An inground swimming pool can be a great addition to many homes. For many families they provide entertainment, relaxation, and functional space for fun for many years. In fact, pools are often on many must-have lists for prospective home buyers, especially in warm climate areas.
However, there often comes a time where the pool in your yard becomes more of a headache than a hangout spot. When this happens, it could be time to consider removing your inground swimming pool. Whether it’s lack of use, desire for more space, or simply tiring of upkeep, pools are more than capable of outstaying their welcome.
It Came With The House
One of the top reasons many consider getting rid of their pool is because they weren’t the ones who made the decision to install it. Imagine you’re house hunting. You find the perfect place. Enough bedrooms and baths, great layout, dream neighborhood...and a pool. For prospective buyers, a house that checks every box on their list may be worth it even if it comes with some unwanted baggage.
If you’ve invested in a new home with an unwanted pool, removing it may be the best idea for you and your family. And if you know you may be reselling the property at some point in the future, houses in some areas may even have their resale value increased with a pool removal.
It Needs Major Renovation
When you install a pool, one of the things you must keep in mind is that it may need renovation at some point down the line. Without proper upkeep, pools can fall into disarray. Cracking concrete, leaks, peeling plaster, and even the need for a new pool deck are common issues many with backyard pools face at some point in time.
If your pool has become a literal money-pit, you may quickly find out that the cost of removing your pool is lower than the cost of making it functional again. While not cheap, a pool removal is a relatively straightforward process. Additionally, it requires less design decisions, material choices, and is an overall more hands-off procedure. Just make sure you do your research and hire a company you trust to do the renovation.
You Want to Reduce Your Utility Bill
Unfortunately, there’s more to a pool than just a concrete hole filled with water. Pools present monthly costs that affect your overall utility bills. From running filters, to those maintaining heated pools, the cost of a pool is notable during each billing cycle.
Monthly, pool-owners can expect to pay anywhere from $80-$150 a month to simply have a pool, whether they are using it or not. After a few years, these costs can begin to add up. We can’t blame people for wanting to end the cycle. Removing your pool is an upfront expense, but once the removal is complete no lingering costs exist.
You’d Rather Have The Yard Space
If there’s one thing pools do better than almost anything else, it’s take up space. While dimensions vary by design and preference, a standard rectangular pool is nothing to scoff at. On the low end, average pools will consume roughly 200 square feet, while larger pools can cover as much as 800 square feet of previous yard space. This is a lot of room. For many homeowners, this is room that could be put to better use.
Yard space translates to outdoor living space. It gives the family dog a place to roam, the kids a place to run, and gives your entire family space to spread out outdoors. While inground swimming pools can provide great opportunities for family fun, they are single-function installations. Let’s face it, it’s easier to throw a ball on solid ground than it is waist deep in water.
It’s A Liability
Something many may not know about swimming pools before owning one is that by installing a swimming pool you are adding a liability to your home. A pool will drive higher costs on your homeowner’s insurance, and is a legal liability. This can be sourced back to higher risks associated with swimming pools such as falls and accidental drownings, and risks posed to your property in the event of an accident.
This means that getting rid of your pool can not only save you money in monthly utility bills, but may lower the price you pay to insure your home. Furthermore, if you ever have plans to rent the property this cost begins to increase exponentially. For those thinking about going the renting route in the future, filling in your pool could potentially be a no-brainer.
It’s Not Safe For Your Family
There’s a reason it costs more to insure homes with an inground swimming pool. They present safety risks. While most are not deterred from installing their pool by the idea of pool-related accidents, families with small children or those caring for elderly relatives may be rightfully cautious about maintaining a backyard pool. Though not exceedingly common, slips, falls, and even more costly incidents like drownings do occur in at home swimming pools. If a pool is not a realistic feature for your family home and is causing you more stress than it’s worth, filling it in may be the right move.
You’re Sick of the Upkeep
Pools result in more than just monthly financial expenses. They can also be a significant source of physical maintenance and an overall time-intensive investment. To maintain a fully functional pool, owners should be undergoing monthly cleaning, filter changes, material upkeep, resurfacing, and more. While some repairs can be done as needed, much of what is considered typical pool maintenance must be done on a regular schedule.
If this kind of consistent servicing doesn’t fit into your schedule, the real solution may be to eliminate the source altogether. Yards are cheaper to maintain, and the costs of neglecting to cut your grass for a few weeks are far less worrisome than ignoring maintenance to your pool that could result in cracks, leaks, and costly repairs.
No One Uses It
The final reason it may be time to say goodbye to your pool is perhaps the simplest. In many cases, the best argument for filling in a pool is simply that it is no longer being used.
It could be that you and your kids spent many afternoons splashing around when they were younger, but now that they’ve left the nest your inground swimming pool has not been used in some time. Maybe as time went on your interests changed, you joined a gym that offers the same benefits as your pool, or you just lost interest.
The reason the pool is no longer used is less important. What matters is that your investment is worth the money you are putting into it. To pay to continue to maintain, repair, and service a pool that is never being used is as good as throwing money away.
It can be frustrating to realize that something you once thought was a great idea is no longer serving you well. But in the long run, making the decision to fill in your unused pool can make way for more functional space, more family memories, and a more favorable long term investment in your outdoor living space.
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