I searched the forums and see this question has come up in the past a few times but from a few years ago so hope I'm not being offensive asking this again. I'm in contract on a home that has an in ground Gunite pool that was built 30 years ago. Inspection said it was a Sylvan pool (not sure how they know the brand!) and kidney shaped with max depth of 8 ft. The sellers said it was in service this past summer but the cover so I did not find out about the cracks until inspection.

From inspection we found several cracks in stairs and one larger crack near tile and they are all leaking. Report states that it will need extensive repair on shell so probably all plaster removed .. Some repair to unite shell and replaster.

Question is what is rough estimate? Pool is not very important for me as it has limited use (2 months a year here in NJ) and I'd just as soon rip it out and reclaim the space but that is pricey as well. I also would not replace any tile or coping. Attaching some pics as well if anyone can give me some ideas on similar repair costs.

Thanx!

Dear dvmak,

Is this house the absolute house of your dreams and cannot be parted with? Will you never find another house and location as wonderful? Only if you answer yes to these questions should you proceed. If you answer no to these questions, get out of this contract. This pool is going to be a royal headache to deal with, and you don't sound like a pool-lover.

There is nothing worse than an iffy pool coming along with the purchase of a house. (I know from experience what a drag and $$drain this can be.) Do you know what the rest of the pool looks like--has the cover been completely removed for you to see? This business about cracking and leaking is scary to me. You have no idea why there are cracks. Is the land shifting or settling? Are there plumbing problems or water table problems that caused this, or was the pool not quite right 30 years ago, and now you are seeing the results? You cannot see the condition of the pool plumbing under the ground--it could be intact or it could be broken and leaking. Does the pump run? Is the filtration system in good working order? Was this pool winterized and that's why the water level is down, or is it low because it leaked out?

Oy! You should pay for a pool inspection. Be very careful with this. I wish you good luck.

Lana

Lana,

Yes, I’m not exactly a pool lover … but if it’s there and working I’d definitely use it. I just don’t want to blindly walk into a potential nightmare and the fact that the disclosures did not list the cracks is somewhat troubling! I did have a pool inspection but the pool was snot running so they could not verify pipes but did note a leak at the cracks.

Yes, the house is on a slope and a retaining wall near the pool is leaning and will need to be replaced ASAP and that I already have an idea of cost. But I’m lost as to potential pool repair costs as I can’t get pool companies to respond … perhaps that time of year???

It's a Sylvan, or as they are now known, Anthony and Sylvan.

Cracks can be filled once the deteriorated material is removed.

I need the size of the pool's length and widest width before I can guestimate how much I would charge.

Scott

Hey Scott - where in Jersey are you?

The pool is approx 40 long (including the narrow end with steps by 18 width ...

If all you need is a re-plaster, it won't be cost prohibitive $5-6K, but if it wasn't properly winterized, you could run into many more problems with pipes and equipment. If it in fact settled due to the retaining wall movement, there could be pipe issues, etc. I would certainly get a Pool inspection before I bit the bullet. Keep trying to find a pool company to provide an estimate of repair to get some solid numbers before you sign on the contract. I certainly wouldn't proceed if you weren't in love with the house before a full inspection of the pool. It also sounds like you need retaining wall repair which runs into a good sum of money. If you don't do it yourself, that's a tremendous expense to re-build a retaining wall. It's certainly a doable project if you are handy. I built two walls completely around my pool myself, but I am certainly a handyman.