![20180805_211021.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQFDh4pvkoSVbM7xszmW9xhFoqxhc1AdiDEv9qnF3uxZJ/20180805_211021.jpg) # I wanted a small swimming pool at our house. **My wife and I have purchased many small, cheap pools for our kids, and they usually ended up looking like this.** ![20180705_185238.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTB1n6NPqyd3jh8PUJUHLPRa6TAFUaQKJHvCs1cBiw3db/20180705_185238.jpg) Deflated, no longer able to hold water, then tossed aside. ## I didn't want to spend big bucks on a pool kit, so instead, I used materials I already had around our place and built my own custom pool. **I had recently torn down an aged wooden fence in our yard, so the lumber was readily available for reuse. I framed up the walls in four sections in our garage.** ![20180630_162535.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQDBhe5836ACJSKzVdmXr8L5p7pRxk8DWvu3MSUiDRPXX/20180630_162535.jpg) **While construction of the walls took place indoors, I was also preparing the site in our yard where the pool would be located. I brought in a large quantity of sand and gravel and worked at building the grade, leveling it, and compacting it. I marked low areas with yellow spray paint, then added sand until I had made a flat platform for the pool to be built on.** ![20180705_185251.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSStrEaxy5fgTMJTU5brKVr23C5oJ5waHKtm2pStEk5vY/20180705_185251.jpg) **Once the four wall sections were built, I carried them outside, then began building my pool. I used half-inch treated plywood for a floor, then added the walls.** ![20180705_185309.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmP6paQpxNV6jQmT4jce2wTK3mGZNz6BN7912P7TAaWFJ8/20180705_185309.jpg) ![20180707_164212.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNqmnQZQWyxfusUFp6G5TKCH5hB8paUwzJYyTxePQm5BF/20180707_164212.jpg) **I then insulated the walls, and began lining the inside of the pool. I used sheets of FRP (Fiber-Reinforced Plastic) for the floor, and corrugated steel panels for the walls. I then meticulously sealed all the seams with white silicone and elastomeric roof coating. I installed a drain tube at the bottom of the pool, and an outlet and inlet tube where I would later hook up a sand filter. I even made a LED light with a blue lens for illumination at night.** ![20180802_201626.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmeegCQfXz1jYFa6XbF2QUKh3Y1FxSGYjM8cyKD665a8cH/20180802_201626.jpg) ![20180804_104108.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQma1PxmeNJyYdaF8uMjtAJTDhBX8G2DeMoQeK9yMCDGs8n/20180804_104108.jpg) **The pool even has a built-in shallow wading area with dry storage underneath.** ![20180804_104137.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRKDxt8UF9xH8v7WFzHbnD2WgsudPL35EMk1QxSSCpjH2/20180804_104137.jpg) ### Since our boys are still young (six and two years old), I only filled the pool to about 21 inches deep. **It is still plenty deep for me to soak and cool off after a long work day. The maximum depth I will fill the pool will be 32 inches, which I may achieve next summer.** ![20180805_211021.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQFDh4pvkoSVbM7xszmW9xhFoqxhc1AdiDEv9qnF3uxZJ/20180805_211021.jpg) ![ID Photo (1).JPG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYbRd7MqKhERWs8djtG8PBrozF95z9xhFjyAQUR9oXVbX/ID%20Photo%20(1).JPG)