We moved gravel today. And dirt. And sand. We thought the pool that had been here was about 4' deep. Well, when the pool had drained itself through the gashes in the liner, we discovered that there was a deep spot for jumping (diving?). That was one deeeeep hole. Furthermore, there was also a LOT of gravel around the pool so as to prevent huge mud puddles from developing. Well, Gary got to a point in his deck-sanding and -staining that he finally wanted that hole filled in. So with shovels and wheelbarrows, we transferred rocks and bricks and old broken concrete pieces into the hole, and we packed gravel and dirt and sand in around the layers of rocks. The hole is nowhere near as full as it should be, but it's lots better. The backyard also looks a little neater, what with so many of those rock piles now hidden and serving as fill.
Gary thinks he's going to have to rent a Bobcat. We moved loads of gravel, but some of it is just so pounded into the soil that it's not going to be very nice about coming loose with garden forks and human-powered shovels. Looking forward to finally undoing the mess that was once a pool into some nice lawn or garden or both. It's been a long haul so far, but after today it seems like we might be halfway.
Showing posts with label pool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pool. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Swimming Pool
I give up. (Y'know, I think we finally gave up on the real pool about 4 months ago.) After some frustration at the beach, culminating in the shocking [to me] events of last week, we decided maybe we really did need a pool in the yard. We reasoned that the kids needed more exercise than I can manage to get them to do. We needed fun exercise that was easily available. And we needed cool exercise for these two who get SO hot and uncomfortable.
It's the time of year when pools go on clearance. We found one of those large pools that is soft-sided, with a big blue inflatable donut that floats on top of the water and holds up the sides. To me, it essentially seemed like an oversized kiddie pool, with a filter. We were willing to use it for 5-6 weeks yet this summer, take it down, and set it up again next year. And it's cheaper to purchase now than later.
But once we opened the box and took out the instructions, we found some surprises. The pool has to be on level ground. Well, duh, I knew that. But they mean REALLY level. Like, so level that if you start putting water in it, and get an inch of water in one spot while another spot is still dry, you have to take down the pool, level the ground better, and start over. Hey, this is kettle-moraine area, and we ain't got no place to put a pool that's 15' diameter! Okay, well, maybe we can fudge a bit. And maybe we could move some sand and dirt to make things a bit more level. There are two spots in the yard that are kinda sorta close to being quasi-level. But then we continued to read the instructions.
Can't put it under power lines. Shoot, one of our places is under power lines. It must be 10-21 feet away from a grounded electrical outlet. Nope; we'd need an extension cord for either of those two places. What if we fudged and used an extension cord? Well, after doing some internet research, that didn't sound so good.
And then there's the chemicals and the daily cleaning. And the tarp we'd have to buy to go under the pool, and the solar blanket to go on top of the pool, and the electricity to run the filter. Overall, it just seemed like there were a lot of things to consider that should've been listed on the outside of the box instead of hidden in the set-up directions inside the box.
So the pool is boxed back up. And I'm hoping that the store will take it back and refund our money. And now I have to figure out what other options I have for taking kids swimming. Ron (the sweet guy from church that I met at the grocery store last week after being at the beach) told me tonight where there's a really nice beach. It's further away, and there's a daily charge to get into the park and to get into the beach too. But at least it's a possibility.
Bummers. I thought I'd figured out the solution to something. But after a week of puzzling and problem-solving, I'm right back to where I started with the problem.
It's the time of year when pools go on clearance. We found one of those large pools that is soft-sided, with a big blue inflatable donut that floats on top of the water and holds up the sides. To me, it essentially seemed like an oversized kiddie pool, with a filter. We were willing to use it for 5-6 weeks yet this summer, take it down, and set it up again next year. And it's cheaper to purchase now than later.
But once we opened the box and took out the instructions, we found some surprises. The pool has to be on level ground. Well, duh, I knew that. But they mean REALLY level. Like, so level that if you start putting water in it, and get an inch of water in one spot while another spot is still dry, you have to take down the pool, level the ground better, and start over. Hey, this is kettle-moraine area, and we ain't got no place to put a pool that's 15' diameter! Okay, well, maybe we can fudge a bit. And maybe we could move some sand and dirt to make things a bit more level. There are two spots in the yard that are kinda sorta close to being quasi-level. But then we continued to read the instructions.
Can't put it under power lines. Shoot, one of our places is under power lines. It must be 10-21 feet away from a grounded electrical outlet. Nope; we'd need an extension cord for either of those two places. What if we fudged and used an extension cord? Well, after doing some internet research, that didn't sound so good.
