FAQ's
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This is an excellent
question. I
did not thoroughly check out the swimming pool before buying the house
partly because of the season, and partly because the hot real estate
market didn't allow for too many delays or a house would be sold.
Clearly this was a mistake as it turned out the pool needed extensive
repairs and we had not even placed money in escrow or made other
arrangements to protect ourselves from financial loss. In essence, we
learned the hard way. It would have proved far too expensive for us to
properly repair the pool, and we really did not want it all that bad in
the first place so we investigated our options and decided removal was
the best choice at the time.
Because
I think it is interesting. I had
originally taken a large number of pictures of the men working on the
swimming pool because my lovely wife was out of town attending a
convention and she was curious about the progress of the work. I
uploaded the pictures so she could see from her hotel room how things
were going. While researching the topic I happened to post a message on
a forum
website and immediately began to notice traffic on
the pages where I had put the pictures. As time went by I cleaned it up
a bit and added some more content that I thought would interest people
who were considering removing their swimming pools. It has been fun
receiving email from people all over the world who have looked at my
website. This is really the only reason for doing it. Since adding
Google ads to the site, I have been "cleaning up" about a dollar a day,
which is certainly not making me rich, but pays for half of my internet
connection (thank you).
No,
because we
had never even used it for one season so they were not used to having
it. They enjoy going to the community pool and spending time with their
friends.
Absolutely not. I
can't even
swim, and we are definitely not pool people.
The whole project
cost around
$3700 and we were able to recoup $500 for the swimming pool filter and
pumping equipment on Ebay.
I
really do not know. I hope the information presented here will help
give you a better idea of what is involved thereby giving you a basis
for which a more accurate cost estimate can be established.
This
is probably the most asked questions of all and unfortunatly I do not
know of any other contractors other than the one I used, and he only
works in our local area. You may want to try contacting a local outfit
that digs basements or lays drainage culverts. These people understand
the significance of altering the existing drainage patterns of a
property and also would have equipment heavy enough to complete the job
properly if you can convince them to take the job. You could show them
some pictures from my website to help give them an idea of
how
one job was successfully completed.
We
did not, however I understand
that in many municipalities you would need a permit and submit to
inspections if you were to perform this type of work.
If
it had been a really nice,
fully functioning swimming pool, it may have added a small amount to
the value of the property, but certainly not anywhere close to what it
would cost to install such a pool. Considering the overall poor
condition of the pool that was at our house, removing it actually added
a small amount to the value of the house and drastically increased its
desirability to the average home buyer in that price range making it
much easier to sell quickly.
No,
from the research I have done, this is not a possibility. One problem
is with the plaster that typically lines a concrete pool shell. It
apparently is designed to perform best when it is constantly submerged
in water. If it is left out of water, even underground, for a long
period of time, it may not be usable again later. In addition, it would
be very difficult to fill in a large inground swimming pool and then
empty all the dirt or sand out of it again without physically damaging
the somewhat delicate plaster lining. Another issue with this approach
is drainage. Where would all the rainwater go that would be trapped in
the filled-in pool. The small bottom drain that most pools have would
not be nearly enough to provide for proper drainage of the area, even
if you could keep it open somehow.
I
think
it absolutely
does, unless you
have completely removed all of the swimming pool and its related
piping, decks, foundations, etc that might prevent a future owner from
using the land in a normal fashion. In our case, we did not remove the
entire pool shell from underground so we did indicate this to the
people who bought our house. If you hide something like this, and the
new owners want to someday install a pool, and can't do it or find out
it will cost them double the normal amount because they have to remove
the remains of your old pool first, you are going to be in trouble.
Disclaimer Phil Detweiler assumes no responsibility for consequences resulting from the use of the information herein, or from use of the information obtained at linked Internet addresses, or in any respect for the content of such information, including (but not limited to) errors or omissions, the accuracy or reasonableness of factual or scientific assumptions, studies or conclusions, the defamatory nature of statements, ownership of copyright or other intellectual property rights, and the violation of property, privacy, or personal rights of others. Phil Detweiler is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on such information. No guarantees or warranties, including (but not limited to) any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose, are made by Phil Detweiler with respect to such information. |
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