Birds chirp as the pool cover retracts. Two pumps fire up, triggering a cascade down 42 feet of laminated fiberglass in the backyard of a Newburgh, Indiana, riverfront home.
Produced by Tennessee-based Dolphin Water Slides and installed by Evansville’s Aching Acres Landscaping in November 2014, this slide is one-of-a-kind.
In-house designers at Aching Acres customized the flume to twist and turn from the crest of a stone-adorned incline, down the hill, and directly into the pool. It was the tallest, longest slide the yard could hold.
Its dual pump system pushes water to the top of the slide, keeping everything contained within a single pool-slide chlorination system.
First, Aching Acres brought in dirt and rock to construct a slide-worthy hill. Next came the slide’s assembly and installation. Finally, they finished the project with a full in-ground swimming pool.
“When we decided to get a pool, they showed us another house that had a slide, but it was really small, and it was going to be, like, $2,000,” says homeowner Tina Daines. “So I said, if we put in a slide, we want something that is going to make an impact.”
Tina, her husband Paul, and their three kids, ages 11, 15, and 17, feel that impact on hot summer days as they barrel toward the water on a speedy improvised raft of three pool noodles.
“All their friends love it,” says Daines. “Every Friday I do what I call Treat Friday, and I have between 30 and 50 kids here. They play basketball. They swim and jump on the trampoline. They eat treats in the house. And they always want the slide on.”
For more information on Aching Acres Landscaping, call 812-985-5250 or visit achingacres.com.
