows straight out to the pool, so I was always close by. Until they were swimming confidently (all of them) I would sit outside anyway, but as they got older, I would be inside cooking, or pottering, but still able to see exactly what was going on.

    Does this house have a good indoor to pool area connection or would they be out of your vision?

    All I could suggest is that you lock any doors leading to the outside, so they cannot even get to the pool vicinity unless you are there watching them.

    We have two big sets of French doors leading to the back yard so if I wanted to, I could lock them with a key.

    If you really don't want a pool what about buying this house but rent it out until they are older (but check about paying capital gains tax if you don't move in straight after settlement), or look for a house without a pool.

    I guess you could have something built over the top but you'd still have to maintain it. Filling it in costs money and will probably devalue the house.

    And now our kids are not home, and we don't really swim at all, the pool doesn't cost more than a couple of hundred a year to maintain. It just doesn't get dirty like when the kids were in it all day.
     
  14. TAJ

    TAJ Well-Known Member

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    This makes no sense to me. Why wouldn't you want your kids to learn to swim? It's a skill for life.
    Imagine the enjoyment the whole family can have on hot days splashing about in a nice pool.
    View it as a positive, not a negative.
     
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  15. Something_Wrong

    Something_Wrong Well-Known Member

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    helps when the beer fridge is full and only 3mtrs away

    3D7BA245-FF87-4B16-99AF-BDC0C19A634E.jpeg
     
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  16. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    Changing a pool in any way requires council approval and approval to remove it. Council wont allow you to deck over it. They would expect removal. There are specialists who do this work. Often they break down the coping edges and connections make holes in the base and fill. Many council dont allow this and require all materials removed and even recycled and soil rehabilitated. A specialist could guide you on your council views.

    Pools dont add value unless buyers really like and want a pool. Some people wont buy houses with pools. Its a glass that is both half full and half empty.

    In some states a change of owner requires compliance with state laws at that time. Check your solictor for this as it could be costly if its illegally fenced.
     
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  17. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Agree with this. But if the pool is something that has been factored into the purchase price, then it seems nonsensical to remove it. Much will depend on whether pools are a benefit or not. In Brisbane, removing a pool doesn't make sense.

    But also I recall very clearly that when my mother was an agent, she always suggested to us that we buy a house with a pool because generally what you spend on putting one in yourself is not reflected in the rise in value.
     
  18. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    Yes.
     
  19. Propertunity

    Propertunity Well-Known Member

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    A few people have converted an unwanted high maintenance pool into a low maintenance pond.

     
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  20. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    These are great however the market is yet to realise the benefits of a natural pool. Clean, clear water, fish etc.

    Had a client several years back, did the hard yards of converting the pool, solar, water recycling, hydroponic garden etc - couldn't get a buyer. Personally, I liked it.
     

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