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We Bought This Why?

Oct 3, 2000 Write an essay on this topic.

First and foremost when you are considering buying an above ground swimming pool, you must decide where you would like to put it and determine the size pool your yard can easily accommodate. To accomplish this I would suggest first that you go to a reputable pool store and look at the different sizes, depths and shapes of pools. Pools come in many shapes and sizes. There are round and oval shaped above ground pools, this will definitely make a difference when it comes to the size of pool you buy. If you have a long and narrow yard an oval shaped pool would probably better meet your yard size.

Once you have determined the size and shape of pool you would most like to have, it is then time to see if it will fit in your yard. When we purchased our pool, we have 2 acres of land so we weren't so much worried about the size and shape as much as we where the price. We decided on purchasing a 18 ft. round above ground pool. You may wonder why we chose the round pool, well we just liked the shape better and felt as if it was plenty big for our needs. Besides that it was the one on SALE! Once we decided we came home and found where we would like the pool to be placed in our back yard. We then set a center stake to have something to measure from. With our pool being 18 ft. round we measure out 9 ft. from the center stake and put a stake in the ground, we continued this process in a round circle all the way around the center stake, putting a new stake about every 4 feet. Once we completed this and decided that we liked the location we where off to the store to buy our pool.

Little did we know what all was involved besides just buying the pool, we had to decide on the color liner we wanted, the type filtering system for the pool, whether we wanted to install it or have someone do it for us. We chose to buy the pool that was on sale that came with a our choice of liner color, a cartridge filter(this will make a big difference when buying a large pool like we did), and we decided to install it for ourselves(THIS WAS A BIG MISTAKE), but remember we were trying to save money. The entire package along with a ladder, dip net(for leaves and bugs), filter, hoses, cartridge for the filter cost us right at $1000.00.
We also added a Polaris 65 Pool Cleaner(see my review http://tchoate.epinions.com/./hmgd-review-1868-1549294D-399DEF01-prod1)for helping to keep our pool clean, this was on sale at the time for $199.00. Bringing the total purchase cost to about $1350.00 all total.

The company was going to charge us about $1400.00 to install the pool, so we decided to do this ourselves, which only made us have to make quite a few more decisions. We had to decide whether we wanted a sand or foam bottom(this goes under the pool liner this will decide the softness of the bottom of your pool. We chose the foam bottom which cost us another $200.00, but where told this would keep the bottom from becoming pitted as the sand would clump together. After doing our own installation(which could be a review all by itself)let me just say it would be worth the extra $1400.00 to have someone else do that part for you. It took us about 2 weeks of working at least 4 to 5 hours 7 days a week to get our pool installed correctly.

After your pool is purchased, installed, filled with water, you once again have to make a trip to the pool store for having your water tested for ph levels, calcium content and deciding what kind of chemical you want to use. You could use chlorine or non-chlorine chemicals, with the non-chlorine chemicals costing more. We purchased our first group of chemicals for about $150.00. Since that initial purchase our chemicals on a yearly basis have been around $100.00 a year, we try and buy the larger quantity of pool chemicals when they are on sale, this has helped keep our cost down. We didn't notice a large change in our electric bill, but that first water bill was a little steep in price. But since that time our water bill has not increased any at all. We just fill up when it is needed to keep the water level where it needs to be.

This pool was a little pricey for us, but with living in the country it has given our family many wonderful hours of enjoyment. My children have been at home a lot, with friends over to swim. With having a 17 year old son it was worth the price to just keep him home and know that he and his friends where safe. The last thing I would like to say about purchasing a pool is that it is a big responsibility, you must make sure to lock the gate around your pool to keep children out when there is not parental supervision available. We have set down rules with our children that they could not have friends over to swim without having a parent home. This protects not only the children but also yourself. Also be sure that your home owners insurance will cover replacement cost or your pool if for some reason there is a storm or fire that would destroy your pool.

A pool is definitely an expensive investment, which is only usable about 3 to 4 months a year. Although, living in Texas we can still swim in October on a nice day, most areas of the country couldn't do this.

We have found this to be a great family investment as we tend to spend many family hours together around the pool on our deck that we added this year. I hope this will answer a few of your questions, if you are considering buying an above ground pool. Enjoy it to the fullest if you do, you won't be sorry.

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