Heh, it wouldn't have been real cheap down here either, Beave. But he gave us a quote over the phone sight unseen and then he about croaked when he saw our yard...especially when we told him we wanted to keep our dirt and he agreed to dump it in the back of the yard...er, should have said back of the acre, huh? But he honored his word and we got it buried for half the price basically, although we did go ahead and add some extra when we paid him.
And yes, being a paralegal for many years, I absolutely abhor the profession and will never return to it. What goes on in the legal world would just boggle the mind! I lost a lot of respect during those years and would not return to law unless I absolutely have to. But you know, you have to think like a criminal....you COULD HAVE sued the ladder company, got loads of dough, then had your pool buried however you wanted...or even an inground, eh? (Just kidding of course!)
The reason for the privacy fence around the equipment, besides keeping the north wind off the equipment, is because with our manual cleaner, I was putting on a show for the neighborhood trying to get the hoses connected to the cleaner and blow the air out, then put the end hose into the cleaner inlet and then once going for awhile, the hose inevitably comes OFF the cleaner head so that I'm running like a mad-dog to grad it before it hits the surface air (or running to turn the pump off). Well, I got tired of my "backside" showing to the street and decided I could at least have a little privacy with a small 5' fence! But we NOW have a robotic cleaner...yea!
So now we're working on plans for the deck (and hopefully, a pergola). Then we can put up some nice landscaping in a large perimeter around the pool that will hopefully provide a little privacy.