A Pool Without The Price

The hot Summer weather is upon us and we all need a way to cool down. Some people like to hit the beach, some like to stay in where it’s air conditioned and a lot of people go to the pool. We make many runs to the beach during the Summer but the river is still pretty chilly to be swimming in right now.
We had a glimpse of what we’re in for this Summer a few days ago with a temperature of 24° Celsius feeling like it was 30° Celsius. This is nothing compared to India where some places have reached highs of 48°+ Celsius.
I have no idea how the people of India are keeping cool but I’m sure they don’t have pools in their backyards like some of us do. We do not have a pool either and the heat was unbearable the other day so we decided to make a Do-It-Yourself swimming pool for the little one.

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What we used:

  • Poly Tarp (blue plastic tarp used a lot for covering machines in the Winter).
  • Round Mouth Shovel
  • Hose
  • A few buckets of hot water
  • Energy
First we dug a hole that was roughly 1-2 feet deep in our old garden. A little deeper on one end kind of like the deep end of a real pool. Once it was deep enough for our liking we place the poly tarp inside and put rocks around the edges to keep the tarp from falling in. Then we turned on the outside tap and allowed the hole to fill up half way with water. While the water is filling up, you can add a few buckets of hot water to make the pool a little warmer or you can wait until the cold has filled up to the desired level. You now have your very own pool without the price that the kids will love. You can even make it big enough for the adults to cool off!Do you do anything extreme to beat the heat?*Always remember that it only takes a few inches of water for a person to drown and 10 seconds for a child to become submerged so keep your kids in your sites at all times when playing around water!

Comments (15)

  • This is great, although I think my kids would make this a mud pool, without the spa prices.

  • Good alternative way to get a pool! 🙂 I could use one today – hot and humid.

    Janine Streiter
  • I like this. Grass is overrated anyway, and then if you make it large enough, in the winter it doubles as a little hockey rink! 😀

    Anne Radcliffe
  • Last summer we turned a bouncy thing we had that was hollow inside as a pool! Instead of jumping in it we filled it with water so the kids could cool off!!

  • What a great and inexpensive way to stay cool! We unfortunately live in an apartment at the moment and I don’t think our landlord would appreciate us digging up the grounds but I will definitely be pinning thus for future use!

  • Lol, it ended up being a mud pit by the end of the day! It’s like a natural instict for our little guy to destroy things. Lego is a perfect example 😉

  • Thanks Janine 🙂 You gotta do what you can to beat the heat for the time being, lol.

  • Thanks Anne 🙂 I think the rink is an awesome idea. Definitely trying it this year!

  • Great idea Debbie! When it’s hot kids can be cranky so whatever you can use to keep them cool will help 🙂

  • Thanks Amanda 🙂 Yeah, I don’t think they’d appreciate that either! You’ll have to let us know when you make one as we’d love to see the turnout!

  • I am with you on this. My son would have this as a mud pit as well.

    Great idea though. I love it.

    Elica Palacek
  • This is a great idea! We have an old plastic pool that has been around for about 15 years and passed from one cousin to the next. Although you can not swim in it, it is great for a soak which works wonders to cool a person down 🙂

  • Thanks Suzanne 🙂 We had a pool that’s been handed down from kid to kid too but eventually it met it’s match, lol. We went half on an actual pool with the in-laws but it’s not up yet and I’m not much for swimming. I prefer to wade in the kiddie pool.

  • Our friends built an outdoor hockey rink this past winter using greywater… they just took a bucket with them into the shower, and dumped it on the ice every time they were done 😉

    Anne Radcliffe
  • Oh my!! I LOVE this idea!! May have to try this when we move to our new home! Going to have to ‘pin’ it to remember! Thanks for sharing Jay!

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