Early this past June, we had a 30 foot round Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool installed in our back yard by a local dealer. We'd been discussing buying one for a few years now, so we finally took the plunge as our older kids are the at perfect ages to enjoy it (13 and 11). An in-ground pool seemed too expensive as well as too permanent, so we settled for the biggest round pool they offered as we knew all of the neighborhood kids would eventually want to go swimming, too. Our plan was to build a deck that completely surrounded our new pool, and what a time consuming chore that turned out to be! So now that we've had one full summer season to enjoy our new swimming pool, we've had plenty of time to break it in. Of course we naturally had more rainfall than usual this summer with cooler than normal temps, so it wasn't the best year at all to install a new pool. But I'm being optimistic for next year already!! Read on to find out more about this top-of-the-line model offered at an affordable price once long term use is factored in.


~~~The Above Ground Pool~~~

Our new Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool is one of the highest quality choices in its class on the market today and is truly an investment of a lifetime. According to product advertising: CANTAR, one of the most respected and enduring names in the swimming pool industry, offers 30 years of manufacturing experience and expertise to its SummerFun Above Ground swimming pools. Available in three models (the "Classic", "Estate", and the "Chateau"), these "made in America" pools are built from tough, top-of-the-line components, designed to give pool owners year after year of trouble-free swimming enjoyment. The Chateau model as pictured above comes in several different sizes and features beautiful designer liners that only enhances the appearance of your new swimming pool. Round sizes start at the smallest size of 18 feet, or consumers may choose from models that are 24 feet, 27 feet, 30 feet, and even 33 feet in diameter. The 30 foot model was the largest our local dealer carried, and ours was actually the first one of this size they'd ever installed. For a close-up look at the cool designer Chateau liner that comes with this Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool, please check out the following URL:

http://www.cantar.com/products/chateau.htm


Round pools like this Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool are much more stable than the oval ones according to our local dealer as each section holds an equal amount of the weight from the water that's contained inside (but oval models are available if desired). Featuring a 50 year limited warranty (liner not included), this gorgeous swimming pool is approximately 4 feet deep when full of water and comes with a sturdy ladder than can be transformed to a deck ladder if needed. The 2 1/2 horsepower pump is made by Haywood, which seems to do good job keeping a larger pool like ours clean even though we had to run ours 24 hours a day during the swimming season. Also included with our pool was a 36 foot long vacuum hose with cleaning accessories such as a brush, vacuum attachment, sturdy pole and filter net. We received a month's supply of cleaning supplies to help get us started as well. Anything else we eventually needed as the season progressed (backwash hose and winter cover, just to name a few) were then purchased at an additional cost. But for the 30 foot round pool and accessories, including installation and sales tax, we paid right around $5600 with our dealer's special "12 months, same as cash" deal. As long as our Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool is paid off by the end of May, we'll have purchased it interest free.


~~~Things to Know Regarding Installation~~~

Be sure to let your homeowners insurance company know about your new Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool just in case they require anything special for your pool to be covered (our rate did NOT go up, surprisingly, by the way). And carefully check any zoning laws that may apply as many areas have restrictions and rules regarding an above ground pool installation. Be sure to get a permit as well. Extra fees may be charged if the spot chosen for your new pool needs to be dug more than 2 feet for leveling, so pick a flat spot if possible (our backyard is sloped, so we had to pay an extra $200 for the digging--$100 per foot). We had LOTS of dirt that had to leveled afterward, so installation can be quite messy. It took several people all day to put our new pool together, and then it took a few days to fill it up with water (which added a good $60 to $80 to our water bill that month!). Since our plans included building a large wooden deck around the pool, we did not purchase the Protect A Pool fence as pictured above which is optional. The pump was then installed, and we were ready to swim in our new Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool soon after.


~~~Above Ground Pool Safety~~~

First and foremost, stay SAFE in the water by watching children swim in the Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool at all times to help prevent drowning accidents. Our 11 and 13 year old kids are good swimmers, but our 3 year old is not, so we have to be especially careful when he's near or in the water with his Aqua Leisure Swim School Trainer on. Our pool deck completely surrounds our new pool and features a 6 foot high barrier as well as a latched door under lock and key to keep unwelcome intruders away from the pool when not in use. We threw in a few No Trespassing and Keep Out signs for good measure to help decrease any liability we might be faced with if for some chance a tragedy were to occur. Of course I've still noticed the neighbor's cat drinking from our pool from time to time despite our efforts to keep our pool inaccessible without a key, but we've done the best to our knowledge as far as keeping small children away. As long as you have a 4 foot barrier (according to our local pool dealer), which is what you'll naturally have when this Cantarl Chateau Above Ground Pool is installed, you should be okay. Just make sure the ladder is locked when your pool is not in use if not fenced in with another barrier.


