So if you have read some of these blogs, you know that I don’t always have the best luck when it comes to my house and the systems in it.  Owning and maintaining an above ground pool was no different!

Although a home inspector doesn’t inspect swimming pools, we always offer recommendations for companies who will inspect a pool and often we can coordinate it to happen at the same time as the home inspection.  For some people a pool is an added bonus to the home purchase and for others, they can’t wait to take it down or fill it in and visualize another use for the space.

Years ago, when my children were small, we decided that owning a pool would be a great way to give the kids something fun to do outside that wouldn’t always involve day trips or vacations. We had a pool installer come to the house, choose the best location based on the layout of our land and soon after we had a 24’ pool up and ready for fun.  It was fantastic! We loved it! If memory serves, that first one lasted several years before we had an abundance of extremely heavy snow that compromised the uprights on the filter side of the pool. It was upsetting but we weren’t going to let it put an end to the fun. We replaced/repaired/refilled and were good to go again for another summer of fun. I believe that one lasted just a few years before we had a really bad winter with some memorable ice storms. The top rail and structure of the pool really took a beating. Replace the pool “Take – Two” (which I have to admit was starting to suck the fun out of pool ownership!) Replace, refill… wahoo! Another summer of fun in the pool!

I guess we will never know for sure what caused the pool to blow out on that lovely fall evening (of the same day that I closed the pool for the season), but when I was out and about weeding and watering the next day something just didn’t seem right about the pool. As I rounded the side of the pool I was speechless when I saw that the entire back side of the pool had literally exploded apart. The rock edging and soil was blown 20+ feet from the force of the water, completely destroying the garden beds in its wake.  That was when I was out.  That’s when we became the redneck family that had a pool deck with no pool.  I just couldn’t do it again. I’m happy to say that we eventually had the deck taken down, but sad to say that as the years have passed, I have started to long for a pool again. Especially now that there are three grand-children who could enjoy it with me!

Needless to say, when I first brought the subject up, my husband was less than enthusiastic about it. However, he has somewhat been warming up to the idea since having my daughter and grandson join us at a hotel for a few pool days this summer. Who can say no to an adorable 2 year old asking “Papa pool pleeeeease?” “ Asher swim with Nana and Papa pleeeease?”

I have to admit that my first thought when it came to having my own pool was that this time around we might want to consider an in-ground pool.  That was until I did a little bit of research. Holy cow! Have you ever looked at the costs involved!?

Vinyl Liner in-ground pool – DIY can be done for just under $20,000, assisted installation can range from $25,000-$35,000 and having someone do it for you completely can be $35,000-$55,000

Fiberglass in-ground pool – shell ranging from $9,00-$24,000 without delivery + assisted installation which typically costs $30,000-$52,000 (that’s with you doing the excavation of the hole and doing the patio work!)

Concrete/Gunite in-ground pools done completely by an installer can range from $50,000-$100,000 and up.

Yeah. NO!

I just may have come upon a solution. Now apparently this is something that has been trending but clearly I am not hip with the kids because I just saw this for the first time on Google+ and thought it was genius! Perfect size for babies to float around in, toddlers to learn their first swim strokes in and small children to happily play in while being able to touch the bottom. Not to mention that the grown-ups can sit inside for a quick cool-off as well – or sit on a bench you can build to surround it so that you can just dangle your feet in! I love it! I could do this for $100’s of dollars rather than $1,000’s for an above ground pool or tens of thousands for an in-ground pool! (And I don’t have to pay for another expensive tanker to deliver the water!)   Some sites refer to this as a redneck pool, but I have to say, I saw MANY that were set up beautifully to enhance the landscape of the yard. I think you could really take it in any direction you wanted – and change it up any time you want since you can drain it and move it whenever you want! I think it’s a little late in the season for us to put this together for this summer, but I will be keeping my eye out for sales and coupons for Tractor Supply because I think next summer Nana and Papa are going to have a pretty little stock pool for cooling off in!