Rent a temporary "summer-pool"

[SoCalDem]

http://www.good.is/post/build-a-backyard-dumpster-pool/


This article is part of The GOOD (and ReadyMade) Guide to Slowing Down, from GOOD Issue 18. Read more of the guide here.

For most of us, a swimming pool is something reserved for daydreaming about on a muggy afternoon in July. But thanks to the creative folks at Macro Sea, a design company, a real pool (as opposed to a chintzy plastic kiddy pool) is now within your grasp.

Here's How:

1. Rent a Dumpster. Most Home Depots should be able to help you out there. Go for a 22-foot-by 8-foot version for the full-on pool party or the smaller 22-foot-by- 4-foot version if you want fun for just the family.

2. Have the Dumpster delivered to your ideal location (backyard, empty lot, or curbside for a block party).

3. Seal the seams with some caulking.

4. Put in some 6-millimeter professional pool liner.

5. Throw in some sand (so you are walking on something soft).

6. Add the water.

7. If you are planning to keep the pool for longer than a weekend, you can easily add chlorine. Cover it with an appropriately sized tarp.

8. Once the weather warms up, jump in and be the envy of your neighborhood!

Our Good Guide to Slowing Down was a unique collaboration with our friends at ReadyMade magazine. Check out their good work at ReadyMade.com, and follow them on Twitter at @ReadyMadeTweets.

Read more: http://www.good.is/post/build-a-backyard-dumpster-pool/#ixzz0hdH654nm

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Wow, I JUST stumbled upon this same article!

:hi:

[WCGreen]

2. Dumpster Diving....

[RKP5637]

4. Good One! LOL

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[flvegan]

3. I'd think sand first, then liner.

I'd think that to be not terribly cheap though. What does a pool liner cost?

[aikoaiko]

5. pools are fun and easy to make

[Xithras]

6. Oh gawd, that just reminded me of a horrible moment from my childhood.

When I was a kid, one of our neighbors had an old smokehouse behind his house. Back in the 50's or so, someone had built this thing out of cinderblock, and it was probably ten feet wide, twenty or so feet long, and had 4-5 foot tall walls (yes, the ceiling was low). One summer when I was 8 or 9 the thing caught fire, and the old ceiling frames and ancient shake roof went up in flames, leaving just the four cinderblock walls. It wasn't a huge problem for him because he just used it to store lawn equipment at that point, but the burned out hulk was a bit of an eyesore after the fire. So what did he do?

He painted the sides white, ordered a HUGE pool liner, and turned it into an above ground pool. There was just one problem...it turns out that unreinforced cinder block has a fairly low tensile strength, and it only stood about two days before the side collapsed. When that happened, it sent a tsunami of water rushing across his yard, taking out the fences for several houses in each direction. As it turned out, the slop of the land was also just right to send the bulk of the water right into the side of MY house, with enough force to completely shatter out the basement windows.

Want to guess where I was when this wall of water started pouring into the basement? Watching TV in the basement rec room. How would YOU react if you were a little kid, in the safety of his own home, in the middle of the summer and nowhere near a river or lake, and a tidal wave of water started flooding the room? We're not talking "broken pipe" flood, but "two feet of water in 60 seconds" flood. Me? I screamed for my mommy as I climbed up onto the back of the couch :)

If you're going to do this, make sure that the dump gates are solidly locked...and that there are no neighbors downhill from you (you'll have to crack the thing open to drain it eventually!)

[Edweird]

7. That's awesome!

[Berry Cool]

8. What a story!

And I bet you were waiting for this kind of opportunity to tell it! :rofl: