Even though I had read the pool instructions several times, I sat down at the kitchen table and wrote out a list of things to do. Trying my best to prioritize my list, I rewrote the list a few times until I got it right. I was ready to start right away, but I would need to wait until the weekend to start.
Having a difficult time sleeping, I was up before 5:00 AM on Saturday morning. I gathered my to-do list, pool instructions and my cup of coffee. I sat down on the wooden patio bench placed on dirt where the patio would be. I looked one more time at my paperwork and got up to start collecting the items I needed to start building the pool.
Since this oval pool had sixteen-foot straight walls on each side, it required special bracing designed to support these walls. The braces had three-foot long legs connected to the upright pillar with an angled support. The pool manufacturer required a cinder block under each of these sidewall legs.
Installing these cinder blocks would take a couple of weeks to complete. The blocks were to be laid under the legs, but the soil consisted of a heavy dense clay. With the help of Efiwym, we chipped away the areas we needed to drop in the cinder block. Anticipating that we would have the blocks installed in one day, we were two weeks behind.
Now we needed to install square patio pavers where all the wall supports went. Since these pavers were only 12 inches square and 2 inches high, we were done in short order. Now we could put up the pool wall.
Before I put up the wall, I rented a transit-level to verify that the supports were level. I had never used a transit before, so I was in the weeds. There was no Internet or YouTube to refer to, just a folded-up piece of paper containing the instructions too small to read. I would wing it. Having one of the kids hold the grade rod on top of each pool wall support, I checked for level. Since we did not consider the height of each patio pavers when we installed them under the supports, all the supports had a different height.
Frustrated that I would need to adjust all the pavers and again requiring more time than I planned, I rushed through the leveling process. “Close enough,” was the comment of the day. Close enough would not be good enough, as it created havoc as I moved through the process of building the pool and eventually the pool deck.
The wall installation went well. I needed the assistance of Efiwym to hold parts of the wall as I connected the wall to each support. The wall was up and ready for the next step – laying down the sand base for the pool liner.
Trying to put sand on a sloping wall is not possible, as it just slides down the hill. I did not consider wetting the sand and packing it to the sloping walls. Nonetheless, I laid down the base bed of sand so I could…install the pool liner. I was getting closer to having a pool.
Getting the pool liner installed was a little tricky. I did not want to disturb the sand, as it would telescope any impressions through the liner. I needed to go inside the pool wall to open up the liner. Using a rake to clean up any footprints in the sand when I was out of the pool, eventually I got the liner stretched over the pool walls. I could now install the rails to keep the upper walls from collapsing as I added water.
The manufacturer recommended to fill the pool slowly. This would allow for any adjustments of the liner that was necessary especially along the walls. I tried my best to prevent wrinkles, but there was a few. As the weight of the water allowed the liner to conform to the pool shape, the deepest part of the pool had not taken form. I was worried that the liner might tear as the water forced the liner to expand. Watching over the pool carefully, a sense of relief came over me as the liner just slowly fit into the deep end. No tears, no shifting of the liner. I let the water run into the evening and shut it off overnight.
The next morning, the kids were ready to go swimming. The pool still needed to be filled along with other things that were required to be completed. I was as anxious as them, but swimming might be still days away.
I continued to fill the pool as I cut out the filter skimmer and outlet openings. I installed the filter system before the water level reached the openings. I completed screwing down the top rails and caps and the pool installation was done.
Once the pool was full, I primed the filter and got it running. Since I did not install the electrical yet for the filter outlet, an extension cord was necessary. The water looked clear, but I needed to setup the water chemistry. The pH level was low as expected. I dumped two gallons of chlorine, some algaecide and stabilizer into the pool. I planned on using a floating chlorine tablet dispenser to manage the pH in the water. The thermometer registered a cold 68 degrees. A little too cold for a dip in the pool, but the kids did not care. They would have to wait until tomorrow, as the pH level was now way too high. I did not expect that great of a turn around on the pH level, but it was not safe for swimming today. I rolled out the solar cover on top of the water and called it a day.
I noticed as the pool was filled to the high-water mark on the skimmer opening, that the walls on the deep end were lower than the filter side. Water makes for a perfect level and it exposed my sloppy job of leveling the walls supports. It was noticeable to me and would create an issue when I installed the pool deck, but it was too late to make any changes. It something I would regret but live with for the next 25 years.
Later that day I would spend time sitting on my patio bench located on dirt where the patio would go, and, as all DIYers do, admire my work. I was far from being done with this project, but after all the issues, I had completed a part of the project we could enjoy (about 3 months out of a year).