I’m thinking about my next photobash. I’ve seen photos of projects turning old, likely nonfunctional swimming pools into walipinis, but conventional wisdom has that there’s a big difference between an empty concrete swimming pool and a proper foundation. That the sides will collapse without the support of the pool water, or the water table in the ground will lift the thing like a concrete boat and break it. Just the same, it’s not uncommon to see abandoned swimming pools laying empty, looking more or less foundation-shaped. It seems like a very solarpunk thing, to turn an expensive-to-maintain luxury into something practical, a greenhouse that takes less energy to keep it warm.

So my question is: can it be done, especially if the pool is already nonfunctional and you’re not worried about returning it to its original use? What steps/precautions should you take to make it last and safe? Reinforce the sides? Cut away part of the bottom? Add drainage around it?

Thanks for any thoughts

  • poVoq@slrpnk.netM
    6·
    11 months ago

    Hmm, it would seem to me that pools that break when empty should be rather rare as that that is not a sound construction in general. Maybe in costal areas with raising groundwater table due to sea-level rise it might happen though.

    Edit: the lifting issue is somewhat common with underground cisterns and septic tanks though, which are typically expected to be always filled with water.

    If the pool has a deeper section it could be used as a pond that acts as additional thermal buffer and a sump pump with float switch could make sure the pool doesn’t get flooded during heavy rainfall.

    • JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.netOP
      3·
      11 months ago

      Yeah I kind of wonder if a lot of the stuff about them breaking when left empty is that they won’t be suitable as a swimming pool anymore, rather than that they become a death trap. And if you don’t value the idea of a swimming pool, or it’s already so broken it would need expensive overhauls or replacement, then a walipini with a cracked foundation isn’t really a big deal.

      But it comes up in every discussion I’ve found about empty pools, so I’d want to identify any precautions or mitigations to include before I start the sketch

      • poVoq@slrpnk.netM
        4·
        11 months ago

        Hmm, I am not really an expert on the topic to be honest and here in Europe private pools tend to be only build in southern Europe in places which I guess rarely have high groundwater tables. But I can imagine it being more of an issue in Florida for example.