Covid Pool

This summer was looking bleak to say the least. Homeschool was announced in March and every day that went by, it seemed more things were being cancelled. First school, then Caleb's office was closed down, the community pool we were members of for years, all sports and socializing. I was going nuts wondering what we would do all summer stuck at home without anywhere to go. I started a secret treehouse club with my two friends Stacia and Britni and we all decided we needed to buy cheap above ground pools this summer. As it turns out, we were not the first ones to decide this and most all the pools were sold out. We called every Costco in town, looked online, tried to find used ones, nothing was going to happen for us. So I went to a local pool store and found a nicer pool that you can put in ground, but it's still a liner pool so it cost a lot less. I came home and told Caleb what I was up to and asked him if he wanted a pool. He said he did like the idea of a pool but he didn't want something small or temporary. He said if we did a pool, it had to be nice and in ground. Who am I to question to patriarch of our family, obviously Caleb makes all important decisions and as his humble wife I will oblige without restraint.

We found a pool we wanted and made a down payment two weeks later. We started excavation on the wettest worst day all spring. It should have been a sign that we would run into a few snags in our plans, but we pressed forward without delay. We found an area that had pretty good sunlight, was flat-ish, and close to the new treehouse. Ben and Jeremy came and dug out a lot of the pool on the worst day, Caleb and Ben did most of the work after we moved a lot of dirt away and got it to a better shape.

After we dug the hole, after a couple weeks, we were ready to put in a drain pipe. We had Dwight come do some boring and put a pipe that drains rainwater from around the outside of the pool to our creek. I loved watching this process and found it fascinating that you can drill across my property into a perfect angle to make the water drain. I was covered in mud most days at this point but loving learning these new techniques that are irrelevant in every day life. Then we covered the drain with rock and got ready for the sand bars that the pool would be set on and pool delivery day.

In our plans, the pool would be delivered with a semi truck and a crane would lift the pool into the massive hole. In reality the semi truck would get stuck coming up our driveway, stuck again when he tried leaving, and the crane would also get stuck and be unable to get the pool back to it's new home. So the pool was placed in our front yard, about 600 feet from the hole and we had no way to move it. We still had to pay for the crane truck, and the pool truck ruined our new asphalt driveway, and we had no solution. So I stayed up all night thinking of options and called a bunch of people the next day trying to make a plan.

We decided on renting a gradeall forklift to try and move the pool across our property. It weighed a lot less than the crane truck so it hopefully won't get stuck. The problem is that we were unable to rent a spreader bar to use and help us lift the pool. The pool is 16 feet by 40 feet. If we lift it too low, the fiberglass will pull in on itself and break or crack. So Caleb and I used old well pipe that our neighbor had and he stayed up all night welding them into spreader bars. Our friend Paul Duchateau came over to help us figure out how to do it, and the next day we got the gradeall and tried to see if it would work. While we were waiting on rental and equipment Ben kept us on schedule by trenching our lines for water and the filter system. We got a spot in our old barn to get ready for equipment and electrical and water. Lots could be done behind the scenes while we waited and since it was our first time, we probably needed the few extra days anyway.

We had friends who came to help hold a side of the pool and stop it from swinging into the machine. The gap between the trees to get the pool back there was 20 feet, so we had 2 extra feet on each side to squeeze it through. The spreader bars held and we got the pool back. Getting the pool inside the hole was a bonus, we didn't expect to be able to do it. The gradeall cannot move left or right to turn and get the pool lined up, you have to drive the pool straight in and there's a slope, a creek and a pond, and a lot of screaming adults trying to make it happen. I am still not sure how and why it worked. All I know is that we had a lot of help and tension was high. But the minute that sucker got in there, we were so relieved.

The next part sounded like a lot of work and I was not looking forward to it. Every part of the job was outlined in my crazy schedule and I had already hired a water truck to bring in water, an electrician, rock delivery, concrete, and every part was on delay when the pool schedule was delayed due to the crane truck not working out. So instead of having rock and water on a Saturday when Caleb could help, we had to do it on whatever was available on their schedule and soon or we would lose our spot for other work we needed done. So I called anyone that I knew with a shovel and asked them to come shovel gravel on a really hot day around the outside of the pool as a water truck filled in the inside. We had an amazing turnout and it all went faster than expected. But the water level on the inside has to be within a foot of the rock on the outside so we don't bend or break the fiberglass. So I was nervous and stressed and it took forever in some parts, but after awhile it went quickly and got much easier.

The last step was getting the lighting hooked up and the return and skimmers. It took us longer than necessary because we had never done it, but we got it done and ready for concrete. We had a delay in our diving board and extra steps because there was covid restrictions and riots all over, so we had to end up pushing concrete back anyway. We poured the concrete in three sections so it could dry, and they put a white retardant on it that was sprayed off the next day. Shelby slipped in it and we will forever see her Birkenstock prints, but it's part of our memories.

After concrete was dry, mounted the swimming pool, set furniture around, got the pump running, cleaned out the rocks and debris from the bottom. got the heater warming the water up, and swam. We swam every single day this summer and most days multiple times. I even swam and I don't even like pools that much. It's so nice to have a quiet pool that is warm and beautiful. I sat next to this pool most of the summer and I am so excited for many more memories and parties out here now that it's getting even better with landscaping and friends.