Learn. Live. Love. An occassional glimpse of the Kaisers

Paul’s next big idea. Gwen’s swim lessons are over, and now we really want a pool at home. A big pool. I want a pool I can swim across, not just do two strokes and hit the wall.

They have 45-foot-long ovals, but we don’t have a space for that. Those jump you up into another price range, too. So I’m looking at 30- and 33-foot long ovals.

Where would this go? Funny you should ask. It would need to go in the back yard where the crappy swing set is and where my new raised garden beds are.

What?! I just put those beds in this year!

Yeah, well, they aren’t getting used, primarily because they are poorly-placed, despite my extensive deliberation. In the winter, they are in a great spot to grow some greens, and probably a good spinach crop in the spring. They do not get enough sun to grow a strawberry patch and several other things I wanted to put in them during the summer.

So, they can just move to the west side of the house, improving upon the two beds already there.

Back to the pool, though…

What about money, honey? These things cost a lot. I’m talking above-ground pool, but still, by the time you have everything, you’re talking $4,000 or more, and then maintenance. I suppose we could get a “cheap-o,” but to me that’s annoying, because there’s always something about cheap things where you have to give the kids all these requirements, like “don’t lean there” or “be sure not to climb on this thing” or the whole deal falls apart. I also think they’re ugly as hell, and the neighbors would soon expect there to be an old couch on the porch and a junk car in the yard up on cinder blocks.

Chemical bath, anyone? I also am leary of bathing in a huge tub of chemicals. Not super leary, but still cautious. I feel a bit better after reading this Scientific American article about water chlorination, but I still want to explore options. (That’s me, the explorer-guy.) I found a chemical-free pool system, but that adds to your cost.

Can nature help? Then I read something about “bio-pools.” These are “Natural Swimming Pools” that let nature do the filtering and stuff. They look really neat. I read a Mother Earth News article about building your own natural swimming pools, though, and it sounds like quite a chore. I also don’t think we would have enough room, as you need 50% of your surface area available for aquatic plants.

For the moment, these seem to be much more popular in Europe. From what I’ve read, they are slowly catching on in the States, though. For information beyond the Mother Earth News post, I did find the Biotop Natural Pool company, somewhere in Europe. OH, and here’s a site with good information from Clear Water Revival in Kansas.

There’s always Plan C. In my searching, I found what I consider a middle ground between a natural swimming pool and a conventional pool with chemical treatment. Check out this page about Chlorine Free Pool Conversions.

I have not checked in to the costs, but my wheels are spinning. It seems these would be easiest with an in-ground pool, but I think it is still doable with an above-ground. I was going to put this water found deal outside Bethy’s window anyway, where an old fire pit had been. I’m wondering if that area could be turned into a small patio of sorts, and be the home of a smaller pool whose main purpose is to process and treat water from the swimming pool below. There could be pump issues, and also issues with some of the trees, but this is just a budding thought.

Money. Chemicals. Safety. Whatever. Opinions?