Best cover for keeping mom's pool closed long-term

[lbeachmike]

My mom is older and lives alone on limited budget. Unfortunately she has an in-ground pool with a Loop Loc cover that has some rips and needs replacement.

If the pool will remain closed as long as my mom lives there, what is best to do from here? I was going to replace the Loop Loc with another Loop Loc. I was quoted $5700 for mesh and $6200 for solid. I am not sure which option requires the least maintenance and overall cost - or are there other better options?

Thanks for any advice.

Mike

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

I would get Mom a solid cover so you have less water getting into the pool.

Without adding chlorine regularly you will have a swamp in the pool under the cover.

What type of pool is it?

 

[lbeachmike]

The pool is gunite/plaster. Doesn't a solid cover require more regular maintenance to pump the water off of the cover?

As the pool-water turns swampy, can it ultimately be cleaned up? My mom is almost 83. The pool will not be used as long as my mom lives there. So any considerations at this point would only relate to resale, but to reduce overall expenses along the way.

 

[Bperry]

The pool is gunite/plaster. Doesn't a solid cover require more regular maintenance to pump the water off of the cover?

As the pool-water turns swampy, can it ultimately be cleaned up? My mom is almost 83. The pool will not be used as long as my mom lives there. So any considerations at this point would only relate to resale, but to reduce overall expenses along the way.

A swamp will significantly reduce the resale value. The cheapest and easiest would be to keep the pool open and running, or have someone fill it in.

 

[lbeachmike]

A swamp will significantly reduce the resale value. The cheapest and easiest would be to keep the pool open and running, or have someone fill it in.

How would we keep the pool open and running through the winter in NY? The last time the pool was open was 2020. How is it cheaper to do so with electrical costs, equipment repair/maintenance, etc? I live far away and I am not there to be able to do anything to maintain the pool.

If the inside of the pool gets swampy, can't we just get that cleaned up ahead of sale of the home?

 

[Bperry]

How would we keep the pool open and running through the winter in NY? The last time the pool was open was 2020. How is it cheaper to do so with electrical costs, equipment repair/maintenance, etc? I live far away and I am not there to be able to do anything to maintain the pool.

If the inside of the pool gets swampy, can't we just get that cleaned up ahead of sale of the home?

Closing the pool for winter is way different than closing it for a couple years. How much are you willing to spend to clean it up? If the surface ends up stained or damaged is that something you will want to repair?

Ideally her best option would be to sell the house and move somewhere that didn’t have a built-in item that needs ongoing maintainence like a pool. I know that’s not likely a fun option for her.

 

[newdude]

Ideally her best option would be to sell the house and move somewhere that didn’t have a built-in item that needs ongoing maintainence like a pool. I know that’s not likely a fun option for her.

IIRC it cost us over $30k to move a few years back between bringing the house up to code, minor repairs and 2 closings / transfer fees. Then the realtor took $22k or so for their cut. The physical move was relatively cheap with 2 large storage pods ($800 each ?) but the sweat equity was considerable.

A $12k to $15k replaster in the worst case scenario is peanuts.

 

[ajw22]

If the inside of the pool gets swampy, can't we just get that cleaned up ahead of sale of the home?

Yes, you can.

Put a solid cover on the pool and deal with the cost of getting the pool into shape for showing the house when the time comes.

This summer I got a plaster pool going on LI that had been covered for about 5 years with a solid cover while the house was sold and renovated.

I don;t know the condition of your Mom's house but chances are any buyer will approach it as a fixer-upper or a tear down and the pool will be one of the projects.

 

[lbeachmike]

Ideally her best option would be to sell the house and move somewhere that didn’t have a built-in item that needs ongoing maintainence like a pool. I know that’s not likely a fun option for her.

I agree with you. Unfortunately my mom has early Alzheimer's and she would not do well moving to new surroundings - so that ship has sailed for the time being. I have to make the best (simplest/most cost effective) of an already bad and complex situation.

 

[lbeachmike]

Put a solid cover on the pool and deal with the cost of getting the pool into shape for showing the house when the time comes.

This seems to be the overall best way to go from the pros and cons I've heard from you guys so far ... I don't think my mom will be in this house for more than five more years, and that is probably optimistic. What minimally has to be done with the solid cover in place? How often does the water need to be pumped off?

 

[ajw22]

How often does the water need to be pumped off?

Setup this pump on the cover and it will run automatically.

Take the pump off the cover before it gets locked on with ice and snow as when it gets buried in snow it will start tripping he GFCI.

Little Giant APCP-1700 0.36 HP Automatic Pool Cover Pump 577301 - The Home Depot

Little Giant APCP-1700 (577301) is a 115-Volt Automatic Pool Cover Pump with a low energy consumption, permanent-split capacitor (PSC) 1/3HP motor. It has Screened Intake, 1 in. FNPT Discharge, Glass-filled

www.homedepot.com

 

[lbeachmike]

Setup this pump on the cover and it will run automatically.

Take the pump off the cover before it gets locked on with ice and snow as when it gets buried in snow it will start tripping he GFCI.

