Fun While It Lasted

Shortly afer we moved here 21 years ago, we bought an above-ground pool. It was 18 x 33. My husband built the deck. We had a lot of good times in that pool; it served us well. We used to be able to get the water from the local fire company and it was never that expensive to fill. I think we had to fill it maybe three times max, as we would always put the correct chemicals in and cover it over the winter. But once in awhile there would be a problem and it had to be drained.

And then there came the day that the fire company no longer would supply the water. We had to look elsewhere for that third filling. We also had to change the liner as it had sprung a few leaks. So on a nice Spring day, many years ago, we rounded up some male relatives (one of which used to work for a pool company), made the appointment with the water-hauling company, and set to work. The new liner was taken out of the box and presented to the pool which had been groomed for its acceptance. And then the one thing we hadn't planned on had happened: there were pin holes in the brand new liner. We had to scrap those plans and cancel the water.

We exchanged the liner eventually but the thrill of getting the pool up and going had lost its luster. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into years. And this picture is what became of the downtrodden pool that once was so proud to hear our laughter as we splashed about. (That path you see in the grass is from the cats walking back and forth to our deck on the back of the house.)



Not a pretty sight. The deck, which was at this end by the concrete wall, had been dismantled before trying to put the liner in (when the holes were discovered). We had bought lumber and everything needed to build a new deck at Home Depot, after telling them what we needed and wanted. The computer for the plan spit out everything down to the last screw, and we bought everything that same day. Little did we know then that the deck would never be built. Yes, we still have everything in our barn, and we are currently looking for a buyer.

Eventually I decided it wasn't worth it to have a pool. It was very costly to run, not to mention the electricity needed for the pump and filter to run all day and night, the water was hard to come by and rising in price every year, and for the little bit that we were using it toward the end, well...I just figured the hell with it.

We found a buyer for all the new things we bought still in the boxes, including the liner, and we actually made a profit on those items. And once the pool was dismantled by my husband, it was taken to a scrapyard where we made more money, as it was totally aluminum. The picture below is after everything was dismantled and before it was taken away. Everything you see there will be cleaned up and we will take it all away next Spring (for more money). That concrete wall will be knocked down and eventually that area will be all grass.



There were quite a few years from the time we stopped using it until it was finally taken down. I will say this: it served as a bathroom area for our cats. There was sand in the bottom, and they would climb the pool ladder to get in and out. So it wasn't exactly taking up space doing nothing.