2000-06-09
B loves few things more than being immersed in water, finds it incomparably relaxing. He's been hankering for an above-ground pool since he moved here. I've been pretty indifferent to the idea; I wouldn't mind having one but neither have I had much interest in shelling out any of the considerable dough required.
The latest thing that's caught his eye are these sort of moderate pools, more than your typical kiddie pool but less than the serious above-ground ones that generally set you back two or three grand. These are shaped like those old bean-bag ashtrays, with an inflatable ring around the top and sides that curve up from the bottom to hold the water.
He'd found them for sale online, around $299 for the 15-foot diameter, $229 for the 12-foot (both with a water depth of 24 inches). Last Saturay, we found them at the local megalo-mart, same brand, for $299 and $139 respectively. A pricing error? Who knew, but we couldn't resist: we picked up the 12-footer and a rafty-float thing for an additional seven bucks.
Then B spent the rest of the day setting the thing up. The ground needed to be level. First he selected a spot he thought it was level enough. He got out spikes and string and this adorable little level that attaches to the string (I suppose it's called a string level). And it really seemed fairly level, but as the pool filled it became clear that fairly level wasn't level enough.
So we drained the water into the street (happily you can attach a hose for draining purposes, eliminating the need to dump several hundred gallons of water onto the lawn). The next day he dug and spread sand and got the spot much more level. And we filled the pool and it rose to its full, intended height. (It's the pressure of the water that causes the sides to rise, if you can visualize that.)
All week it's been rainy and/or cool so we haven't exactly been taking advantage of our new luxury. This weekend temperatures are slated to hit 90, though, so I know where we'll be.
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