This summer my wife finally convinced me to buy a small above ground pool for my youngest daughter. (Ok, the truth is that he got tired of waiting for me and went out and bought one.) I admit I was reluctant to buy one, mainly because I was too lazy to level the ground.
I must say it was easier and faster than I thought it would be and my daughter, who is 9 years old, has been doing it every day for 2 weeks. She is at least very happy and her friends come every day. We were a little worried about what we were going to do with her during the summer holidays, because we are not going anywhere this summer. To my surprise, my oldest daughter, who is 15 years old, has also been playing with her friends, they all seem to enjoy it on hot days. Older girls don’t try to swim in it, they mostly sit on floating chairs and talk. Fun for them I guess, and it’s refreshing and a great area to tan.
I bought the intex easy set 36 “X 12 ft above ground pool. It doesn’t sound very big, but you would be surprised. I have 28 inches of water and I can float anything that a large pool can do. 4 kids fit very comfortably playing and I have seen 6 teenagers sitting in it like a hot tub.
The most important part of the installation is leveling the floor. This has to be as perfect as possible. Do not place it on sand or soft earth, it must have been on grass or hard earth. The reason there is no slope is because the sides are smooth so it could tip over on itself with the water pressure tilted to one side. The installation instructions say that you should make an area about 12 feet wide. I found out that you need 14 feet because the sides stick out.
The intex pool took 6 hours to fill from the garden hose. The pump that came with the installation took 5 minutes. The chemicals, mainly chlorine and shock, took 5 minutes, but they couldn’t swim until the next day. You need to buy a test kit for the chlorine and pH levels of the water to keep it clean all summer long. The test kit only cost me $ 6. I found that the walls were stronger than I originally thought. The inflated top ring was filled in minutes with a bicycle pump. I put a tarp underneath in case I lost a twig or other sharp object in the grass.
One downside that I have found is that you still need to buy a small net to clean every day. Tiny bits of grass and leaves seem to find their way into the water. Yesterday my daughter ran into the house and said there was a little animal swimming in it. It was a gray squirrel; I guess I was looking for a drink of water because it was so dry here. I took it out with the net and it ran off.
I would recommend the Intex above ground pool for anyone who has children and needs entertainment on hot days. If you think they are not deep enough to have fun, you are wrong. I have friends who have inground pools and they have said they will never have another pool deeper than four feet. They considered it a waste of money because most people only play in the water and do not dive. In addition to the beauty of these soft-sided pools, at the end of the summer I can simply drain them and store them for the winter.
Next year I’m going to buy the 18-foot model that is 4 feet deep so that older children can play with it more. The price of these pools is very low as far as I am concerned, around $ 500 for the larger ones. I paid $ 84 for mine and that included the pump. You can get intex pools framed in larger sizes, but it’s too much work for me.
