With temperatures already on the rise, it’s hard to picture braving the summer heat without a pool right outside in your backyard. Unfortunately, building an in-ground pool is a costly investment and cheaper above-ground pools are pretty unsightly when you’ve got them sitting in the middle of your yard year round.
But with all of the upcycling and re-purposing trends of recent years, shipping containers have emerged as a completely viable alternative to dumping over $20,000 into building a pool. While they are traditionally used to ship massive amounts of cargo to and from far-away lands, people have been re-purposing shipping containers to build their homes, restaurants, and even schools. And why not – the average shipping life of such a container is 10 to 14 years (even though they last for years beyond that), so there’s literally thousands of shipping containers out there that will never be used for cargo again and are ready to be salvaged into someone’s backyard oasis.
(nola.com)
While digging an in-ground pool requires building a pool shell for support, the steel frame of a shipping container already has strong mounting points and is structurally sound enough to act as the pool shell. As long as the shipping container has been water-sealed and painted with anti-corrosion paint, all you really have to worry about is how to make the inside of it have the appeal of a pool instead of a large metal dumpster. Building a pool shell also tends to be costly so purchasing a relatively inexpensive shipping container for about $1,500 is a great way to cut down on expenses. The long rectangular design of shipping containers also makes them an ideal option for backyards that are lengthy, but not very deep.
German experimental architect Stefan Beese is no stranger to working with shipping containers – he has designed several structures out of them for various events and music festivals throughout Los Angeles and New Orleans, including Voodoo Fest. Having had experience with them and knowing their structural advantages, Beese decided to build his very own shipping container pool in the backyard of his family home in New Orleans.
With a little bit of high-density foam insulation for padding and a custom fit flexible pool liner, Beese outfitted the inside of the structure and then, inspired by Japanese bath houses, added wooden planks to create the walls and the deck to make the shipping container virtually unrecognizable. He has stated that the project set him back about $5,000 to $7,000 – a much more affordable price tag for anyone looking to build a pool!
Below you’ll find some more photos of shipping container pools for inspiration and be sure to also check out this video that shows how the structure also conveniently houses all of the pool mechanics.
Stefan Beese’s Japanese inspired backyard oasis.(treehugger.com)
A modern lap pool created from a shipping container.(houzz.com)
Filling a shipping container pool already in the ground.(https://instagram.com/p/LimdUuJKqr/)
An industrial looking above-ground shipping container pool.(http://premiershippingcontainers.com.au/)
Would you ever consider setting up your own shipping container pool? Let us know in the comments below, and if you just got your brand new pool up and running or you need to replace some old parts, be sure to visit The Pool Guy Store for all of your necessary swimming pool supplies!
