Help please!

[nickyv]

Just bought a home with an existing pool. In the shallow end there is a pole, roughly two to three feet long, which appears to be the bottom half of an umbrella pole or a table top pole. The top of it is about three inches under the surface and it runs straight down to the floor of the pool. It is rusted badly. I have tried to put a pipe wrench on it and twist it (lefty loosey) and it will not budge. I can't pull it out. It appears to go right into the bottom of the pool, I can't see a sleave. I hit it a bunch of times with the pipe wrench in hopes of loosening it. When I put the wrench on it at times it slips and the rust comes off. Bottom line its kind of dangerous (the top being a bit jagged) and I need to get it out. Does anyone have any suggestions at all? Thanks.

 

[Durk]

Old farmers' trick for pulling fence poles: find a tireless rim, the bigger the better. Hitch a chain to the bottom of the pole and run it over the rim which is set vertical against the pole. I'd put something under the rim to protect the pool, maybe an old car mat. Attach chain to tractor (you might substitute SUV or pickup) and pull. If it has any chance of coming out, that will do it. Otherwise you will have to drop water level and cut it with a Sawzall, then cover the stub with cement. Or get a jack hammer and fix the hole.

 

[twoolley]

That sounds like it's going to rip it out of his plaster and probably a decent chunk of it.

Do you want to salvage it or completely remove it? If you're removing it (I would too if it's rusted) then I would drain the pool and cut it off with a dremel or other appropriate tool. But avoid putting strain on the plaster. The other option is use a hand saw with an appropriate pipe blade and saw it off level with the pool. That last option isn't going to give you the ability to sand down the edges to make it safe for feet and someone will probably end up cutting themselves on it. If you drain the pool and use the dremel then you can also sand down the edges to the plaster and make it safe for walking.

In the meantime if you have kids that won't avoid the pipe you can run the hardware store and buy a PVC cap that will fit over it to conceal the jagged rim on the metal piping.

Hope that helps, post pics if you have them or let us know exactly what you're trying to accomplish.