Diving board base rusting away

[reefpool]

Guys, saddest thing ever, this diving board base is just rusting away. Not sure how old it is, we bought the home 2 years ago and it was obviously an issue painted over. Well that underlying issue is coming through. So, few questions,

This is a meter high board mounted directly into the concrete pour as you can see from the picture. So, my thought is that we probably want to make this work until we pour a new pad, which I would like to delay until doing new coping. Big money will be needed to do new coping and pad.

1. This appears all welded together so I don’t think you can preserve the base that’s in the pad while replacing the rusting part. Am I right or is this actually a possibility?

2. I know this is just worse and worse, last year we did nothing. I’m thinking of painting but scraping all of this stuff off is impossible. Thoughts on my best bet to extend life? Any combo of paint and pray that can work here? Board still working perfectly for now.

Please share any other thoughts or experiences. I’m in Houston. Thank you!!

 

[proavia]

The base appears to be past end of life and should be taken out of service. The rust and lack of upkeep has made the base dangerous.

Any idea when the diving board itself was last replaced. Chances are is has also reached end of life.

 

[reefpool]

Thank you so much for your comment. It is extremely stable despite the rust, nothing is loose at all. I do not know when the board itself was replaced but that piece seems to be in good repair with all of the antislip and no signs of wear so I assume it is not old.

Any comments/experience on what replacement of the base looks like for this circumstance given the way it is mounted?

Thank you.

 

[proavia]

Yeah, that's usually the way it works - it's stable, until it isn't.
Personally, I would take it out of service immediately - not worth the risk.
But your call as it's your pool - and your liability.

The entire base would likely need to be removed, including the concrete - and replaced with a new structure/concrete. Or just cut the metal down to ground level and put a flower pot over it to protect anyone walking by from the exposed metal.

 

[reefpool]

The part where the column meets the flat base for the board is welded together. Anyone ever have that weld cut and have something new re-welded? That columnar base is not rusted, for whatever reason maybe they used different metal there.

 

[PoolStored]

The part where the column meets the flat base for the board is welded together. Anyone ever have that weld cut and have something new re-welded? That columnar base is not rusted, for whatever reason maybe they used different metal there.

Would take someone with the right field skills, maybe hard to find, that could blast/clean it up, inspect, cut out bad portions and reweld necessary new portions of the structure. Probably not hard, just takes finding someone with the right tools and skills.

 

[reefpool]

It’s pretty clear the part that holds the board and rail needs to go, but it’s all attached to that perfectly fine base by a single weld, so..

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Do you really want a diving board? They are a serious liability and nowadays a lot of homeowners insurance policies will no longer cover pools with diving boards.

 

[reefpool]

Yes, the kids love it and I have a 10 foot deep diving pool. I know, we pay a lot for insurance and only one insurer will take us. Turns out another insurer would have taken us if the board were not so high. So, I’d be open to a lower version.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It basically needs a full renovation. You need to remove the current board all the way down to the concrete and cut at that portion of the deck. Then get a new concrete footer dug out and poured with the appropriate anchoring bolts and replace that old board with a low height option.

 

[reefpool]

Okay so I’ll just paint it and when it stops being a sturdy board I’ll put a jacuzzi there.

Seriously, this conversation was helpful to get reality to sink in, so thanks.

 

[bmoreswim]

And a minor but important thing upon a redo is to ensure the diving board mounting jig is included in the bonding loop around the pool. As all metal with x' of a pool should be bonded.