My wife and I bought our place just outside the Olympic Village (Lake Placid NY) in 2010. The property came with the pool, which had not been maintained for three summers + due to a fire that destroyed much of the property. When we first looked at the pool at the end of our first spring, it was a swamp: Literally. The peepers, frogs and toads serenaded us wonderfully.
I pumped out tens of thousands of gallons of murky water, and then used a five gallon bucket to make hundreds of trips from the deep end out to the edge of the fence, carrying four to five gallons of pure muck at a time. The grass that is growing where I dumped the muck is the finest on property. Neither one of us had ever owned/maintained a pool before, and there were more than a few hours of discussion concerning what to do with the monstrosity.
Over the years we have done improvements (many more to come) and learned much about our pool. For the precious few hours we get to really enjoy it, it is a blessing. Otherwise, meh. The ultimate goal is to have the pool become a paradise by the time my wife retires from her New York State gig (less than 3 and a half years until she is eligible!). I have gotten the pool breathing again. Two summers ago I put up a seven foot cedar fence around the pool for privacy. There are 1000 square feet of pavers in our driveway just itching to be laid out.
By the time she retires my plan is to have new electric lines installed, and an electric pool heater put in so we can have up to six months of enjoyment in the pool. My wife commutes three hours for now, but when she is here (on the weekends), she can swim like a fish. Me, I can keep from drowning (though I can hike these, the toughest of mountains to climb in the lower 48, like nobody's business).
We are at a point where we need some good advice before we can proceed any further. Otherwise, there are always the discussions of filling the God-forsaken thing in. We hope the good people of this forum can point us in the right direction. Glad to be here....
I pumped out tens of thousands of gallons of murky water, and then used a five gallon bucket to make hundreds of trips from the deep end out to the edge of the fence, carrying four to five gallons of pure muck at a time. The grass that is growing where I dumped the muck is the finest on property. Neither one of us had ever owned/maintained a pool before, and there were more than a few hours of discussion concerning what to do with the monstrosity.
Over the years we have done improvements (many more to come) and learned much about our pool. For the precious few hours we get to really enjoy it, it is a blessing. Otherwise, meh. The ultimate goal is to have the pool become a paradise by the time my wife retires from her New York State gig (less than 3 and a half years until she is eligible!). I have gotten the pool breathing again. Two summers ago I put up a seven foot cedar fence around the pool for privacy. There are 1000 square feet of pavers in our driveway just itching to be laid out.
By the time she retires my plan is to have new electric lines installed, and an electric pool heater put in so we can have up to six months of enjoyment in the pool. My wife commutes three hours for now, but when she is here (on the weekends), she can swim like a fish. Me, I can keep from drowning (though I can hike these, the toughest of mountains to climb in the lower 48, like nobody's business).
We are at a point where we need some good advice before we can proceed any further. Otherwise, there are always the discussions of filling the God-forsaken thing in. We hope the good people of this forum can point us in the right direction. Glad to be here....
