Having a swimming pool is an amazing luxury. After working in the yard on a hot summer’s day, jumping into the pool is a wonderful relaxing ritual. A few short months ago I would not have imagined this possible.
The pool had not been opened for at least 2 seasons. I wasn’t sure what the condition would be. Our neighbors, across the road, had opened their pool after 5 years of neglect, to find it full of live and dead frogs. I had visions of what might be floating under the protective cover. I had anxiety about not only what we might find in the pool, but also disappointment about the pool area itself. The old wooden fence was called out by the house inspector – it did not meet code. The latches were inadequate and the fence was falling apart. The brick terrace around the pool looked dirty and in need to replacing. Too many things to think about.
A referral to Robin, of The Hudson Valley Pool Doctors, took care of my first concern. She and her assistant easily removed the pool cover and declared the water to not be too bad. There were no frogs! A clean-up began. The pool was salvageable, at least for this year. Next year the lining needs to be replaced. Weeks of chemicals and cleaning resulted in a clear, shimmering aqua blue pool.
Simultaneous to the cleaning of the pool, I embarked on an upgrade to the fence. I had researched a variety of products. Wrought iron looked great, however the price was too high. Plastic is fine for some people, but not for me. Wood decays too quickly. Finally, I settled on an aluminum fence. I contacted a local fence company about installation. The cost was huge (4 times what I ultimately paid). I had tackled wooden fences in Colorado, I could do this. I found profencesupply through Craigslist. They sell the On Guard aluminum fence line.
It took two weeks to put up the fence. I made a few mistakes, perhaps only things a pro would notice. It was relatively easy. The hardest part was digging the holes. I dug them by hand (Andrew helped one day). The soil here is full of rocks. I would dig with the post hole digger, hit a rock, carefully dig it out by hand and then proceed with the post hole digger until I hit the next rock. It was arduous work. The result was better than what I expected.
The brick terrace presented another challenge. I carefully pulled all the weeds by hand, as I wanted to make sure I got all of the roots to prevent them from popping up again. From Home Depot I bought a power washer. The power washer was the perfect solution. The layers of blackish, green moss came off with a little bit of effort. The terrace looked like new. I still have some bricks to level with sand, but that is for another time.
The addition of 8 rhododendrons along the fence, where there was previously a rotted planter box, gave the finishing touch to the beautiful pool.
Life is grand, and wet and fun!