Monday, June 30, 2014

The Watering Hole/ Our Stock Tank Pool

Good Morning! How are you on this summer morning?
It is with all vulnerability that I share this post. 
Many of you will think that I've lost my mind.
Rebekah has dubbed this the "Watering Hole."




Before I get to the meat of this post, I'll tell you that I flunked beginning swimming 4 years in a row. 
The life guards at my aunt's country club finally decided that I could dog paddle to save myself but I just could not swim. Essentially, they gave up on me! I don't know why but I could never turn my head to take a breath. I always ended up with a mouth full of water. 
Coordinated is not my middle name. 



I like floating not swimming.
The past few Texas summers have tested this Yankee's patience. 
They are endlessly long and hot. I love my husband and didn't want to leave him but I was afraid I was going to have to head for cooling climates during the summer.
This year I was convinced that there had to be a way for me to cool off beside sitting sequestered in the air con.
 We researched pools and spas. A spa wasn't really what I was after because I was trying to cool down not sit in hot water. 
Hello? Hot Flashes! 
We have always held off on a pool because I really don't think our yard is able to handle one.
 There is literally, not one level spot in our back yard.
I had to stick a paver under the birdbath.



Bill had to go to supreme lengths to even level the kid's swing set.
There is also a huge power line running to the attractive green box that sits in the corner of my yard.

I almost picked up a Intex pool at Walmart one day but 
Bill really didn't think he would like the look of that big blue thing in our back yard.
I seriously didn't think that it would work for only $89.00.

I did what I always do since the dawn of Pinterest.
You can see my Keep Cool board here.
Red Neck Pools and Hot Tubs also garnered some interesting results.
Check it out on Pinterest.
I kept coming back to a stock tank because they are very inexpensive.
I threw out the stock tank idea to Bill. He didn't say much but he humored me and we headed to Tractor Supply. 
They had some pretty good options. 
They had galvanized but also they also had Rubbermaid.
We found a six by two round galvanized tank for $249.00.
We tied it to my pick up.



I told Bill to park around the corner until night fall and then we could unload it during the cover of darkness.
Instead he pulled right up in front of our suburban house and we rolled it around the back.
I don't think any of the neighbors could see us, (at least I hope they couldn't.)

Our yard guy leveled a portion of the yard and put in these timbers. 





We spread a layer of decomposed granite on top of the newly leveled ground. 
The people at the pool store didn't act like we were crazy when we told them what we were doing. They helped us pick out a pump and told us to come back and they would test our water. It turns out that our water is so highly chlorinated that we didn't need to add chlorine. Hmmm. That's not good. Is it?



I can't believe we did this.
Really CANNOT believe.
It has become our new standard for the nutty around here.
Bill likes to ask,
"Is it as crazy as a stock tank in the back yard?"
Hmmm. 
No.



North Texans can thank me. 
As soon as we filled up the pool it started raining and it rained off and on all week. 
We are still 9 inches below normal but last week certainly helped. 



Here is that corner of the yard before:



Here it is now:



This just makes me happy


I did some fun styling in-between rain drops. Shopping for pool stuff is like a whole new world. Granted, the pool won't hold more than a noodle or two and Bill thinks the noodles are tacky. I told him that I was just so thrilled to have water in the backyard that I was embracing the tacky pool stuff.
Our next project will be a floating deck for the chairs. I'd like to attempt this one myself but we will see...

Yesterday I floated and puttered in the yard. It was fabulous being able to work in the yard and not feel like I was going to self combust. I took a break or two and cooled off and admired my handiwork.
I'll come back with more views from my pool and a cost break down. 
I believe we are all in this for under $700.00.
Keep cool, 
Katie  

Linking with,
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   
A Return to Loveliness   
Savvy Southern Style   
French Country Cottage   
Funky Junk Interiors

35 comments :

  1. Well I like it at lot!! I don't like those big blue above ground pools either. You have given me some food for thought. Our Kansas summers can be brutal as well. Check my posts today, our granddaughter is a good swimmer. I can swim but not as good as my grandchildren. Floating is a good activity.
    Ann

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  2. I LOVE this!!! I mean really, really LOVE this.

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  3. Guess what?! One of my best friends has had one of these at two different houses. She plants things around it too so it kind of blends in. Our kids had many fun hours playing in the one she had years ago. I don't think it's a crazy idea at all!

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  4. I love the galvanized pool:) When I was a little girl, we had a galvanized tub/feeding trough fro a bathtub in our cabin. I think back over the sand in the bottom and the grit and yuck!

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  5. Katie,
    How fun and creative. I love this. I bet it does the trick on a hot day.
    Kris

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  6. I can just see you with a drink in hand savoring the nice cool water after toiling in your yard! I think it's pretty darn funny, but I'd be doing the same if I lived in a hot climate. I get cabin fever when I'm stuck in an air conditioned house. Now you can enjoy a "staycation" right in your back yard!

