A pallet swimming pool is an above-ground pool whose wall is made from wooden shipping pallets stood on end in a ring, held together with straps and lined with a waterproof sheet. The best-known example came from Torben Jung in Germany, who posted photos of his build on Facebook in the summer of 2015. He said it used ten old pallets and cost him about 70 euros, and within weeks DIY blogs around the world had picked it up, usually under the headline "a pool for under $80".
The idea is genuinely clever: pallets are strong, cheap or free, and ten of them form a near-circle about the size of a small garden pool. But a pool holds a surprising amount of water, and a home-made wall has none of the testing a commercial kit goes through. Below we follow Jung's project picture by picture, then look at the practical questions any copycat builder should think about: choosing pallets, the forces on the wall, the liner, and above all safety around children.
The build, step by step
Jung's photos show the whole process in a few stages: a flat base, the pallet ring, padding and liner, then a timber rim and decorative cladding.
The first step is a level site. Jung spread a large white sheet over the grass and began standing pallets up in an arc on top of it, with a curious dog supervising. A flat, firm base matters more than anything else, because uneven ground puts extra pressure on one part of the wall.
With all ten pallets standing, the ring is closed and bound with bright orange ratchet straps running round the outside. The straps act like the hoops on a barrel, carrying the outward push of the water so the joints between pallets do not open.
Inside, the floor and walls are padded with grey sheeting and covered with old towels and cushions to protect the liner from splinters and nail heads. Any sharp point left here would eventually wear a hole in the plastic once the pool is full.
Liner, rim and cladding
A blue waterproof tarp goes in next, draped over the top of the wall and held with extra yellow straps while it settles. As the pool fills, water pressure presses the sheet into every corner, so it needs plenty of slack before filling begins.
The finished pool, with a wooden ledge fixed around the whole top edge and reed matting wrapped round the outside to hide the pallets and straps. The cladding turns a rough construction into something that looks at home in a garden.
A closer view of the liner tucked under the timber rim, which also gives swimmers something to sit on or hold. Fresh water like this needs filtering or regular changing; without it, algae turn it green within days in summer heat.
Seen from the roof of a nearby building, the pool sits on a grassy slope with a wide view down the valley. The photo also shows how small it is: a place to cool off, not to swim lengths.
What it really cost, and what it did not include
Jung's figure of about 70 euros covered the materials he had to buy. It works out cheap because the pallets were second-hand and the hardest parts, the base and the labour, were his own. If you need to buy a heavy-duty pool liner, a pump and filter, and decent ratchet straps, the total rises quickly, though it can still be far less than a framed pool kit of similar size.
A rough sense of scale helps. A standard Euro pallet measures 1.2 by 0.8 metres. Ten of them stood side by side give a ring about four metres across. Filled to around 80 centimetres, that is roughly ten cubic metres of water, which weighs about ten tonnes. All of that weight pushes outward on the wall and down on the ground, which is why the straps and the level base matter so much.
Choosing safe pallets
Not every pallet is suitable for a project like this. Wooden pallets used in international trade must be treated against pests under the ISPM 15 standard, and the treatment is stamped on the side:
- HT means heat treated: the wood was heated to at least 56 °C at the core for 30 minutes. These are the ones to look for.
- MB means fumigated with methyl bromide, a pesticide gas. Avoid these for anything people will touch daily.
- Pallets with oily stains or unknown spills may have carried chemicals, so leave them aside.
Look for solid boards without cracks, and check that the stringers, the thick blocks between top and bottom boards, are intact. Euro pallets are rated to carry well over a tonne each when loaded evenly, but that rating is for weight on top, not for water pushing sideways, so do not rely on the wood alone.
Safety and the rules
Any garden pool, however small, is a drowning risk for young children and pets. Plan for it from day one:
- Never leave children alone near the water, even for a moment, and empty or cover the pool when it is not in use.
- Remove ladders or steps after swimming so small children cannot climb in.
- Fence the area if your garden is open to neighbours' children.
- Check local rules: some towns and countries require fencing, permits or set-back distances for pools over a certain depth or volume.
- Inspect straps and liner regularly, and drain the pool before winter so frost does not damage the wood.
Treat the project as a summer build that will need maintenance, not a permanent pool.
Why the idea took off
Jung's pool spread because it hit a sweet spot: an obviously cheap material, a result that looked great in photos, and a dream almost everyone shares on a hot day. It also fits the wider pallet-upcycling trend that has turned shipping crates into sofas, garden beds and even small houses. Built carefully and used responsibly, a pallet pool can be a fun weekend project. Built carelessly, it is ten tonnes of water held back by a few straps, which is worth remembering before the hose goes in.
Sources: Photos: Torben Jung, via his Facebook post; Why Don't You Try This (30 July 2015); Goods Home Design; Wikipedia: EUR-pallet; Wikipedia: ISPM 15.
This is no good without filtration. The water will be bad in 24 hours.
ReplyDeletefilter pump for under 100 on amazon
Delete