Pool your resources, save time and
add money
Published
in the Daily Telegraph, 18Nov2006
Take the plunge - getting rid of your swimming-pool could increase
the value of your home. By James Trollope.
The symptoms of swimming-pool fatigue crept up on Paul Myles this summer,
shortly after he turned 50. There was the sweat from preparation and maintenance,
the irritation of rising bills and the guilt of contemplating 14,000 gallons
of unused water from the window of his cramped study in the parched South
East.
A
nervous breakdown would have been understandable; instead, he found a cure.
"As I was painting the empty pool, which is 32ft long, 15ft wide and
6ft deep, it suddenly hit me that I could make better use of the space
by converting it into an office," he says.
Truly, a Damascene moment in the deep end - but was it a vision that
his wife, Kathy, and two children would share?
Son Louis, 23, wasn't impressed but, as neither he nor his older sister,
Jo, 28, still live at the parental home, their opinions caused no more
than a ripple.
"Louis was upset and I was a little bit sad. But I'm pleased from a
ecological point of view, " says Jo, cradling Finlay, her new baby.
It was decided that Louis would have to lump it, while Paul would accommodate
his grandson's aquatic needs by investing in a splash pool. That just left
Kathy.
"Persuading her was difficult," says Paul. "In fact, it was harder than
getting her to marry me."
The couple built the pool 20 years ago, shortly after moving to Lewes
in East Sussex. Since then, as well as taking up about half the garden,
it has become a symbol of family fun.
"I must admit that I didn't want to lose it at first," says Kathy, who
works from home as a dress designer. "Apart from all the happy memories,
it's a beautiful thing. But I did finally see that it didn't make a lot
of sense because, despite all the sun we've had this summer, it wasn't
used enough for the amount of work that went into maintaining it." So,
the man who did most of that work eventually had his way but not without
a tinge of regret.
"Getting it ready in the spring when the water is pea-soup green is
a bore, and then you have to paint it every two or three years. But seeing
it shimmering in the sun when you get it right can be wonderful. Then again,
you can use it only for about 12 weeks of the year and after the children
left our priorities changed."
The clincher was the jaw-dropping energy expenditure, which had pushed
the pool's running costs up to about £1,500 a year.
Although he trained as a structural engineer, Paul, 52, organises art
exhibitions (past ones include works by Rodin and Henry Moore) and has
just completed a psychology degree at Sussex university. As he also works
as a builder, a bigger office had long been on his wish list.
"Lewes District Council, the planning authority, had never been asked
for permission to convert a swimming pool into a studio/office but they
were very good about it and we got the go ahead."
Paul has built up from the bottom of the pool so that only the roof
of the new building rises above the old water level. The chalet-style design
reflects that of the main house.
The new office cost about £25,000 but Paul calculates that it
has added about £90,000 to the value of the property, based on the
fact that living space in Lewes is worth £300 per sqft.
"I think it's a great investment. If you're selling a house with a pool,
you lose about half your prospective buyers because they just don't fancy
the hassle of owning one. That can reduce the overall price of the property
by about 5 per cent. Our new building has general appeal. It could be used
as an office, a grannex or even be rented out."
Sensibly, he canvassed several estate agents before taking the plunge.
"The consensus was that if you're selling a large country house with plenty
of land, buyers might expect a pool. However, if the pool takes up a lot
of the garden, from an economic point of view it might be better to get
rid of it."
But leaving aside the economics, what about the glamour of those poolside
parties?
"The snag was that you never enjoyed them quite as much as your guests
did. I was always worried about the potentially lethal combination of alcohol,
glass and deep water. It's rather like boats; it's better having a friend
who owns one than owning one yourself."
But despite this fighting talk, next summer, when the sun peeps into
his new office, I suspect that Paul might just hanker after that rectangle
of sparkling blue. Then again, he'll have more money to spend on a fabulous
holiday. |