After a very rainy June, the St. Louis summer has arrived in all its hot, muggy glory. I must admit that my commitment to never buy a backyard pool again strikes me as a bit extreme on some of these days… especially when I come across ideas for cool pools based on existing structures like dumpsters and shipping containers.
Yep, with a little elbow grease (or professional assistance), the right sized container or dumpster can serve as a very unique above-ground pool. And unlike the typical pool, these designs are modular: if you move, you can take the pool with you.
Cool Pool #1: The Dumpster Pool
Yep, this one’s made the rounds on other sites, but I just discovered it today on The Daily Mail. New Orleans-based “experimental architect” Stefan Beese took a 22 x 7′ dumpster, added a layer of foam insulation and a pool liner, and then covered it with pine slats. The result: a great backyard lap pool. Take a look:
Stefan’s now in the dumpster pool business: you can find Dumpster Dive Delux – The Pool Box on Facebook.
Cool Pool #2: The Shipping Container Pool
Is there anything you can’t do with a shipping container? While I’m sure there is, turning one into a swimming pool isn’t on the list. Blog The Epic hasn’t been updated in years, but I have no doubt they’re still getting plenty of traffic from two posts on their DIY shipping container pool. Now this is pretty hardcore DIY: you have to be able to weld and cut metal. But the end result is pretty sweet:
Are there downsides? Certainly. No diving, no depth changes… but when it’s hot and sticky out, those things don’t matter as much.
So, yeah, I’m rethinking that “no pool” pledge… feel free to tell me about your broken pump, or your insane water bill, to keep me balanced. Know of other containers that have been repurposed into cool pools? Share them with us in the comments…
Top photo credit: Shutterstock