In-ground pool "inspection"

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fyn409

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Jul 9, 2013
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So my wife and I are looking to purchase a house that has an in-ground pool. While I have learned a lot about pools from this forum over the last 2 years, my experience has been limited to my Intex above ground. We have inspections at the house tomorrow but my inspector does nothing with pools. I have called a few local pool people to see if they would be willing to "inspect" the pool but so far no luck. Looking for some advice from all of you of what to look over/check out?.

Here is what I know so far:
Pool was installed about 12 years ago
It is a vinyl lined pool 17x32 with deep end and diving board
Pool is setup as a SWG pool element appears to be fairly new
Has what looks like fiberglass steps
Cement all around the pool
Pump and sand filter located up by house near garage, but not enclosed
Skimmer with at least 2 returns no bottom drain

So any info you can give me on things to check out while we are there tomorrow would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

Here is a picture of it:
pool.jpg
 
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Turn on the pool pump and see if it runs.
The SWG is likely to have alarms if something isnt working. Low Flow, Not Generating, or Low Salt levels... things like that. Might not be possible or enough time to figure out how to turn on teh SWG in a short period of time, but if you can, do it.

Check what type of filter it is...sand, DE, Cartridge... they are all good, but nice to know what Type it is. How big is it? Any models numbers can help determine exactly what it is.
Check the pressure gauge on teh filter. With pump off, the gauge should go to zero. Pump on, there should be pressure. Dont worry too much about what the pressure is, just that it has some.

What type of pump is it? Single Speed, Two Speed, Variable speed.
What HP is the pump
Is the pump connected to a timer? Or is it on a auto system of some sort. Is the timer/ auto system functional?
Is there a pool light? Does it work? There shold be a switch or timer or combination of both to turn it on and off
Look in the skimmer basket - empty it if necessary
Is there an auto fill and does it work
Is the liner faded and ugly an in need of replacement
is there algae in the pool

And how large is the pool? What are teh dimensions? Square, oval, rectangle, freeform. How deep is the shallow and how deep is the deep end. All these can help determine how many gallons of water it has.

Look closely at the equipment pad. There should be a bare copper bonding wire which connects all of the metal equipment cases together.

that should get you started.....
 
Looks like a nice pool. Not sure where you are at but if there is a heater they only last around 10 years or so depending on the climate. Not sure about the liner but we had to replaster after we bought our house after a few years and replace the heater. It cost an arm and a leg and if I would have know I would have got the home price down a bit.
 
Dave has some excellent suggestions above-- Here are a few more.

Is the electrical service provided through a subpanel? If so inside the subpanel the ground conductors and the neutral conductors should each have their own terminal buses. Your home inspector should check this as well as check that there are 6 or less breakers in the panel. Look for loose connections.

Walk around the pool -- look at the liner closely -- any discoloration or other signs of aging -- are there wrinkles?

What are the pool walls made of? Steel? Concrete Block? gently push on the pool wall around each of the return jets, skimmer and lights --- is there give? That may be a sign of deterioration of the pool walls from leaks.

Look at the diving board and the ladder -- you should be able to see the connection to the bonding wire.

Sand on the steps and gently bounce --- do they have give or are they solid? Look for cracks in the step surface and where they transition to vertical.

Is there a pool light -- you should be able to find the junction box -- almost all pool lights require junction boxes for correct installation.

Does it have a drain? Dual main drains? If not dual then has the drain cover been updated to a unblockable cover?

It looks good in the photo.
 
Spy about the shed or garage and take note of any bottles of pool potions you see. If a problem crops up later with the chemistry, its nice to have an idea of the things the previous owners put in the pool water. Snap a fast pic of the bottles if you're not sure what they are.
 
Thanks for the info so far, it has been very helpful. I am going to print this thread out and bring it with me tomorrow. Overall at first glance it appears to be well taken care of. Pool was sparkling clean when we had the showing. There is a timer on the pump so will have to test it out. It is a sand filter, pentair I belive was the name on the filter and pump. Also noticed it has inserts in the concrete around the pool for the cover. And I saw a cover in a bag that look like it was similar material as a trampoline....
 
Well, I checked as much as I could. Looks like a solid pool. Liner is nearing the end of it's life but looks like we can get some time out of it yet. There is a consistent drip coming from some of the return plumbing near the pump so will need to address that. It is a pentair sand filter and pentair 1/2hp pump, both look older, but no strange noises coming from the pump and it was also moving a fair amount of water. Looks like the chlorine generating cell is newer. We put in an offer and they accepted so looks like I will own a house with an in ground (or as my daughter calls it under-ground) pool! Thanks for the help so far I am sure there will be more questions once we actually take possession of the property. I have heard it said it is easier to keep the larger pools in check than the smaller. So hopefully going from my Intex to this pool will be an easy transition.

-Ryan
 
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