Building a Pool? What About the Dirt?

If you're installing an in-ground swimming pool in your backyard, you're

going to end up with a lot of dirt after the digging is done. If you pay

the contractors to remove it, they will have to take it out by the

truckload, and it can get costly. Taunton's Pool Idea Book


offers the following suggestion:

Instead of paying to have your excavated soil hauled away, recycle it. You

might be able to use the dirt elsewhere in your landscape in order to

"create rolling terrain or mounds, which are especially appropriate

around a naturalistic pool or spa" (pg 19). Also, if you're thinking

of installing a water garden replete with waterfall and stream, that

excess dirt could come in handy. Waterfalls need elevated terrain to

trickle down. You can also use the dirt to build up raised areas around

the pool to act as a wind buffer for the swimmers.