DIY Pool Escapades

We have always had a pool of some sort since we’ve had kids. The typical hard round Mr Turtle pools, blow up pools, pools where only the top ring blows up and as you fill it with water, it rises up to its end shape, and even rectangular pools with ‘U’ bars to hold it up with a solid top frame, and is basically a heavy duty liner as the pool.

Now all of the above have one very important thing in common. None of them were permanent.

Even so, they have always been enough for our family, and the kids friends as they got older. Until this happened…

Last year was the first year we didn’t have a pool and I have to say, I missed it.

We’ve been ‘himmin & hawing’ about whether or not to get another one all year, but with our kids now adults, off and running all the time, the husband didn’t think it would get used enough to justify the time it took for him to keep it clean, the cost of the chemicals, and ‘put up, take down’ energy.

So air conditioning it was. More time spent indoors than out. Especially for me. (My Fibromyalgia coupled with the constant hot flashes that have become a 24 hour pain in my ass since I went into early menopause [breast cancer fuelled by estrogen = all female parts removed, and no medications for relief].

I can’t even begin to express how uncomfortable I am ALL the time in the heat and mugginess. So I don’t go outside unless it’s to take the dogs out.

We are now into the last days of August when we come across an ad for a 24 foot round, above ground pool for a really good price, and it was already tore down. We just had to go pick it up.

After convincing my husband that, yes, it would get used, we bought it. It came with everything it needed and It wasn’t very old.

Since the weather is still scorching hot we decided to put it up this year, knowing that we no longer to have to tear it down every season.

This is the weekend we decided to do it.

Of course,there are no instructions that came with it. The husband watched a YouTube video.

He then spent all last week prepping the ground for the install, making sure it was level.

The frame went up 2 days ago, and we began installing the liner yesterday.

It was a fly by the seat of our pants kinda thing and it didn’t seem to have enough ‘overhang’. There were also places that needed to be patched. Nothing very large, but with those two things, we wanted to be safe instead of sorry.

We called a local pool supply store and they had exactly what we needed in stock. We took a quick trip to town to pick it up.

We had already been fighting with the old liner, and the pool coming out of the track, for hours. We arrived home with the new liner thinking we would pop it in and fill it up, no problems.

Yeah right.

Everyone’s patience was thin at this point.

It was hot. We were tired, and each of us had our own ideas on how it should be done.

You would think we would have looked up how to install a pool liner for an above ground round pool before we attempted it.

I am the only female, therefore the only one willing to seek advice about the correct way to do it.

Tempers, mine especially, flared.

Finally, I looked for a video. I found a great one online but had a hard time getting anyone to actually watch it from start to finish so we could all be on the same page.

Needless to say, whether it was not enough sand along the inside edge, not properly ‘sealing’ the liner to the pool walls and bottom, or by being impatient and putting the water in before we should have, we now have this problem.

Liner pulled on one side

Because we are out of money now and the pool has water in it, we have 2 options…..

1. Drain out all the water…..again, and tear the pool down until next year(we spent our cushion cash on the new liner, and can’t get the extra sand we need) or

2. Put more water in it so we can keep it up and winterize it until next year, then drain it and do it all again.

The husband who HAS put the majority of the time, sweat and tears into the pool, believes number two is our best option.

I think it is going to ruin or rip the new liner and we will have to buy another new one next year.

We’ve got a bet. $100

So when I win the bet, I will happily and lovingly give him back the $100 to use towards the new liner we’re gonna need.

I’ll keep you all updated.

For now at least, it is still possible to use the pool…gently. As long as no one creates any large waves of water that would allow water to flow over the duct taped liner. No canon balls this year.

It is still in the 30’s (high 80’s) here even though it is September, and I will use the pool for as long as I possibly can if the weather remains like this.

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