WHHOOOAAAA!!! How big is the pool?? That is alot of dirt. Why doesn't she just get the leak fixed and use the pool?? Maybe a couple of tons of small rock like the pebble kind in driveways added first might help the cost of the dirt loads. Then add fill sand and then some nice topsoil/compost. By the time you add your plants and around 4 inches of mulch, should be nice. How deep is the pool and is there a concrete apron around it?? She could always open a skateboard park and charge $2 per person to skateboard.

As you can guess, I'm collecting successful pool conversion ideas. Keep me posted if you find out any thing in this category. The two ideas i've heard so far are: (1) converting pool to a rose garden, or 92) building a deck over it.

Depends on how leaky the pool is? After filling up with soil, will it be wet,dry, or a bog area. After that, maybe we can help?

My friend did this and they knocked holes in the sides and in the bottom of their pool and they hired someone to come in on their property and get the soil from their property and haul it to the pool instead of paying them for the soil. I think she said it took 21 large dump truck loads to fill it up. They then let it settle all winter and they just got finished planting it. Her pool was fenced in so she made it look like a courtyard. They left the concrete edge that was all the way around it and they divided the pool area up and planted grass in the curved corners and did some beds in each corner and then the grass. They have little bricks for edging around it. I will try and remember to take my camera over there and get a couple pics of it when I can. Right now I am carless because my daughters car blew a head gasket and she is using my car to go to work.
But anyway they just divided the pool area up and she did a four teired fountain like mine in the center of it and they have stepping stones going up to the fountain on all sides. It's a very formal look.

Ok I got some pics this evening of her converted pool....Hopefully I can upload one here and then I have a link below if I can't upload one here. Oh well, I see I can't upload one here. So click on the link below....

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics of converted pool

Gardnpondr,
That looks really great!
Thank you for sharing the pictures.

I don't know what NC soil is like, but here in OK we have lots of clay, especially down at pool depth. Maintaining the correct elevation and not having it all settle down is hte key from my perspective. Good Luck!

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. It looks like a great forum!!
Phil, can you send me the url to view your "used to be swimming pool"?
I am debating whether or not to fill ours in or to try and find the leak (gunite and 20 years old). It also needs to be resurfaced. I am seriously thinking about filling it in but I am afraid when I go to sell the house, people might be turned off by the fact that there is a pool carcass out back.
It used to get a lot of use. The last couple of years, it's been mainly an expensive pain with little to no use.
If anyone else has photos of what they have done with their yard since removing or filling in a pool, I'd love to see them.
Thanks in advance o:)

One note on filling the pool, concrete is very alkaline in nature, if you have any plants which prefer an acidic soil they will not be happy unless you monitor/adjust the soil PH.

I have an inground pool that my husband and I are thinking of eliminating. It has a lot of decking around it that was painted instead of stained. The paint is chipping and getting into the pool. The maintenance is too much work, he doesn't use it at all. I was dreaming of a waterfall and water garden and a stone patio, possibly sunken, with a fire pit. Then lots of plants to soften the area. Right now it is blue pool, deck, ugly blue slide, and 6 ft. board fence. It totally blocks off the rest of the yard. Will try to get a picture to post. Welcome any ideas... NN

When I was small we moved into a house that had a sunken barbeque -- the lot was sloped. My dad ran a concrete block company, so my parents used damaged blocks to fill the pit most of the way, then covered with some kind of plastic (I think the modern fabrics would be much better) and filled the rest with dirt. Then it was level with the back yard, and they planted grass and flowers and a few bushes.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is maybe you could get seconds from a block company to economize if you don't need depth of soil for things like trees.
K.

I see that no one has posted anything here for a while but I hope someone will see this and reply. I want to fill a large (180 cubic yds) in-ground pool. I have read the information about opening up the bottom to allow for drainage, is there a certain amount that should be opened up? Also how long (approx) does it take the ground to settle and do we need different soil types in layers aside from a top layer of good top soil. How many inches of top soil would you suggest. We intend to do the work ourselves.
Anyone who has done this, how long did it take and apporox how much did it cost? Any information would be great.

I don't know about filling it in, but if anyone is interested in having a pond instead of a pool, here's a site for that type of conversion.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Pool to Pond Conversion

My husband and I removed our 16x 32 ft. inground swimming pool ourselves and saved $$$$. It tookd us a couple of summers of hard work (off and on) but, it was well worth it. Ours was a drop liner so we removed the liner and cut the metal box (holding the liner) apart with a torch. I got all of the 110+ yards of clean fill that we needed to fill it in free. Then we used the broken cement from the pool patio to make raised garden beds. Now we have gorgeous gardens to admire instead of an old swimming pool. Here's some picture of our gardens.

I live in Phoenix Arizona and I am converting my diving pool into a play pool. I'm also getting rid of some cement patio. Can I fill the 12 foot end with the chopped up cement from the patio that I am removing?

I live in Phoenix Arizona and I am converting my diving pool into a play pool. I'm also getting rid of some cement patio. Can I fill the 12 foot end with the chopped up cement from the patio that I am removing?

I live in Phoenix Arizona and I am converting my diving pool into a play pool. I'm also getting rid of some cement patio. Can I fill the 12 foot end with the chopped up cement from the patio that I am removing?