Little Giant APCP-1700 0.36 HP Automatic Pool Cover Pump 577301 - The Home Depot

Little Giant APCP-1700 (577301) is a 115-Volt Automatic Pool Cover Pump with a low energy consumption, permanent-split capacitor (PSC) 1/3HP motor. It has Screened Intake, 1 in. FNPT Discharge, Glass-filled

www.homedepot.com

So you are basically saying to setup the pump on the cover from about April through November? The challenge is that I don't live near mom and don't want to create more maintenance tasks for myself. (Or an obstacle course for the landscaper in the summer.)

Where on the cover does the pump need to be positioned?

 

[wireform]

The cover pump sits somewhere about center line with the drain hose ending where you don't mind the water going to.

 

[ajw22]

So you are basically saying to setup the pump on the cover from about April through November?

You need the cover pump on until you get a hard freeze and snow instead of rain. Depending on the winter that could be in December or January. You never know.

The challenge is that I don't live near mom and don't want to create more maintenance tasks for myself. (Or an obstacle course for the landscaper in the summer.)

A pool cannot be ignored or it will bite your rear end. Water in and around the pool needs to be managed. If you let water into the pool then eventually the pool will overflow and you will need to pump it out. Or you can manage the water on the solid cover and pump it away so the pool does not overflow.

If no one can do some basic things for Mom then fill in the pool and be done with it.

Realtors will tell you that a pool adds no value to a house sale and can be a negative.

Where on the cover does the pump need to be positioned?

Center of the cover.

 

[gkw4815]

My opinion is that walking away from the pool and letting it turn into a swamp is never the answer - at the least it's inconsiderate to any nearby neighbors and may run afoul of your local health department. In my previous house I had an elderly neighbor who had let his pool go, and I could barely enjoy my backyard during the summer with the smell and all of the mosquitos. Useless City of Houston Health Department did nothing to help, but I imagine a more-functional city government would impose some real consequences on irresponsible pool owners. Eventually the house sold to an investor who thankfully restored the pool.

Maybe with a solid pool cover it wouldn't be as bad, but would it block the smell once the water turned black and nasty?

Filling in the pool might be the right answer, but if the pool doesn't currently need major repairs and if your timeframe is ~half a decade, I don't see how the upfront expenditure to fill in the pool could be justified vs the cost of just hiring a pool service and keeping the pool adequately functional for the time being (potentially with the aid of skimmer leaf guards or similar products to eliminate the need to empty skimmers daily during leaf-drop season).

Granted this is my biased Southern opinion, but if your pool isn't kept open year-round it seems this would further tip the balance in favor of just leaving the pool in the guardianship of a pool service for a few years.

 

[lbeachmike]

You need the cover pump on until you get a hard freeze and snow instead of rain. Depending on the winter that could be in December or January. You never know.

So the pump can survive being in there through any temps? In other words - could we leave the pump there and simply shut the power to it?

The other tricky part here is that the water will basically flow downhill to the neighbor's property - yet another challenge. Though if there were no pool, the very same water would be there.

 

[ajw22]

So the pump can survive being in there through any temps? In other words - could we leave the pump there and simply shut the power to it?

If you are willing to buy a new pump every year or two.

My experience is if you let the pump get buried in snow it will develop corrosion internally and the GFCI will eventually trip. So you have to bring the pump in before any big snowstorm. And once the temperatures get and stay below freezing the pump can get locked into ice on the cover and you will not be able to remove it.

The other tricky part here is that the water will basically flow downhill to the neighbor's property - yet another challenge. Though if there were no pool, the very same water would be there.

That is the same as water runoff between properties during any rain,

 

[lbeachmike]

If you are willing to buy a new pump every year or two.

I am trying to weigh out all of my options vs cost vs sanity. With a mom with Alzheimer's, and knowing that things will only get worse, a lot of the priority shifts towards merely surviving - or at least remaining sane. If I were nearby, the pool logistics would be reasonably simple to manage.

Question: is it actually possible to run the pool year-round (leave it open) in the NY Metro area climate? Mom's house is in Rockland - probably not very far from you.

 

[ajw22]

Question: is it actually possible to run the pool year-round (leave it open) in the NY Metro area climate? Mom's house is in Rockland - probably not very far from you.

Nope. A pool running in freezing conditions needs to be watched carefully. There are many ways a problem will wreak havoc with the pool.

Winterize the pool and put a solid cover it and leave it that way all year round. I dealt with a pool left like that for 5 years. The pool can be brought back to life whenever you want. That is the lowest maintenance way of preserving the pool.

 

[lbeachmike]

Winterize the pool and put a solid cover it and leave it that way all year round

Okay - so, I need to:

1. Get new solid pool cover (wait until I share a pic of the state of the current cover!)
2. Get little giant pump with hose setup in the center of the cover and ideally remove it for the freezing months

Anything else I would need to do now or regularly? The pool has been closed since September 2020 and some has holes in the cover. I have added a couple pics.