Hello from Walnut Creek, California

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W

worthit?

New member
Aug 1, 2023
4
Walnut Creek, California
I am trying to decide whether it is worth it to redo a very large traditional cement and chlorine 65-year-old pool that has served me and my large family well for the last 36 years. This year the ancient pool pump motor started getting noisier and noisier, so it needs repair, but I have not been able to get anyone to come to either repair the motor (worn ball bearings?) or replace the entire pump. Also, I am having to add more water to keep the water high enough at a greater rate than ever before, so assume there is more leaking. The pool needs resurfacing or extensive patching, and the tile under the coping (which I did replace a few years ago) is crumbling away. (I have always kept it closed with an automatic pool cover, because of children and pets.) My spouse says that it is more worth it to just fix the pump and pay for the extra water. I, the dreamer, was thinking it might be a good time to put a smaller, shallower fiberglass pool inside the old concrete one so I could keep up my lap swimming and exercise into my extreme old age, should I make it that far. Then I would not feel guilty about wasting water. Downsizing the pool, in other words, since I can't bear to leave my house. My grandchildren now have their own pools or clubs to swim at so don't use mine much. But my first quote was over $100,000!! Maybe I'll need that money if I live for another 30 years. But if I die in just a few years, I will have had the fun of a new fiberglass saltwater pool that does not rough up my thin skin and water that does not break off my hair, and it can be used by whoever ends up with my house. Are other grandparents facing a similar decision? How do you decide?
 
I've had two gunite pools with automatic pool covers, and know how to take care them, but my current pool is 50+ years old with a pool pump motor that needs repair, presumably leaky raggedy plaster and crumbling tile and areas of crumbling concrete around the pool. I had read that a fiberglass pool was half the cost of a concrete pebble/*** pool, and would not rip up the skin on my ancient hands and feet, so was thinking of inserting a fiberglass pool into the shell of my current pool, supported by gravel. But the only local installer is charging over $110,000 just for the basics, the same as the estimate from concrete pool company. I am hesitant to dip into my retirement savings if the fiberglass guy is overcharging me (as some reviews of his company say,) as I would not get the expected value added to my property at sale when I die or need to go into a "home." Is there a more economical way to get my pool working so I can safely exercise? (Also was going to convert to salt water.)
 
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