Test Pool

Our story starts two summers ago when we visited my sister and her family. It was a hot weekend and they had a pool. It was wonderful. Fast forward a bit and they decided to upgrade and sell that pool to us. We agreed since it was such a nice treat to have during the summer. Then last summer hit and instead of setting up the pool, we decided to move. We took a look at the size of the pool and supplies and decided it was probably easier to sell it than to move it. But we made a promise to our kids that once we were settled, we would buy a pool and and set it up. We found a cheap pool on Facebook and decided to try it out. Our idea being that this would be a test. If we liked the pool, or at least the idea of a pool and all the maintenance that goes with it we would invest in a better, more permanent and durable one. 

Last weekend Mark pulled out the pool to set it up and make sure everything was there. And then cleaned it. From what he said, it was nasty!! But he got it all scrubbed and now it looks great. 

He even levelled out the site! Our neighbours had a pile of dirt they weren’t using so we took it to make the pad nice and level. It was quite a bit bigger than we planned but hey, it’s the test pool. 

Thus brining our story to present day. 

Sunday: we pulled out the pool and got it all put together. It looked like everything was there. There was no manual but after watching a few YouTube tutorials it seemed like everything we needed was there. If if not, we were sure we could grab something at the store. After all, this is just the test pool. A couple o-rings for the hoses to the pump were damaged/missing so I ran to Canadian Tire to grab some more. 

We hooked everything up and started filing it. It quickly became clear that the ground wasn’t as level as we thought but no big deal. This is just the test pool. 

We filled it enough that there was water covering the entire bottom. That’s when we noticed the leak. Luckily there were a few patches. So we lifted that part of the pool, dried it off, slapped a couple patches on, waited 30 minutes for the patch and then added more water. We checked again and sure enough, another leak. So 30 minutes later after we patched that one we checked again. Finally, no leaks. But that set us back an hour. We kept the hose going and waited. And waited. And waited. 

That when we thought to check the pump. It looked good but Mark quickly realized that it was missing its o-ring that goes around the top. Of course by now it was 8 pm on a Sunday before a long weekend!! We turned off the hose and waited until morning when Canadian Tire opened again. 

Monday: Mark went to Canadian Tire and along he didn’t find exactly what he was looking for, he found something close enough. Test pool. Then it was time for the pool to finish filling and add the chemicals. 

Now that’s it is full it is quite obvious that the ground was not level. But… it just has to last the season. After all, it’s just our test pool!!