so, after some hand-wringing and griping, ray and i decided to invest in a brand new pool to replace the torn one. i went to the home depot after work on friday and shelled out $199. (last year's pool was an end-of-season bargain at only $99.)
so, first thing saturday morning we opened the box:
seven hours (and 4,000 gallons of water) later we had this:
between those before & after shots we used our air compressor to fill the inflatable top ring (3.4 MB .mov), felt a certain amount of joy in filling the hole-free pool with water (5.5 MB .mov), used our toes to feel for wrinkles in the floor (1 MB .mov), and had a zen moment with a surprise hose-created waterfall (2.2 MB .mov). we also experienced the horror of finding a pinhole leak in the side of the pool (too traumatic to film) but with our recently-acquired experience in patching holes we fixed it rather quickly.
the backyard is shaping up for summer rather well, i think. (1.5 MB .mov) lisa b came over and gave me ideas for things to plant in my beds, and i'm rather jazzed about the idea of getting the whole landscape in shape.
so, anyway. the pool. though ray and i were both a bit agitated over spending the money on a brand new swimming pool (we were hoping that last year's purchase would have lasted more than one season), we did truly relish the ease of setting up a new one. considering the work we put into cleaning and storing the old one last fall, i am almost convinced that buying a new pool each year would be worth the expense.
oh! and the nicest surprise of the whole ordeal? closing up the pool last night with last year's pool cover, only to discover that it was too small! the new pool is one whole foot larger in diameter than the one we bought last year. sweet.
so, now... first thing in the morning i'm taking a water sample to a pool supply store and will begin treating the water with chlorine, etc. hopefully things will be in tip-top shape (and ready for guests) by memorial day weekend.
if you're interested in stopping by, let me know and i'll keep you posted about the state of the pool's readiness.
Posted by xta at May 21, 2006 06:16 PM | TrackBackAny chance that you can use the old pool as an interior liner for the new pool? And if so, would that be a useful act? Just wondering.
Posted by: Phil at May 21, 2006 10:07 PMa very creative idea, phil!
i don't think it'd work, though. the size difference between the two pools is one thing, but the leak in the old pool would just complicate things... it wouldn't, in effect, be acting as a liner as it would be leaking into the new pool.
i like the way you think, though! :-)
Posted by: christa at May 22, 2006 12:39 AMSure, it cost more than last year's pool, but it's less than a vacation!
Posted by: blackbird at May 22, 2006 12:19 PM