The pool that tim built

When Tim Bauer decided he wanted an in-ground swimming pool in his Puyallup backyard, he dove right in to the job.

For nearly two months last summer – June and July – Bauer, dad Dick Bauer, father-in-law John Cunningham and a host of friends were up to their necks in dirt.

They built the pool – literally – from the ground up.

“I always wanted a pool,” Tim Bauer said. “When I was a kid, I went to a friend’s house with a pool like this.”

But he wanted his children, Allie, 9, and Zach, 12, to be able to invite their friends over to swim.

“We want our house to be where the kids want to be so we can monitor, supervise and influence,” said his wife, Mindy. “It’s investing in relationships.”

But why not hire someone else to do the heavy lifting?

In a word – money. Tim Bauer researched what it would cost to have a contractor build a pool in his backyard. He heard prices ranging from $45,000 to $55,000. He was able to do it himself for around $14,000. That’s a lot of dollars saved.

Getting started: Bauer began his search for pool perfection online. He found what he was looking for from a South Carolina company. At www.poolsdot.com, he ordered a kit that provided all the materials needed, along with a book of step-by-step directions. Materials were delivered in a huge semitrailer and unloaded into his garage.

Making time: As a firefighter employed at Fort Lewis, Bauer had a work schedule that gave him time to devote to building the pool. He often works 24 or 48 hours straight, then has a few days off. He also used vacation time.

“I’d go to work to rest up,” Bauer quipped.

Getting help: The manufacturer’s Web site recommends that people without pool-building experience subcontract the excavation work and the concrete bottom and decking.

Bauer ignored that advice.

He and his able assistants did all the work themselves – even pouring the concrete for the pool deck and the floor. But two jobs were contracted out to the pros: electrical work (for the pump and filter) and a natural gas hookup (for the pool’s heater).

The right stuff: Bauer rented all the equipment he needed at a tool rental store: a backhoe for the big dig, a jackhammer, a laser level, and a roller to firmly plant sod installed after the pool dig ripped up the backyard. The crew used a plumb bob – a weight at the end of a string – to ensure the bottom of the pool was squared off. Stakes and string marked out the pool dimensions in the dirt.

The dirty work: Bauer dug the main hole in the backyard with the backhoe. But much of the fine-tuning, including the gradual slope from the pool’s 8-foot depth to its shallow end, had to be shoveled out by hand. So did trenches for the PVC piping that provides the pool’s plumbing and drainage system. Bauer engineered the French drain system for the pool himself.

Staying on track: Bauer kept a notebook, jotting down ideas daily on how he would proceed.

“When you’re shoveling, you have to take a break,” Bauer says. “I enjoy physical fitness, but – whew!”

He looked forward during breaks to an ice chest full of liquid refreshment and a comfy chair. Mindy provided snacks, along with “moral support and back rubs,” he says.

Devilish details: The Bauers thought they would be able to create an opening in their fence and drive a backhoe right into the backyard. But that didn’t work out. Instead, they wound up taking down the entire back fence and replacing it with new fencing.

The crew also learned about local geology. They uncovered a huge granite boulder while excavating.

“I got the backhoe and went to scoop it out, but it rolled back down to the deep end,” Bauer said. It was impossible to move out of the pool area at that point. So he dug a hole next to the giant rock, rolled it in, and covered the hole with fresh dirt.

Helping hands: Bauer’s father-in-law likes to follow the rules.

“I’m the opposite – laid back,” says Bauer. “It was a good combination.”

Piecing the puzzle together: The pool’s sides are solid metal panels, each of the largest weighing 125 pounds. Panels had to be bolted together. Holes for pool lights, filter, drains and other equipment were precut by the kit maker. Metal braces support the wall panels.

The pool steps are prefabricated plastic; metal rods driven into the dirt support the steps.

After the panels were in place, the hole in the ground finally started looking like a pool. That’s when friends started asking the big question: “When are you going to fill it?”

Cast in concrete: Once the pool frame was up, it was time to pour concrete.

A large truck pumped more than 10 yards of slushy concrete through a pipe boom that stretched over the top of the Bauer house and into the trench Bauer and friends had dug around the pool frame.

The truck took up the whole street, Bauer said. “It was a big deal.”

Friends from work helped Bauer smooth the concrete into place, forming a deck around the pool.

For the concrete on the pool floor, Bauer rented a mixer.

It took three days for a work party of four – most of them learning on the job to work with concrete – to smooth out the floor using hand trowels.

The first time they laid the concrete floor, it cracked. Bauer wanted to leave it, but Cunningham, the detail man, talked him into redoing it.

The home stretch: By July, it was getting hot and everyone – workers and cheerleading family and neighbors – was ready to start swimming. But first, the pool needed its heavy vinyl liner installed.

Initially, the liner – held in place by a vinyl lip that clipped to the metal pool edges – hung loosely in place. Bauer used push brooms to work out some of the kinks. A shop vac inserted between the liner and the metal walls, by way of the pool skimmer system, sucked the liner taut against the pool sides. Holes for the pool drains were cut.

Big moment: By mid-July, it was time to fill ’er up. It took 21/2 days, and two garden hoses, to fill the pool with 21,000 gallons of water.

Dive in: “Once the pool was in, all we wanted to do was swim,” Bauer said. “For three weeks, we swam every day.”

But there was more work to do. While the backyard was torn up, Bauer and helpers installed a sprinkler system and a new fence. Over the winter, he built a pool shed to store chemicals and other pool equipment. And he’s not finished yet. This summer, he wants to build a backyard barbecue pit.

But Bauer is a persuasive boss, according to his dad: “He’d say, ‘How about we work three hours – and then we’ll swim?’” Tim’s pool Dimensions: 32 feet by 18 feet Deep end: 8 feet Shallow end: 3.5 feet Water: 21,000 gallons. The Bauers use a winterizing solution to keep the water in the pool all winter. For swim season, they run the filter and alter the pool chemistry. The process turns the water from murky green to crystal clear. Temperature: 70 degrees. Last year, the Bauers kept the heater on through November, but when the gas bill hit about $500, swim season came to an end. They will probably shorten the season to save money this year. Estimated cost to build: $14,000