So I am replacing my diving board (SR Smith Frontier II) and my bag with my bolt kit for attaching the base to the three bolt jig has been lost (kids!). So I need to get a new kit for bolting down the base. Looking at the kit (S.R. Smith 69-209-033-SS), they just look like regular bolts and nuts and washers. Buying the set of three bolts, nuts, etc. is close to $100, a lot for a few bolts, nuts, and washers. Can I go down to Ace Hardware and get the same bolts, nuts, etc. or is there something special about their bolt kit?
Hardware store bolts for bolting down diving board base?
- Thread starter bgray9
- Start date
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,125
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
It would be best to call the manufacturer and ask them what the bolts are made of and what hardness/grade they are, along with specific diameter and length.
It's usually always best to use the ones the manufacturer supplies or specifies.
If you were to pick some up at a local hardware store and they failed and injured someone, your insurance possibly wouldn't cover any of it if the manufacturer specified hardware and parts weren't used.
It's usually always best to use the ones the manufacturer supplies or specifies.
If you were to pick some up at a local hardware store and they failed and injured someone, your insurance possibly wouldn't cover any of it if the manufacturer specified hardware and parts weren't used.
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There are different grades of bolts and nuts. I wouldn’t just go buy anything. Is the bolt kit really $100? That’s crazy.
Yes, it is three nuts, three regular washers, three lock washers, three nylon washers, and three plastic caps. With tax and shipping they are close to $100. I messaged the manufacturer.
DrewLG
Gold Supporter
There IS something special about their stuff: They've chosen a specific grade of corrosion-resistant steel for safety.
In a random web photo I found, the nuts are marked F594C. That's an ASTM spec for a particular corrosion-resistant stainless steel alloy with a certain hardness. Washers are possibly 304 stainless but weren't visibly marked -- but they were certainly selected by SR Smith to have the specific set of qualities necessary for that application.
You can't get the right parts at Ace Hardware, but IF YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE, you could get them from a specialty hardware supplier like McMaster-Carr.
If you bought them that way, you might save $50 after shipping. That's partly pool-store markup, but it's also payment for SR Smith's materials expertise and for the potential liability they're accepting by selling you a kit.
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Go to a local fastener supplier and get good stainless steel.
You can measure the parts with a Fastener gauge or ask SR Smith.
You can measure the parts with a Fastener gauge or ask SR Smith.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I’d buy local. 316/316L stainless would be fine. Or you can order online from McMaster-Carr as they carry almost every conceivable part out there. There’s nothing special about what SR Smith has, you just need to know the mechanical specs (bolt size and thread pitch) and the grade of steel they use.
If you do buy your own, beware of regular stainless hardware at the stores, it’s usually not graded which means it’s rated at lower than grade 2. Ideally you want grade 5 or better. Grade 8 is best.
Bring a magnet. The cheap ones stick, and have a chrome shine to them. The better ones are darker, less shiny, and not magnetic.
FWIW, I’ve never seen good stainless bolts at a hardware store. McMaster-car is a decent option or if there’s a local supplier that can order graded hardware that works too.
ARP bolts are the bees-knees in the high strength stainless automotive hardware world. You might look at their website and piece together parts. But they might be close to the $100 limit.
My HD/Lowes had them but in the bags hanging up top and not the bins below.
I don't think they'd have large enough ones though.
SR Smith responded to my request for information on the hardness or classification of the nuts. They didn't respond to my request directly and just said to buy the kit.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Just measure the thread pitch of the existing bolts and buy your own nuts. Seriously, this is not rocket science. Your diving board isn’t going to implode and destroy the universe simply because you didn’t get the exact grade of steel that SR Smith has.
Went down to Copper State Bolt and Nut and got the same nuts (304 quality), lock washers, and washers as are in the SR Smith kit. Instead of paying $100 or so for the SR Smith kits, I paid $8.76.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
After installing them either spray the assembled nuts and bolt with a good blast of WD-40 or a hit then with some good quality machinist grease. That way you create a thin barrier film that is waterproof and will keep the pool water off them. I’d also recommend hitting the threads first with either moly-disulfide grease or white lithium grease. That’ll make it easier to remove the nuts when needed and keep fine dust or debris out of the threads. I always grease the T-bolt and brass nut on my filter band clamp so that it’s easy to open when I clean the filter. A little bit of grease goes a long way in keeping everything moving.