Our Pool Adventure – Summer 2020
Our Pool Adventure – Summer 2020
When I bought my home last September, I knew I wanted a pool. I also knew that I wanted a temporary pool that I could set up and take down each summer. My parents have a large inflatable pool and I’ve watched them love the ease of having a pool only one season out of the year. This spring I started looking at pools to see pricing and watch them to try and get a sale. Well, this did not pan out like I planned. COVID19 hit and apparently everyone else had the same idea as me and before I knew it, every pool was sold out! I couldn’t believe it and was devastated. This was dramatic. Before long, my fiance, Josh, found out that Ocean State Job Lot had them and, bonus – they were on sale! He scooped the last one up on his way home from work, along with all the various accoutrements, and it promptly sat in the garage until we had an open day to set it up. This particular pool came with a filter, ladder, tarp for underneath, and a cover. Separately, we got we got chlorine, a net, and some weed blocking fabric for underneath the pool. Our model is an Intex Metal Frame Pool that is 15′ wide x 4′ tall.
Finally the perfect day arrived . . .well, not perfect, but it did arrive. It was hot and bright and rain was expected later in the afternoon. We thought we could get it done before the rain hit, so we dove in. The pool came with directions and we followed them closely. Except, we didn’t see the OTHER (more detailed) directions. Note to self and anyone else who is thinking of setting up their own pool: find and read all directions! It was so frustrating because I’m the type of person that always reads directions first. Au revoir, pride. Nevertheless, we began by laying out the weed blocking fabric as a base, covered that with the tarp that came with the pool, and then unrolled the pool itself. (This is where we missed the pivotal direction to place all the tubing around the circumference of the pool. To be fair, this particular direction was omitted completely from what we were referencing, but still.) We placed the posts as directed and started filling the pool as directed. It was so hot! The four of us worked together and we were so pleased with our teamwork. Then we realized our error. But no worries, we would just add the tubing in now. We hastily began to place the tubing in, connecting it to the posts, while the pool was filling. At this point, it was a comedy of errors as we got all the way around and the tubing wouldn’t connect! It was too large and we couldn’t close the circle. And then it started to rain. (I’m honestly laughing as I type this because we were all so grumpy, but it’s pretty funning remembering it now.) We abandoned ship. The pool was standing, but not closed, there was about a foot of water, and we hadn’t even unboxed the filter. Later we tried to close the circle, but in the end, we had to take the whole pool down and start over, doing the tubing first. It worked like a charm (naturally). We filled the pool up to the hight of the filter, added the filter, and then filled the pool up to the top and added chlorine. We’ve been in the pool as a family, which was delightful. I should note that we’re pretty sure a previous owner had an above ground pool because we had a nearly perfect level spot and didn’t need to do any work with the ground to get a level area.
Summing it up: I am truly grateful for a supportive partner and two great kids that have helped this process go smoothly (even when it wasn’t perfect). I’m also thrilled and thankful we have a pool to enjoy. It’s such a privilege and one I do not take for granted. My guys are fish and I love having a pool right outside that we can enjoy without the hassle of travel. It’s worth the setup and maintenance for sure! I absolutely recommend this pool if it’s something you’re interested in adding (temporarily) to your home.
Best, Abbey