~~~Maintaining Your New Pool~~~

It's been hit and miss for us over the summer as we learned how to keep our new Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool clean and ready for swimmers on an almost daily basis. We quickly learned that there are WAY too many trees near our pool, so we did some trimming yet still had to fish leaves out of the water on a daily basis to keep it clean. So next year, we are definitely investing in some type of equipment that will help to keep the leaves out of our pool. We purchased chlorine stabilizer tablets, which floated freely in the "floater" in our pool, and tested the water every few days to make sure everything was in balance. Every 7 to 10 days or so, we'd "shock" the pool and then follow up with an algaecide to keep the pool looking clear and not cloudy (which sometimes happens after a big rain). When the water got too alkaline, we'd add chemicals to lower the ph. But other than the daily leaf problem we had, our pool stayed surprisingly clean up until the last few weeks of the swimming season right after Labor Day when we got lazy with the cleaning. My husband then had to clean out some algae right before we were (sadly!) ready to winterize our pool and put the winter cover in place (extend the swimming season by investing in a solar blanket to keep the water warmer once those cool nights set in). Only time will tell if the chemicals we added at the end of the season were enough to keep the water in our Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool ready for the swimming season next year.


~~~Summary of Product Specs~~~

Here's exactly what you'll get when purchasing a Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool for years of summer time back yard fun (taken directly from the Cantar website:

***Resin upright and top rail construction - offers maximum rigidity and weatherproof durability for long lasting beauty.
***Stainless steel bottom rails - won't rust or corrode.
***Buttress free oval system - eliminates the need for angled side supports on oval pools. Saves up to 2.5 feet on each side of pool. Makes much better use of yard space.
***Two-piece resin connector.
***52" steel walls, deeply corrugated for superior strength, then alkaline rinsed and zinc coated. Front wall sides are multi-coated with a handsome finish, applied with exclusive Duracote process consisting of an epoxy base coat, 3-color vinylized inks and a UV stabilized top coat for extra long life.
***Backside of walls have Epoxilast® coating for extra protection.
***Wall endings are "folded" to four thicknesses for a super strong joint
***50 year limited warranty.
***New exclusive Chateau beaded liner pattern matches pool wall.


~~~Overall Recommendation~~~

When purchasing a backyard pool you wish to enjoy for many years to come, in-ground pools are nice, but VERY expensive. So as an alternative, seriously consider a Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool as a more affordable choice, especially if you can get 0% interest such as with the deal we were offered when we purchased ours. There are extra costs involved most of the time though (like filling the pool with water and purchasing extra cleaning equipment, etc.), so keep this in mind when looking at the whole picture. The pool itself is beautiful, extremely durable and is sure to provide many years of summer time fun for the whole family to enjoy. Even though it is mid-October now and we still have a good 7+ more months to go before the 2004 swimming season begins, I'll definitely be ready with my bathing suit on!! And although we spent alot more time and money building the deck to go along with our Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool, it will all be worth it once everything is paid for and we have an entire summer to enjoy all the hard work we put in the year before. So without a doubt, this pool comes highly recommended by me. Good luck and happy pool shopping!! Come on in as the water's great :-)


***For more information on this Cantar Chateau Above Ground Pool as well as other models, including the Classic as well as the Estate, check out the following website:

www.cantar.com


***Clean your new Cantar above ground pool with this: 'Lil Shark Great White Pool Cleaner.









Recommended: Yes