Finally, we found one that all the things my wife was looking for. Pre-existing block fence. Not in a cramped subdivision. An acre yard. Desert landscape. We jumped on it. We got it. The first thing we both said when we moved in was....what the heck are we going to do with half acre back yard of dirt?!
There were a few palo verde trees, some scraggly creosote bushes...and lots of weeds, rocks, and dirt.
So, the next thing my wife said was, "We really need a pool." Our previous house had a pool we used constantly. We still had that house at this point because we couldn't afford to sell it in the down market. So, after much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair (figuratively) we decided to rent it out. We actually got it rented almost immediately and up until the point we sold it in August of '14 we had two renters in there the whole time. If you have any experience renting out a property you probably know it's a mixed bag. There was a lot of pain involved over the course of five years but ultimately it allowed us to keep the house until we could sell in an up market.
During that time we tired to mitigate the dirt as best as possible. We put down some 3/4" rock around the back and sides of the house. We put down some brown pavers next to the back patio. And, we got some overstock astro-turf for about 25¢ a sq yard. What a great price. Here's the catch: It was bright orange!!!!
Well, we got it installed with the help of a couple of friends. We put up a playhouse/swing set for the kids. It was a it scratchy, but it was cheap, it worked and as you can see it is now really easy to pick out our house from outer space.
Anyhow, after five years of trying to to make due, constantly weeding the yard and living in a house that had a permanent layer of dust in it...we decided to pull the trigger and get a pool. And that is where train came off the tracks.