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  7. Oh, you crack me up Katie! Those "don't try this at home" photos, ha! Living in farm and ranch country, it's not unusual to see kids playing in these (my older kids did when they were younger). I'm guessing you didn't get into it in the store to try it out? Seriously, I think this is a fantastic solution for you, and it looks really good in your yard! REALLY nutty would have been a slip-n-slide. In the front yard :)

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  8. Don't worry, I think stock tanks are the best!!!! We made one into our "pool" years ago and my boys loved it. When we had visitors, one of the adults would not get out of it! I think it looks great in your backyard. And, hello, I am a Texan who has been transplanted north. So I know what you mean about the unrelenting heat in the south! Happy floating!

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  9. I lived in Texas for several years, so I know how hot it can get there. I would definitely want some kind of pool to cool myself off with too. I like the industrial look of your stock tank and it looks much safer than those crazy hot tub ideas. Keep cool!

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  10. I love this. I would be in there all day. I so miss our pool and the desert is soooooooooooo hot. This is the coolest idea ever. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me

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  11. I really love this idea!!! How many times I've wished I had a spot like that to cool off while gardening......Usually use the hose to spray myself and carry on!!! Enjoy!!

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  12. I grew up "swimming" in one of these! But it actually was used, as well, for watering our cows. Yours looks much cleaner! The back story is that my Dad bought the stock tank for my mother as her birthday present. She didn't appreciate it, but my sister and I really did!

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  13. I love it...and what a funny post! You could also fill it up with ice and add all types of beverages for your next party! :)

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  14. GENIUS!!! Seriously!! I love it. If I had seen this when we lived at the old house I would have done it. Now we live in a community with a pool (thank God) so I don't have to do this BUT I have considered putting the tiny wading pool for our grandaughter on the patio and sitting in it;):)

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  15. I think it's great! I lived in the South for 20 years so I know how hot it can get. I'm sure you will get lots of use out of it. Enjoy!
    Kristi

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  16. Too fun!! I laughed when you told you husband to park around the corner til nightfall - what a hoot! I hope it works well! Enjoy!!

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  17. This is so cool and creative and love that you added the noodles. Hot flashes be gone!!!

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  18. I can't believe this...just yesterday I thought of doing this very thing in my backyard. We recently moved into a small rural community that has a hardware store located behind our place. I see they have those size of stock tanks available. I told myself that would be perfect as a pool for my husband and I and great for when the grandkids visit (6 grandsons)...Now, for sure this is going to happen. Thank you for the confirmation. I love it!

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  19. Sure beats throwing away those kwik set ones.

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  20. I would love to have one of these.Do you have a pool pump[ in it? It's hard to tell from the pictures. It would be nice to sit in after a hot hot day of yard work. any advise? thank you

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    1. Yes. We picked up a pump at a pool supply store for around 79 dollars. Each filter lasts about two weeks.

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    2. DO YOU KNOW THE NAME AND SIZE OF THE PUMP?

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  21. That is so COOL, both literally and figuratively. Having now survived a winter, how did you fare? Did you "drain" it and turn it over so it didn't acquire lots of leaves and stuff or did the pump handle all that? My yard is also not flat, but by the house is much flatter than yours. Even $700 is a bit steep right now, but it is something I might want to think about in the future. I do swim, actually swim well enough to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up having to hold up someone until they could be pulled out by others. I'm in Texas as well, Austin, so I totally understand the long hot summers!

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    1. We took off the pump, drained it and turned it over. My husband sort of propped it up so that it wasn't flat on the ground. It did just fine. The pump didn't survive the winter in the shed. I think the different freezes we had did a number on the seal.

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  22. Definitely a unique idea, and one that can definitely help cool you down in the summer months. You can just pull up a chair and soak your feet in the tank while reading a book, and that way you won’t have to deal with air conditioning. I don’t know about you, but AC makes my eyes water and nose stuff up!

    Leena Wolf @ H2O Spas

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  23. How do you keep it from rusting??

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  24. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!! I'm looking for a pond/pool for fish to make an aquaponic garden and this would be perfect, either beside the one for me or I could just swim with the fish :) :) It's one of those things that I wish I had thought of first. Tell your honey that he needs more imagination. And I'll bet he's sitting in it with u too! Hee, hee, hee. It won't freeze here. We live in SW Florida

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  25. bonjour dans quel magasin on peu acheter la picine galvanisé merci

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  26. We used a cattle trough as a fish pond stuck it under the trees in the back yard running pumps it is nice to sit out in the evening and relax.

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  27. What a great idea, I have seen many stock tanks used but adding the pump is a great idea!
    Roxy from Colorado

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  28. when you did need chemicals for that size of "pool" what was it? i have a blow up hot tub that we don`t heat..st.louis already 90`s early may..i want to keep it healthy not chemical..if possible..i love your idea

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