Set up a pop-up pool for summer fun
In-ground pools can cost upwards of $100,000, but there’s no reason you can’t have a pool anyway, writes Kylie Klein-Nixon.
Each summer, for the past four years, Jane McCarroll has turned the front yard of her North Shore home into a ‘‘resort’’.
She does it by spending the weekend putting up a temporary swimming pool on a raised bed of sand, set in a wide slice of land between her boundary fence and the deck.
The 6mx2m, steel framed Para Rubber swimming pool will stay up for the whole summer, and come down when the weather starts to turn.
‘‘It’s so good. I just like the feeling of cooling down in a pool,’’ McCarroll says. ‘‘It’s wonderful.’’
She bought the pool for about $1400, about four years ago. This will be the fifth summer the family has put it up.
Great for cooling off and splashing around in – you can ‘‘do really mean whirlpools in it’’ too – it ends up being used by friends and family alike during the season.
‘‘I just love it, because I feel like it’s a resort, without the six figure bill for the pool.’’
McCarroll has water delivered, filling the pool in about eight minutes, rather than using the garden hose, which would take 24 hours.
‘‘We put up a little wood border, like a picture frame, and put sand in it [to put the pool on]. Because we take [the pool] down after summer, that area just becomes part of the yard space.’’
Far cheaper to achieve and maintain than in-ground concrete or fibreglass pools, temporary pools are a popular choice during the increasingly warm summers, whether they’re a blow-up paddling pool, a thighdeep wading pool or a decentsized swimming pool like the McCarroll’s.
Pools can cost as little as $60 for a decent paddling pool, and as much as $2000 for a steel framed swimming pool.
Water costs vary around the country, but it can cost between $180-$300 to fill a 14,400 litre pool – McCarroll’s costs about $300.
Including filters for the pump and chlorine – McCarroll spends ‘‘less than $100’’ on tabs and filters for the season – it can cost between $300-$400 a season to run a temporary pool.
You’ll also need to be able to empty the pool into the grey water system, and not the storm drains, as larger pools will have chlorinated water.
If you’re put off by the thought of killing off a section of lawn, you could fake it instead.
‘‘We’re putting an artificial lawn down for one client,’’ says landscape designer Adam Evans of Urbis Landscaping, who has a garden with a pool in this year’s
Auckland Garden Designfest.
‘‘They put the pool up for five months of the year, then when they’re not using it, they still have a lawn.’’
Evans puts lightweight planter boxes in front of a pool on one side where ‘‘it’s a bit of an eyesore’’. In the winter the client moves the pots to the deck.
Also, because temporary pools are above ground, they often don’t need to be fenced if they are more than 1.2m tall.
As long as the pool is at least 1m from the boundary fence, or anything that is climbable – such as a pump, planting, or other structures, and as long as the ladder is stored well away from the pool when it’s not in use, no fence is needed, according to the Building (Pools) Amendment Act 2016.
Lower, smaller pools – even paddling pools – should technically be fenced, or emptied when not in use, and permanent, in-ground pools must be fenced. The fences must not be climbable, and must have a selfclosing and latching gate.
Putting in a permanent, inground pool ‘‘opens up a whole can of worms,’’ Evans says.
‘‘By the time you put the pool in, you’ve then got to put pool fencing up, and then it’s council – $100,000 to put a swimming pool in, minimum.
‘‘So temporary pools are a really good option, even if you leave them up all year round – I just think you can get about four or five years out of them. It’s the New Zealand sun that weakens the plastic over time.’’
Evans suggests investing in a cantilever sun umbrella to provide a little shade to the pool, rather than relying on new planting.
‘‘It’s probably going to take four years before that tree becomes big enough to do its job. So you’re better off getting an umbrella.
‘‘We do plant palms, but you’ll be spending thousands if you want a big palm to create shade.’’
Thinking of adding a temporary pool to your backyard? Here are five we love:
Splash and shade, The Warehouse, $169.99
This little paddler is great for kids, as it provides shade to protect them from the worst of the sun. There’s also a water mister that attaches to the garden hose in the shade – bliss.
Inflatable bathtub, The Market, $89.99
This inflatable is supposed to be for kids, but it’s also the perfect size for an adult to stretch out in – just saying. Add a sun umbrella for the ultimate in post-work relaxation.
Inflatable sun spa, Mitre 10, $69.98
This blow-up pool isn’t even pretending to be for the kids. It comes with two seats, and cup holders that are just the right size for a can of lager, or a tumbler of G&T. Designed to look like an inflatable spa pool, this is the pinnacle of grown-up summer fun.
Steel Pro pool, The Warehouse, $199
More of a wading pool for adults, this is a great starter pool.
Family splash steel pool, Trade tested, $349
A step up from the Pro, the family splash is 4m long, that’s almost long enough to do laps in. Great for having a few of the local kids over for a pool party, or lounging with your grown-up pals.