THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA
If ever you should consider putting in an above-ground pool with a flexible plastic liner, I recommend that you take a cold shower and a cup of tea and think again. Either that, or call in the professionals.
SLAVIC & HIS BROTHER, ROSLAN
As you may imagine, I speak from recent experience. Work got underway on Sunday morning. Laying the base proved to be the easy bit. At this point one is still filled with hope and anticipation.
Next comes the metal facade. It weighs a ton and has to be fitted inch by inch into a groove in the base track. Like much in life it's easier said than done.
The two ends of the metal surround have to meet exactly in order to be bolted together. Note the painting ladder that we have thoughtfully placed in position. Once the perimeter is sealed, workers are either in or out.
Frequent stops were made to consult the installation manual. This was a largely fruitless exercise as the booklet appeared to relate to a completely different pool. Assembling the pool ladder, visible behind the workers, was a task that required an engineering degree.
The support posts have to be placed at exactly the right distance apart before the pool liner goes in. The liner also weighs a ton. It has a seam around the bottom that is meant to line against the base of the pool. Some hope!
Five hours, numerous discussions (in 3 languages) and many reverses later, the pool is up - up enough for the team to pose. There are a few things still to straighten out but then there's time enough before the start of the swimming season.
Our efforts were closely watched by several pairs of eyes. Not Robbie didn't say anything but he didn't need to.
Monday: Time to scoop out the overnight blossom litter and to attend to a few of those unwanted wrinkles.
The manual says put in an inch of water and then push the seams into place around the perimeter to eradicate the wrinkles. Ho Ho! The fellow who wrote it had a keen sense of humour.
Shortly after this photo was taken, it began to drizzle and we retired to rethink tactics. We also found a video online that showed exactly how the whole thing should have been done - a case of "I wouldn't start from here".
It was all too much!
Far too much!
Saturday: (Going back in time). The previous day, Slavic and I - mainly Slavic - completed the rock surround.
It looked pretty good, especially after we'd planted succulents in the two green half tubs.
Jonesy cleaned up around the edges. Following the installation of the pool, this area is largely out of sight.
One task that we did complete was the bath upgrade. The white patch around the plug represents one coat of primer and two coats of finisher. Visitors may puzzle slightly about the colour difference but at least they won't think it's dirty - which is what matters to Jones. I did consider painting the whole of the base or even of the entire bath but this might have been over-egging the pud.
(Barbara's brother) Llewellyn and Lucia travelled down at the weekend with their dogs to spend a couple of days looking around. They based themselves in a nearby cottage where we twice joined them for snack dinners. Pally popped down the driveway on Tuesday morning to say goodbye. From left to right in the murk that's Douglas, Lucia and Roxy.
The other dogs needed a little persuading that the canine visitors were legit.
A second task satisfactorily completed was the installation of a lamp over Jonesy's make-up dresser. There were no handy sockets as the closest ones had been taken over by the air conditioning unit. The challenge was to run an invisible wire through the built-in cupboards from the far end of the room - quite tricky as the timber carcass inside the exterior frame meant drilling through 4 inches of timber. Jones held up the end of the vacuum cleaner to suck up the sawdust.
Guess who's back!
Thursday evening brought a 30 minute downpour, the sort of rain - Jonesy said - that we used to get back in the good old days. I haven't checked the rain gauge yet but I shared her sentiments. We are nearing the end of the rainy season and there still isn't a drop of water in the Algibre.
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