Sunday, August 7, 2011

Pool Hole

There are certain statements you never want to hear.

“How did you get that up there?  Did it hurt?”

“President Sarah Palin.”

“I’m not your real mom!”

And one that I recently heard…

“The pool has a hole in it!” 

Yes, my pool has a hole in it. 

First some background; it’s a vinyl lined pool, which I know is somewhat Trailer Trash, but it was here when we bought the house.  At least it’s an in-ground pool and doesn’t protrude upwards like some oversized wash tub with plastic steps.  Also, it is oval shaped so its lines are simple and clean. There are no diving boards, slides and other tackiness. And actually, even a vinyl lined pool is better than no pool, so I’m not complaining…much!

Here’s my idea of a pool.  I think it should be a destination.  I envisioned it to be in the middle of the meadow with a charming Greek temple pool house.  The pool interior would be some type of black stone or perfect blue pebble and the well trimmed grass would creep to the pool’s edge. 

photo credit Simon Upton

photo credit Rob Cardillo

photo credit Grey Crawford

photo credit Oberto Gili


Instead my inherited pool is vinyl lined blue, surrounded by concrete and is positioned just outside one of the doors at the rear of the house. 



Occasionally I approach the subject of moving the pool.  Maybe not into the meadow; that may be a bit extreme and I have grown to like the pool being near the house.  In fact, if I wanted to I could jump from the sofa in our media room into the pool with very little effort.  Besides, it would cost a fortune and the thought of moving the pool sends C’s blood pressure through the roof and he has to sit down. 

When C noticed the hole in the liner it was near the water line at the deep end of the pool.  Each week it grows in size.  It’s not really a hole. It’s more like the damn thing is just disintegrating.  C’s been doing a masterfull job of ordering pool patches and patching it together, but it’s about to live its last hurrah.  We’re just hoping it makes it through the rest of the summer.  I would hate to have the pool out of commission when its 100 degrees in this desert Georgia waste land! 

My first option would be to tile the pool, but that goes far beyond just replacing the liner and the entire structure would have to be rebuilt. That’s not happening.  So, it looks like it’s going to be a vinyl liner. 

Besides the obvious issue of the cost, here’s the other big problem.  Pool liner choices suck.  The pool company sent over a booklet.  Everything in it is ugly.  I’ve also searched the web until my eyes are crossed and can’t find anything that looks tasteful.  This is the kind of ugliness I have to pick from!  90% consist of a bad fake tile border and below that is some type fake looking blue water pattern shit.  I hate them all.

The options go from bad...

to worse!

They do offer solid colors - white, a very light blue or a medium blue.  I’m afraid if I went with either of the blues, the pool would look like one of those kiddie blow-up numbers from Wal-Mart just sunk in the ground. 



I actually considered white!  Then I realized it would look like a big toilet. The other thing I’m thinking about is black, but of course I can’t seem to find a black option.  

There are options without a border, but most of them are weird water patterns. 





Also, there are some patterns (fake tile or tiny pebbles) without the awful borders, but I’m worried about a fade line at the water level. And, I'm sure they're called Value-Liner for a good reason!




I might actually be able to live with this Greek Key number or even the tile look below, but I can only find them to be available from some obscure website with no information.



Any thoughts?

11 comments:

  1. You have some interesting items on your blog but your insistence on interjecting your ill-informed, mean-spirited, narrow-minded politics is a big turn-off. Why not Sarah Palin for President? You think what we have now is so great? See the Undefeated -- documentary about Sarah Palin -- and tell me that an honest defender of public good against Big Oil and the corrupt GOP establishment wouldn't be great for the USA!

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  2. They're always Anonymous. But I know you wouldn't dish it out if you couldn't take it.

    I've always loved the look of black pools but would that absorb more heat? The Value-Liners seem the least offensive of the bunch. I like the first and third in that group. The weird water patterns might be okay too. Once the sun is casting the light and shadows of the ripping water, I'm not sure you would see any of that.

    I was thinking it would be a good opportunity to move it before you mentioned it but I can't even imagine how much it would cost. Maybe you could move the garden shed/Greek temple to the end of the pool?

    Off to watch "Undefeated."

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  3. oh i had something good to say about pools but anon's comment has me laughing so hard i forgot.

    my pool is a green blowup from walmart. so i really have no right to inject any opinion on pools.

    love you randy!!!!!!!!!

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  4. well, I for one loved your commentary;)

    I like the value liners. I think those with water in them would really go away. Soryy about the leak btw... it's always somethin'

    I feel your pain. Instead of lugging a huge hose around for the backporch and front bed I bought a bright shiny green coil hose (much to the bad reviews of coil hoses;) from HD and I love it, hate the color. So, I go on-line to find a nice subdued gray to go away.... nope- only bright primary colors... ughhh. Why would I (anyone;)want a red/purple/blue/yellow hose sitting in the garden??

    I was just thinking... any photos of one with a white liner? Even just filling my tub up with water the water takes on that beautiful hint-of-blue color. Do you think it would do that outside too, or would environmental conditions make it not noticeable?
    good luck with your decision!

    happy Sunday!
    joan

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  5. Ah! I'm also struggling with pool liner choices. I want something elegant and timeless - but yeah, what I'm discovering really is tacky tacky tacky.

    I've noticed that dark liners are very popular right now - the issue I have with them is that it's harder to tell how clean the pool is. I like the aqua colour tones - the current liner I have is really light in colour and I find it really attracts the eye and reflects beautifully. With that, I'm angling more towards a solid colour.

    My pool has a brutal water line - but really, it's only noticeable when water levels drop. Don't know if that will sway you?

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  6. I have dealt with this issue.
    I chose a sand colored liner. This gives you a beautiful chique bleu/green color.
    Second best choice is a white liner. Any body of water will give you light bleu effect.
    A dark liner gives you a pool that is not inviting to go for a swim .

    See if you can find the sand colored liner.

    If you want I can send you images of my pool and its color. info@empelcollections.com

    I follow your blog for a while now.....love it.

    Best
    Ron

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  7. My friends just did a fabulous pool and then sunk a sunburst liner in it and so did my heart. I could live with the greek key and fill it FULL! Good luck and I hate Sarah Palin.

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  8. I echo your concerns on pool liners but we did forge forward and actually have the greek key in our inground pool. It is actually not bad, maybe pleasant really. We actually went to our pool builders office and he had actual liners to view, and also visited several of his completed pools to see the real thing in action. We are actually happy/not offended by our choice.
    Laura/in Nashville

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  9. What site you found the greek key?

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  10. What site you found the greek key plz?

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  11. What site you found the greek key plz?

    ReplyDelete

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