Note to Self: Never build my house around a swimming pool!

8 September 2011 by Orville.

I saw something amazing the other day in Oak Cliff (Dallas).  I looked at a house in the Red Bird area built around a swimming pool!  I guess it sounded like a good idea to them at that time! But mildew, warped wall boards, rusted metalwork, rotting door frames!

Guess I ought to write a blog about this one!  Well, OK, since you asked!

I look at “distressed” homes, need work, good basic structures, but neglected, you know the sort.  I saw a listing for a huge place, almost 5000 sq ft, but with a price similar to “normal” homes in the area.  I was curious.  When I got there to evaluate this home, I found it was built around a swimming pool, and the main entrance to the home was like an arena or public swimming pool entrance!  Hard to describe.

This unique home is a beautiful property and has a good external appeal.  But the moisture over the years had destroyed the immediate area around the pool, floor to ceiling, mildew, rot, falling ceiling panels, rotted out door frames, curling and rotting wall panels — well, just sad!

It was a good idea.  The place was laid out like a community center.  A fairly large living area was built in an L around the pool, with the bedrooms along the back side of the pool.  The huge living room connected to the kitchen was like a clubhouse with a wall of full glass windows and sliding doors opening onto the pool.

The three-car garage connects to the pool entry area, so to get to the living area of the home, you pass by the showers and changing area of the pool surrounds, then along the pool.  And because the pool and related facilities are all under the same roof, the taxes were enormous, based on the total covered square footage of nearly 5000 square feet.

An expanded entertainment or living area filled out the middle to front of the house, with a double fireplace in wall separating the two living areas.

But for a good idea to work, you have to figure how to mitigate the destructive tendency of all that moisture over the years.  I hope someone can make something useful out of this.  My repair estimate for the enormous reconstruction/restoration costs was $46,500.  I did not see how the current market value, in even that upscale Redbird area, would bear it.

Here is what I would do if the figures and funds would work out.  I would unenclose the pool.  Open up the outside wall of the pool, which is a full wall of glass like the inside wall separating the pool from the living area of the house.  But much would be required to fully wall off the housing area with a full external wall between the bedrooms and the pool.  What a budget that would require.

So don’t ever enclose your swimming pool as part of your living area.

I learned this property did sell on 31 August 2011.  It will be interesting to see what they do with it!  I will track this property and watch for its relisting as a renovated property!  Open House, here I come!  This should be a great learning event!

Here is the realty listing.
Sawbuck
Redfin

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