rules for inground placement

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8corneflakes

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Jul 13, 2009
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Fort Wayne, IN
We are in the very beginning process of deciding where to place our inground pool. Does anyone know what the rule is on the distance the pool has to be from gas lines, septic lines and septic tanks. Our favorite spot has a three foot slope and not much room to taper off before we get to the easement. Our second favorite spot is near gas and septic lines.

Also, do we HAVE to get a permit? We are doing everything ourselves with family help. No one except family will know we are putting one in and we plan on paying them in beer and getting them thoroughly drunk afterward.

We are just so sad that we don't have a pool right now. I actually miss using my kit.

Thanks for this wonderful site!
 
Or, if you don't want to tip off the local building inspector, check out your city's website. Often, they will have a building inspector page with info on local building codes, etc. Here in CA, any sort of addition would involve very hefty permit fees, and an addition to our base property value that would significantly jack up our tax basis (thanks for Prop 13!). Fortunately for us, we purchased a house with a pool already there, but any sort of enhancement to our property involves potentially significant increases in our property taxes, which are already quite significant!
 
I don't think there's anything in our local code for gas or septic. Anyway, gas and septic lines can be moved. Do you HAVE to get a permit? No, unless you plan to sell your house some day, want to be covered by your insurance, and have some legal standing if anyone were to ever be hurt in your pool. IMHO, skipping the permit would be a bad idea. It's a little extra bother and a few hundred bucks in what is an investment of tens of thousands of dollars.
 
For our area (yours may be and probably is different)... Septic lines have no clearance requirements. Gas lines have 18" clearance. Buried Electrical has a 5 foot from waters edge clearance. Water supply has an 18" clearance. Low voltage communications have no requirements.

On the permit issue:

I used to be like you, not wanting to permit stuff and go through the hassle. Then a neighbor with the same attitude built an addition on his house unpermitted. Another neighbors child got seriously hurt on his property. This is completely unrelated to the thing he built.

The insurance company who covered his homeowners denied the claim and cancelled his policy when they found out about the unpermitted addition. It clearly stated in the policy about having the structure and property code-compliant, and he took them to court and lost because of his misstep.

The child is a parapalegic now, and his parents have had to bear the burden of the cost of his care, including the initial hospital stay which ran into the high six figures.

The property owner wound up losing the home because he could not insure it, his mortgage required insurance on the home. The addition to his home wound up having to be torn out by the bank, and the house completely reinspected before it could be resold.

All because he skimped on a $200 permit.

I have to say that I have added on to my home since then, and permitted everything. The inspection process was not the nightmare I thought it would be, and the inspectors have been very helpful about things when I had a question about the right way to do something. I am in the process of building my own pool as I write this. I pulled the permit for it ($150) and the inspections are light for a pool... 2 each for plumbing and electrical, pre-gunite and final, and a final overall inspection for safety.

I would encourage you to stay within the "legal building process" for your area. Stepping outside it can be costly and deadly.
 
Ok party poopers, I will tell my husband about the permit! Mainly, we didn't want our property taxes to skyrocket. But, I do see the problem with insurance and liability. Did everyone else find that insurance and property taxes went way up?
 
My property value has been steadily declining since I bought so the pool had substantial impact on what I had been paying. My homeowners insurance was a wash as well.

I did add an umbrella policy with the pool (& a teenage driver). It was fairly inexpensive - the umbrella policy that is. Wish I could say the same about the teenage driver. The auto policy doubled - even with USAA!!
 
Taz said:
Wish I could say the same about the teenage driver. The auto policy doubled - even with USAA!!
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Our teen driver just moved out. Our insurance went from 250/mo to ~100/mo.

Our town must be weird, coz pools pretty much add nothing to a homes assessed value.

When I called the insurance agent to add a pool to our policy, they just made a note in the records, they said the premium wouldnt change at all. Guess we lucked out?
 

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8corneflakes said:
this is good news! I will make my two oldest move out before they can drive.

Thanks for the prompt replies!
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You joke about this... BUT. I was allowed to drive at 16 and got in accidents that I attribute to inexperience and immaturity. My wife was not allowed to drive until 17 and didnt get into an accident that was her fault until in her 30s. I didnt let my daughter drive until she was 17, and she has no accidents or tickets, plus she saved a year of ridiculous insurance payments (my rules are you buy your own gas and pay your own insurance with money you earn at a job or you dont drive).

I will do the same with my youngest when she gets old enough to drive.
 
I disagree on the drivers. I have a 14 year old and in ND, its extremely rural. Having your license is a benefit to get around. Now I beleive it depends on your child. Mine is extremely well behaved with a very conservative driving ability. She will have her license this year when she turns 15. With that comes rules and responsibilities and each child should earn that. I agree about the job to help pay gas and insurance. I thik that teaches responsibility and a lesson that nothing is free in life. Work ethic is big with me. I also plan to spend more time with her driving together with me so she understands how to drive for the conditions like snow/ice.

These are just my opinions is all. Also, my policy did not change with our pool either. Just no diving board. I know our vehicles insurance will go up with a teen driver but what doesnt in life.
 
No one gave you a sample guideline for septic. My town required 10' from the tank, 20' from the field, and no requirement for the solid lines going to the tank from the house. I had no change in insurance (no diving board) but they did want confirmation that it was fenced per town code with self-closing gates.
 
Agree that sometimes permit violation ramifications come at you from unexpected directions.

There is a guy in Florida who built a floating dock on the lake behind his house, much like most of the other folks that live on the same lake. Someone reported it as an unpermitted structure to the city, and he was required to pull the dock and get engineering approval for the plans and get a permit before re-placing it, in addition to paying a penalty fee. I understand that he's now intending to report every one of his neighbors on that lake with a dock for the same thing.
 
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