How to Craft a Gorgeous Swimming Pool Out of a Dumpster

Desperate for a swimming pool, but don’t have the money or space for a full size backyard oasis? The good folks at HGTV, along with New Orleans based architect/designer Stefan Beese have the perfect solution for you: Turning a run of the mill dumpster into a beautiful DIY pool.

The first, and perhaps most obvious step, is to find and install a dumpster in your yard, which should run somewhere around $1500. Given that a normal dumpster is 8 x 24 feet, its a perfect fit for “Shotgun Houses” and other homes that sit on narrow lots. After digging out a landing pad for the dumpster (which will vary depending on the stability of the ground) Beese laid down a layer of limestone gravel to serve as protection for the base.

Once the dumpster was in place, Beese and his team treated the outside of the dumpster with tar and anti-corrosion paint. Next, they layered the interior walls and floor with insulation and padding to make the dumpster a suitable environment for swimming.

After prepping the future pool’s interior, the team began construction on the outdoor frame that will make up the finished deck around the pool. They built benches in the structure, and hid the filter and other electrical components behind an easily removable wood panel. Once the structure was complete, Beese and his team stained the wood to give the pool a beautiful mahogany look.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have a brand new way to play in your backyard in no time.

For the full breakdown of how to turn a dumpster into the swimming pool of your dreams, head over to HGTV’s full gallery on the project.