Photo courtesy of LaToya Scales.
LaToya Scales didn’t need a pandemic to put in a do-it-yourself pool.
The labor and delivery nurse, who has lived in Oak Cliff since 2015, built her 6-foot stock-tank pool last summer after finding a tutorial on Instagram.
“I grew up in apartments, and I really missed having a pool,” Scales says. “So I used to get a kiddie pool every summer.”
Even in normal times, a stock tank can be hard to find, Scales says. Hers cost about $200 and took some serious shopping. She used plans she found online and spent about $500 on the whole thing, including landscaping. Leveling the yard is key, she says.
“I flattened the spot, drilled the holes and did all the things,” she says. “I have thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The pool is low maintenance. She runs the filter once a day and uses a net to scoop out the debris. She adds chlorine and has a kit to test pH levels, just like any pool.
When warm weather returned this year, all it required was a fill-up. She says she could never afford an in-ground pool, but the mini pool is perfect for her and her two longhaired weenie dogs, Cash and Sophia.
She’s saving up to build a deck.
“I am not a handy person or a DIY person,” she says. “The scariest part was drilling the holes because you can’t go back on that. But it’s a totally doable project for anyone.”
