Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Feb 24, 2023 11:05 am Hi Im looking at some sectioned off land where an underground pool used to be. The owners told me it was leaking and was beyond repair so they threw in tonnes of materials they didn’t need anymore like furniture, wood and bricks that otherwise would have gone to the tip. Then the rest filled with dirt. Id like to build a house on this bit of land but i am concerned about potential risks for the build. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed or whether it just isn’t possible? I don’t want to purchase if I cant build on it. Thank you Re: House build over old underground pool 2Feb 24, 2023 12:06 pm Hell no. If you want to build on that spot, you'll need to remove the dirt, debris and the pool and then properly fill and compact and an engineer sign-off on it. You have no idea what they put in there (furniture???) and how it would stand up to the weight of a house. Re: House build over old underground pool 3Feb 24, 2023 12:27 pm orionnebula Hell no. If you want to build on that spot, you'll need to remove the dirt, debris and the pool and then properly fill and compact and an engineer sign-off on it. You have no idea what they put in there (furniture???) and how it would stand up to the weight of a house. They sectioned off and are selling a part of their back yard. I think they used the pool as a quick way to get rid of their rubbish instead of taking it to the tip and to save money since they didn’t want the pool anymore. Probably going to cost me a lot to dig it up and fill it in properly. Not sure how much out of picket ill be on that. Re: House build over old underground pool 5Feb 25, 2023 10:26 am Mmg Hi Im looking at some sectioned off land where an underground pool used to be. The owners told me it was leaking and was beyond repair so they threw in tonnes of materials they didn’t need anymore like furniture, wood and bricks that otherwise would have gone to the tip. Then the rest filled with dirt. Id like to build a house on this bit of land but i am concerned about potential risks for the build. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed or whether it just isn’t possible? I don’t want to purchase if I cant build on it. Thank you Don't even consider it Re: House build over old underground pool 6Feb 25, 2023 11:37 am If you have the money and it’s a ridiculously cheap bit of land, get a geo-environmental engineer to provide you a quote to make an assessment of the fill so you can work out disposal costs – it maybe that asbestos type of wood and those car engine type of bricks and you might be looking at a costly obligation to remediate. If the fill is manageable, the rest is easier priced-If it went further I would look at using the pre-excavated, temporarily supported hole in the ground to construct a basement area. Better than backfilling and adds value. Course, there is a strong possibility in a few years’ time you will be cursing yourself for thinking buying a landfill and building a house on it was ever a sane idea…. Re: House build over old underground pool 7Feb 28, 2023 4:01 pm Was the pool concrete ? and did they leave the concrete base in ? Re: House build over old underground pool 9Feb 28, 2023 4:14 pm Then it is difficult to install piers and you can't use conventional bored piers or screw piles. You may be able to use rock drilled piles to get through the concrete and casing to stop the fill collapsing into the excavated pier. Even if you get the foundations done well the ground around them will settle significantly over time so it will be an ongoing issue. Re: House build over old underground pool 10Feb 28, 2023 4:36 pm Another issue with piers through the fill is that you would require a dedicated piling rig which may have issues setting up on a pool full of rubbish-it can be done but the cost might be high. The second issue with piers is that if the fill is left, there is the potential for future gas generation. Subfloor venting might be needed but designed on what and DA approval might be tricky. I'd say all the fill needs to go. Hi, I'm clearing the tiles from our horrid 50 year old bathroom and preparing to lay new ones. Bugger of a job getting the old… 0 8138 Hi JW I just read your post and I find this situation quite strange. When we build, we get a temp pole for construction which becomes the permanent pole for one of the… 1 3972 1 4101 |