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Everyone has their own kind of madness.
Unfortunately, when you live in an apartment, there’s not much room for “crazy ideas.” And a wooden house can’t withstand the soaring spirit of human ingenuity, even if it has three rooms.
But when a restless soul awakens, meaning you buy a house with a garden, that’s when the true power of the mind comes into play, and that’s when human cunning is fully revealed.
For example, a friend of mine had dreamed all his life of a three-story house with a balcony. A place where he could sit and admire his vast plot of land and the neighbor in a bikini digging up potatoes. He finished building it, went out onto the balcony, had a cup of coffee, saw his neighbor in her underwear, and never set foot on the balcony again.
Another friend of mine built a large annex on his land to have a place for billiards and table tennis. He put the tables there so he could hang out with friends every weekend. Yes, they used it once or twice… and that was it. The room has been covered with a tablecloth for six years.
The third one dug up his backyard in a way… well, I’ll tell you more about that later.
This man is an entirely average worker. We met at the factory, where he worked as a machinist and locksmith, and he still does to this day. He doesn’t make millions, but his salary and side job as a bricklayer were enough for him to build his own house, raise three kids, and drive an old Opel.
He does a lot of work around the house himself, sometimes using solutions that make you exclaim, “This is either the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, or the dumbest!” Today, I want to tell you about one of these DIY projects.
So, one fine day, a huge reinforced concrete ring appeared on his property, right in the middle of the lawn. Not the kind used for wells or septic tanks, just 1.2 or 1.5 meters, but a truly massive one—2.2 meters, if not 2.4 meters.
Actually, not just one, but two, stacked on top of each other!
First, he dug a hole by hand so as not to damage the lawn with machinery, then he used a wheelbarrow to bring in gravel, leveled it, and laid XPS foam for insulation. He placed a reinforced mesh on top and poured a thick layer of concrete over it.
All the neighbors came by and wondered:
Why are you building something so ugly? Is it part of the central canal running through the settlement?
Some even joked:
Tell me, is this going to be a bunker or a rocket launch pad?
We looked inside but saw no pipes, even though the drainage ditch was just a meter away. The purpose of this unusual architectural element was revealed when the guy started covering the concrete ring with mosaic tiles.
It turned out he had set up the 2.2-meter-wide concrete ring (I asked him for the size) as a diving pool and a children's swimming pool. After the tiling, it looked quite attractive and, most importantly, became a giant pool.
As for the cost… wait for it… he spent 357,56 $ in total. Here’s the breakdown: transportation, crane rental, the concrete rings, and the mosaic tiles (which he got from one of his side jobs).
A mini pool like this, with a 2-meter interior diameter and a depth of 1.5 meters, requires no maintenance, doesn’t crack, doesn’t break, and doesn’t get pushed out of the ground by frost. The only thing the homeowner didn’t think about was the drainage system. Now, he has to pump the water out with a submersible pump.
In the summer, the water is cleaned using chemicals and a filter pump, typically the kind that comes with inflatable kids' pools. Granted, the dog successfully destroyed this setup last year when it tried to take a dip with the kids. But with a flat brush and a Kärcher high-pressure washer, you can clean it up in just 15 minutes.
People say that pool owners, like yacht owners, are only happy twice: once when they buy it and take their first swim, and once when they get rid of it. This saying clearly doesn’t apply to this type of pool—so far, the owner has had no issues with it.
I admit, sometimes I get the mischievous thought that maybe I should build my own "rocket launch pad" this summer.
Unfortunately, when you live in an apartment, there’s not much room for “crazy ideas.” And a wooden house can’t withstand the soaring spirit of human ingenuity, even if it has three rooms.
But when a restless soul awakens, meaning you buy a house with a garden, that’s when the true power of the mind comes into play, and that’s when human cunning is fully revealed.
For example, a friend of mine had dreamed all his life of a three-story house with a balcony. A place where he could sit and admire his vast plot of land and the neighbor in a bikini digging up potatoes. He finished building it, went out onto the balcony, had a cup of coffee, saw his neighbor in her underwear, and never set foot on the balcony again.
Another friend of mine built a large annex on his land to have a place for billiards and table tennis. He put the tables there so he could hang out with friends every weekend. Yes, they used it once or twice… and that was it. The room has been covered with a tablecloth for six years.
The third one dug up his backyard in a way… well, I’ll tell you more about that later.
This man is an entirely average worker. We met at the factory, where he worked as a machinist and locksmith, and he still does to this day. He doesn’t make millions, but his salary and side job as a bricklayer were enough for him to build his own house, raise three kids, and drive an old Opel.
He does a lot of work around the house himself, sometimes using solutions that make you exclaim, “This is either the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, or the dumbest!” Today, I want to tell you about one of these DIY projects.
So, one fine day, a huge reinforced concrete ring appeared on his property, right in the middle of the lawn. Not the kind used for wells or septic tanks, just 1.2 or 1.5 meters, but a truly massive one—2.2 meters, if not 2.4 meters.
Actually, not just one, but two, stacked on top of each other!
First, he dug a hole by hand so as not to damage the lawn with machinery, then he used a wheelbarrow to bring in gravel, leveled it, and laid XPS foam for insulation. He placed a reinforced mesh on top and poured a thick layer of concrete over it.
All the neighbors came by and wondered:
Why are you building something so ugly? Is it part of the central canal running through the settlement?
Some even joked:
Tell me, is this going to be a bunker or a rocket launch pad?
We looked inside but saw no pipes, even though the drainage ditch was just a meter away. The purpose of this unusual architectural element was revealed when the guy started covering the concrete ring with mosaic tiles.
It turned out he had set up the 2.2-meter-wide concrete ring (I asked him for the size) as a diving pool and a children's swimming pool. After the tiling, it looked quite attractive and, most importantly, became a giant pool.
As for the cost… wait for it… he spent 357,56 $ in total. Here’s the breakdown: transportation, crane rental, the concrete rings, and the mosaic tiles (which he got from one of his side jobs).
A mini pool like this, with a 2-meter interior diameter and a depth of 1.5 meters, requires no maintenance, doesn’t crack, doesn’t break, and doesn’t get pushed out of the ground by frost. The only thing the homeowner didn’t think about was the drainage system. Now, he has to pump the water out with a submersible pump.
In the summer, the water is cleaned using chemicals and a filter pump, typically the kind that comes with inflatable kids' pools. Granted, the dog successfully destroyed this setup last year when it tried to take a dip with the kids. But with a flat brush and a Kärcher high-pressure washer, you can clean it up in just 15 minutes.
People say that pool owners, like yacht owners, are only happy twice: once when they buy it and take their first swim, and once when they get rid of it. This saying clearly doesn’t apply to this type of pool—so far, the owner has had no issues with it.
I admit, sometimes I get the mischievous thought that maybe I should build my own "rocket launch pad" this summer.
What do you think? Is this a good idea, or should I not even bother? I even have some leftover mosaic tiles.
