Deck on unused swimming pool, inspection fail.

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rubbishme

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#285804 18-May-2021 19:55

Hi all,

Does anyone have a deck build on top of the unused swimming pool ?

I have a unused swimming pool, last year a builder built a deck on my old unused swimming pool, the fence and the gate was removed at the same time, but recently a pool inspector from Auckland council come and inspect the pool and told me that the inspection is failed because my pool does not have a barrier, I am shocked because my pool is empty, no water and the deck is on top of the pool. How dangerous is the empty pool with the deck on top ?

Does anyone have this situation ? do you need to rebuild the barrier around the deck which cover the pool ?

Any advice ?

Cheers

mkissin

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2709294 18-May-2021 20:30

Could the pool fill with rain water, and/or a kid climb under the deck and then fall in? That's the only reason I could imagine it failing.

Pools in general are a compliance nightmare. I can't offer any real advice though, sorry. My parents had real problems with theirs as the rules kept changing. I would never install one myself after seeing what they went through.

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
13771 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

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#2709297 18-May-2021 20:31

If the pool is empty, and covered with no way to it, then no, they're in the wrong I believe.

We have an inground pool which was empty and a pool inspector turned up (because an annoying neighbor was trying to get us in trouble all the time), and said there was no issue because it was empty. If it was full it was a different story as part of the fencing wasn't secure.

Auckland council:

You do not need a building consent to remove or demolish a residential or small heated pool.

Our tip

If you want to remove your in-ground swimming pool, you need to ensure that the backfill is properly compacted. Engage a professional engineer to certify the compacted fill.

If you want to keep the pool and backfill it, punch a hole in the base to allow water to drain and then compact it.

Apply to remove your pool from our register

To let us know that you have removed your pool you need to:

- apply to remove a pool
- include a photo showing where the pool was and - if possible - what it originally looked like.

We can then remove your pool from our swimming pool register and suspend future inspections.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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SomeoneSomewhere

1806 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#2709315 18-May-2021 21:04

Bear in mind that empty in-ground pools also have a habit of popping out of the ground when it rains and the water table rises, which could screw your deck's foundations. This probably isn't what they're concerned with but...