And then there's the chemicals and the daily cleaning. And the tarp we'd have to buy to go under the pool, and the solar blanket to go on top of the pool, and the electricity to run the filter. Overall, it just seemed like there were a lot of things to consider that should've been listed on the outside of the box instead of hidden in the set-up directions inside the box.
So the pool is boxed back up. And I'm hoping that the store will take it back and refund our money. And now I have to figure out what other options I have for taking kids swimming. Ron (the sweet guy from church that I met at the grocery store last week after being at the beach) told me tonight where there's a really nice beach. It's further away, and there's a daily charge to get into the park and to get into the beach too. But at least it's a possibility.
Bummers. I thought I'd figured out the solution to something. But after a week of puzzling and problem-solving, I'm right back to where I started with the problem.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Fence
Well, the guy who's going to take the pool off our hands (we think!) came on Tuesday night and Friday night this week. He and Gary worked for several hours each night. (Of course, wouldn't ya know, those were nights I was all organized and on time with dinner which then had to wait.)
A lot of the pool parts and accessories are gone. We have found that there is a LOT of gravel out there, surrounding the pool. A lot! I guess some of it's going to be used as fill-in for the deep hole in the center of the pool. We're not quite sure yet what's going to fill-in the rest of the low spot, but we'll work on that problem later.
The walls of the pool are still standing, as there was a problem undoing the seam where the two ends met. Gary thinks he's figured out a way to solve that without destroying the pool. But now we wonder if the guy taking the pool might've seen that problem as just too much to bother with.
Nicest at this point is that the ugly fence around the pool is down. It was rickety and not very nice looking and not even finished/sealed. It was adequate to its task -- keeping people away from the pool and drowning. But it looks so much nicer out back with that fence gone now! The fence posts are still there. They'll be slow in coming down as we discovered they were cemented into the ground. One or two fence-posts will probably be plenty of physical labor per day.
A lot of the pool parts and accessories are gone. We have found that there is a LOT of gravel out there, surrounding the pool. A lot! I guess some of it's going to be used as fill-in for the deep hole in the center of the pool. We're not quite sure yet what's going to fill-in the rest of the low spot, but we'll work on that problem later.
The walls of the pool are still standing, as there was a problem undoing the seam where the two ends met. Gary thinks he's figured out a way to solve that without destroying the pool. But now we wonder if the guy taking the pool might've seen that problem as just too much to bother with.
Nicest at this point is that the ugly fence around the pool is down. It was rickety and not very nice looking and not even finished/sealed. It was adequate to its task -- keeping people away from the pool and drowning. But it looks so much nicer out back with that fence gone now! The fence posts are still there. They'll be slow in coming down as we discovered they were cemented into the ground. One or two fence-posts will probably be plenty of physical labor per day.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Pool Decision
It's going to have to go. The costs is just too high for us to get it up and running after the harsh winter. There is a lot of work ahead of us, removing and moving fencing, dismantling and disposing of the pool, doing something with the landscaping to fill in the hole, and changing the deck. Sorry to those of you who were looking forward to bringing the kids to play in the water!
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Pool
We were skeptical about the work needed to take care of a pool. When we were house-hunting, we had automatically crossed a house off the possibility-list if it had a pool. But this house had a good price and good location and good size, and we bought it anyway. We figured we'd try to learn how to work the chemicals and keep it clean and all that.
But now that spring has come and things are thawed, we find some holes in the pool liner. A couple of days ago it was half full. Right now there's only 8" of water in the pool. I talked to the guy at the pool-care store, and he said there are patches. But boy, when Andrew and I went out and looked, we are going to need a LOT of patches. Big patches.
So I looked online to get a rough idea of what a pool liner might cost. It's going to be $400 or more if we install it ourselves. I'm guessing it would be $1000 or more if we contact somebody who's got a clue as to what they're doing. Kinda pricey for something we were just going to "try out" for a couple of years, not sure we even wanted to mess with it in the first place.
And that's how life goes....
But now that spring has come and things are thawed, we find some holes in the pool liner. A couple of days ago it was half full. Right now there's only 8" of water in the pool. I talked to the guy at the pool-care store, and he said there are patches. But boy, when Andrew and I went out and looked, we are going to need a LOT of patches. Big patches.
So I looked online to get a rough idea of what a pool liner might cost. It's going to be $400 or more if we install it ourselves. I'm guessing it would be $1000 or more if we contact somebody who's got a clue as to what they're doing. Kinda pricey for something we were just going to "try out" for a couple of years, not sure we even wanted to mess with it in the first place.
And that's how life goes....
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