Water in ... money out
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 11:44PM 
The pool fairies mock us.It started a week or so ago when I noticed the swimming pool seemed to be losing ground.
Uh … water.
There's evaporation and there's splashout, but neither explained the mystifying fact that our water couldn't seem to stay level with the bottom of the topmost row of blue blocks.
Were hundreds of pool elves slipping tiny straws into the water while we slept and slaking their little elfin thirsts by drinking our swimming water? I wondered.
Presently I mentioned it to TG.
"Huhnnnmmm," he said.
A Deep Discovery
A few days later I was lolling in the shallow end when my foot detected an indentation in the floor of the pool. Upon investigation with my toe, I found a minuscule half-moon shaped hole in the liner. Still using my toe, I teased some grit from the hole.
Uh-oh.
Did you know that if you punch a hole in the liner of your pool with a ballpoint pen, through that little tiny hole you'll lose an inch of water a day?
This according to the man who put a weight belt around his waist and a SCUBA tank on his back this afternoon and "dove" my pool from end to end, looking for holes to go with the one we already knew about.
He didn't find any.
The pre-identified hole was quickly patched and we were once again in business.
Pay The Pool Piper
Since the heat climbs to 99 each day and the humility is near triple digits too, this is important. When I'm melting in traffic, I'm thinking about my refreshing evening dip.
"How much do I owe you," I asked the dripping pool man. Real nice guy.
"Seventy-five'll do it. I normally get a hundred-fifty but since you pointed out where the hole was, seventy-five'll do fine."
Hydrangea unrelated to story.He was at my house for twenty minutes. Ten minutes of that he was swimming in my pool.
The man is making four-hundred fifty dollars an hour for paddling around with rocks tied to his body, applying bandaids.
I knew guys who went to law school during the Kennedy administration who still can't bill that much per hour ... although come to think of it, some of them are all wet.
More Shocking Circumstances
What's tragic funny is that earlier this week, we had to hire an electrician.
Because suddenly and for no reason we could figure out, there was no electricity in our bedroom.
There was power in the master bath and in all the rooms around the master bedroom, but not in our room.
TG tried very hard to fix it. No expletives were uttered but I fear we came perilously close.
The nice electrician discovered there's an outlet with a switch on the outside wall of our house. I use the outlet to plug Christmas lights in every year. The rest of the time I forget about it.
But water had gotten into the switch apparatus and shorted it out, taking our bedroom electricity with it.
When all was put back to rights and the dripping electrician (he hadn't been in the pool … that's just how hot it was) was ready to go, I faced the music.
Ivy leave you have a problem."How much do I owe you," I asked.
"One eighty-five'll do it," he said.
Settle Up And Settle Down
I told him it didn't seem like enough. He'd been there three hours. He'd crawled around underneath my house! He'd gone to Lowe's and bought switch boxes. He didn't get to go swimming.
"If you want to make it two hundred that'll be okay too," he allowed.
I made it two hundred. Why not? I can read in bed again without holding the tiny LED flashlight Andrew gave me. I can watch an old movie from my pillow. I can walk around the room without stubbing my toe. TG is in the clear.
So to sum up … pool guy making $450 an hour. Electrician making a shade under $70 an hour. Both being paid by a court reporter who makes $40 an hour … when she works, and when copy attorneys live up to their designation by actually ordering copies.
Talk about your cash flow.
The pirate said it best: apparently there's a leak.
Reader Comments (9)
Thank goodness you got your problems fixed. We went through a long period of trying to find repair folks who were honest, never mind the cost. We finally found some trusted souls and gladly pay them whatever they charge (and they really don't charge much). Our electrician friend even brought his son for one repair and I had one of the most delightful 3-4 hours with the lad, exploring our wonderous cottage acreage. We loaded them up with veggies from our garden before they departed from that particular visit!
You will probably have something else go wrong, seems like bad things happen in 3's. We had a similar instance when my washer started making strange sounds. They guy came, looked (didn't even take out a tool, open up the washer or anything). He said looks like you need a new one. Cost $69.00.
Well the washer is still working 6 months later, it just makes a strange noise. I can put up with that.
I told my hubby that was $69.00 wasted.
@ Donna M. ... well, you know don't you, this post was written with tongue firmly in cheek! Both these guys were wonderful and I can't praise them enough for how prompt and polite they were, and of course their expertise is invaluable. But seriously ... swimming around the bottom of someone's pool takes a few minutes ... and he gets $150! LOL ... I guess that's what happens when a luxury item (although some would say it's a necessity in our climate) gets bollixed up, as opposed to electricity, which arguably one cannot be expected to live without! Kudos to your electrician who not only knows his trade but apparently is an excellent father as well.
@ Debbie ... well, peace of mind costs something! So funny that you were obliged to pay for advice you did not take! LOLOL ... I know the feeling. Sometimes paying for a new high-ticket item elicits stranger noises (like sobbing) than the noises made by the thing being replaced!
You joke, but I wouldn't bet against pool elves being responsible for the hole in your liner. Perhaps one of them got a bit too excited and punctured the liner with its tiny straw?
In related news, I found a pool elf in one of my skimmer baskets. Well, it was either a pool elf or a leaf. I've heard tale that pool elves are able to disguise their appearance so humans cannot see their true form. So, leaf? Pool elf? I may never really know.
I would LOVE to have a pool. The heat is a killer here and although we have a boat to go out on the lake it takes an act of congree to load everything and get everyone ready. I bet it IS just so relaxing to go out of ur house, take a few steps and ahhhhhh. Hmmm, may have to bring this up to te hubby, lol!
Around here, the housecall costs ~$75 before they do anything, and labour /time is extra. So ... I think I should move to where you live.
@ kev ... they disguise themselves as LEAVES? Does that mean all leaves are elfin beings? If that's the case I wonder we have any water at all around here, much less in the pool. But I think you're right: the pool elves put the hole in the liner. It couldn't have been TG with a cleaning implement. Just couldn't. He would never do that. Would he? Hmmmm ....
@ Crystal ... girl you would never regret getting a pool as long as you set safety ground rules for the kiddies (and Pepe, LOL), and buy sunblock by the gallon! It is wonderful to be able to pipe our tunes outside, light the tiki torches, and swim in our own water without being beholden to anyone and without sacrificing privacy. I don't "do" the hot sun so I wait to swim until 7:30-ish when it's still plenty light out but no direct sun is on the pool. The water is 80 degrees right now ... like a refreshing tepid bath. It's yummy. You'd love it.
@ A/c ... funny you should mention comparable prices, because I think we do in fact live in an area where the cost of living is low compared to the rest of the United States and definitely all of Canada! The price of gas here is the lowest in the US. Like I said, I'm not complaining so much as poking gentle fun at the hourly rate some "professions" can demand compared to others! I'm very thankful for these guys -- and all the ones like them -- who know how to get the job done!
I'm 'agoing back to SCHOOL!!!! I 'wanna be a PoolGirl!!Hahaaa....OMG! We own a plumbing company and even WE don't charge that much!!
But! So Glad you're back in action sweetie! Nothing worse than being Dry And in the dark!!Lolol...
Hughugs
@ Donna ... boy you're not kidding! Dry and in the dark is a powerful bad double whammy ... LOLOLOLOL! And yeah ... how 'bout that hourly rate? Not for nothin' but we could work on our tans while swimming all day, working on pools we didn't have to pay for! Sweet deal. Gotta rethink this court reporting gig.