Robert Ebsen

I have had above ground pools for over 30 years. Swimming is my exercise. I love it.

Overnight, during these colder months, the temperature of my pool water has gone down 10°. Since the water heated up 4° an hour, it took 2½ hours to heat the pool to the desired temperature the next morning.

As of two days ago, the temperature of the pool water goes down only 5° overnight. Now it takes only one hour to heat the water 5°. Instead of heating the water for 2½ hours each morning, I need to heat the water for only one hour.

How did I do it?  I built a house around my aboveground pool. Yes, it’s a small house. It’s just 6 feet tall, so I can stand up. And it covers the width and length of my rectangular pool.

The hoop-like house is made with 1-inch PVC pipe. Three 6-foot pipes fit onto

3-foot metal rods (rebar) that I hammered one-third of the way into the ground on each side of the pool. Those pipes bend over the pool. Then they are  connected to each other with shorter sections of pipe. The entire structure is covered with 6-mil plastic sheeting. My pool house is now a greenhouse.

How much did my pool house cost me? Six 10-foot PVC pipes cost $25. Two rolls of plastic sheeting cost $45. PVC connectors cost $10. Six pieces of rebar cost $15. PVC pipe clamps, to hold the sheeting to the pipes, cost $10.

For an outlay of $100, I figure I will save  $50 a month in gas bills. I will know when I get my next gas bill if that is correct.

Why didn’t I do this a long time ago? Duh. Why didn’t we all do things a long time ago?

Hey, it’s pouring right now, and I am looking forward to swimming while listening to the patter of raindrops on the roof. Woo-hoo!

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com