Tuesday, November 8, 2011

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part 4

Building a pump house! OK, I didn't build the pump house, I played with the dog. This is a long story so sit back and relax.

When I opened the pool in May and connected all the connections the pump was LOUD...very loud. Rob and Ian assured me the sound was no louder than normal but I was obsessed with the noise. I spoke to my friendly neighborhood pool man, Jared, at Tarson in Fairmount and he said pumps get louder as they age. (Kind of like Rich!) He recommended I take the pump to Syracuse Armature on Burnet Ave. I walked around for days just saying the word ARMATURE. I have never used the word before, doubted it was a word and had to look it up in the dictionary. Who knew? It is now my new favorite word but I have never had the chance to use it is casual conversation. The kind man at Syracuse Armature called me after several days with the sad news. The pump would cost more than $200 to rebuild. While I love to reuse and recycle it made sense at the time to just buy a new one. I spent the day making phone calls and getting prices and finally decided on a pump at Tarson on Taft...a place I have vowed many times to avoid. I dragged Ian and all the fittings and connections with me so Ian could be tutored on how to install the new pump. We spent a good hour in Tarson while the dumb ass in parts rebuilt the connections and explained to Ian how the pieces connected.

The next morning, Ian was to install the new pump while I was at work. Only I awoke to a note next to the bed from Ian. I saved the note because it was priceless and someday I will remember where I put it.

The note (paraphrased) said,
"Good News: I couldn't fall asleep so I decided to install the pump when the sun came up.
Bad News: There is no electrical cord to plug the pump in.
Good News: We don't own any guns so I didn't drive to Tarson.
I went for a run. Love, Ian"

I slowly walked to the window to look down at the pool and my naked son was cooling down in the pool. He made me check the box and the pump...afraid that I would find something he didn't. He was correct...no plug. I called the electrician (who answered the phone at 7 am) and explained the situation and the fact we have been pumpless for quite some time. No problem.

Of course, I was as hysterical as Ian that the guy at Tarson could not have bothered to mention that the pump needed to be wired. I don't feel I need to ask the question, "Does this have a cord?" every time I purchase an electrical appliance. As I recall, when I purchased the dryer the cord was separate and I thought that was inane...but at least they mentioned it so I could plug in the damn dryer!

The electrician wired the pump, Ian connected the fittings and we finally had water circulation. Except the PUMP WAS TOO LOUD! Actually, the pump was pretty quiet but the force of the water traveling through the hoses and into the filter was loud. Rob & Ian thought I was insane at this point. I called Tarson and they made a service call, spent 30 minutes connecting, reconnecting and twisting things and told me it wasn't THAT bad. In fact, he told me the noise wasn't as annoying as the dog next door and that he thought the pump was too big and I should have bought a 1 1/2 HP instead of a 2 HP. (Again I am thankful we don't own firearms since Tarson told me I needed a 2 HP pump!)

I was complaining fiercely to Justin, the music teacher at Tecumseh and he recommended I build a pump house and offered to build it. He measured and designed and even measured the pitch of the shed so the roof line would match. Justin bought the materials and came over 1 day with Layla to start constructing.He cut and nailed and I played with Layla. Layla was curious about the duck but wanted nothing to do with the water. I had to coax her to even put her feet in to get a drink. She brought a ball with her and would drop it in the pool and cry until somebody (me) would take it out. I had great fun.

I love the new pump house because it is so neat and clean. But it's still too loud.

1 comment:

  1. Ok - 4th try! You slay me! Have you considered earplugs?

    ReplyDelete