Are you thinking of putting in a pool? We did and I would love to share our story to help you make a more informed decision.

We had a pool at our home in Tampa and when we moved to the other coast (of Florida), my husband wanted a pool as well. The house we ended up buying did not have a pool, but he was determined it would one day. Three years after purchasing our home, we decided it was time to put in a pool. We didn’t really research companies as our son went to school with a little guy whose grandparents owned a famous pool company (think the company Mr. Ice himself uses on his TV show). Before I knew it, we were discussing plans for our new pool and pick out the colors! That was the fun part!

Then started the several months of building. First was the digging.

Then came the pounding.

There were lots of trucks parked out in front of our house.

Then, the walls and bottom of the pool was created.

Next, they evened out the dirt and started to add the stones.

My little man loved all of the dirt. When mommy was gone, he even got to play in it.

Next, the stones were put down; the sod was put down and the inside was painted the blue color. I’m not quite sure what is going on in the picture below, but I’m sure my neighbors loved it. Oh, I don’t think I mentioned that to begin the process, my neighbor’s tree had to be cut down to allow for the trucks to fit on the side of our home (hello zero lot line). Even doing that, one of the big trucks still nicked our neighbor’s home. Thank goodness we were blessed with wonderful neighbors.

The last thing we did (if you don’t count the landscaping) was fill the pool. We were instructed to fill it ourselves with a hose. It took the evening through overnight to fill it. Unfortunately, there was an issue and we had to drain the pool and fill it again. Our water bill was very high that month.

The children waited so patiently for the pool to be built. All they wanted to do was to jump in!

Three months after the process started and $20,000 over (my – apparently not my husband’s) budget, our pool was completed. Everything turned out beautifully and we really enjoyed our wonderful pool for a few months. Then, we found out we were moving to Chicago! However, it helped to sell our home fast!

Have you put in a pool? What was your experience?

Happy swimming,
Stephanie

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