Please help me bring an indoor pool back from the grave!

jlo3922

New member
Aug 31, 2023
1
Fairfax VA
Hi everyone, I've been a long-time lurker of this website as I've spent the last couple of years saving up to renovate the defunct indoor pool that came with the house I bought.

I had a bunch of questions I was hoping I could get some help with, and a big one aboutwhether or not I'm being taken for a ride with my first estimate. So here we go!

From the looks of it, the pool used to be an outdoor pool, but at one point, it was enclosed by an addition. The room above the pool is my sunroom. The pool measures about 25x15.

Photo Aug 31 2023, 8 31 22 PM.jpg

However, it does not appear that the pool was ever actually used once it was moved indoors, which happened in the 90s. This is what we have in the "equipment room", which is actually where two of my furnaces and water heater live (we seem to get mice coming in from the area where the plumbing enters)

Photo Aug 31 2023, 8 31 08 PM.jpg

The skimmer looks to be in bad shape and the plumbing, tile, plaster all look very old/unusable:

Photo Aug 31 2023, 8 31 46 PM.jpgPhoto Aug 31 2023, 8 31 37 PM.jpgPhoto Aug 31 2023, 8 31 53 PM.jpg

So far we've had two companies come by to take a look and we're waiting on a third. Only one has given me an estimate. However, both companies told me the same thing: the plumbing and skimmer are unusable, and I should move all the equipment out of that room and into a shed outside, probably behind that second window you can see in the first picture. Both have told us that the plaster needs to be replaced, along with all the water tile. Basically, they want to drill through the side of the pool and run new plumbing, where they'll add a new pump, filter, and heater. Here's the summary of the first quote:

Strip Plaster $3500
Waterline tile $2400
Coping stone: $5000
Caulking: $750
Pre-plaster acid wash: $800
Indoor pool surface, exposed aggregate: $8300
Pool plumbing and equipment install, skimmer lines and boxes, return line, control valves, spillway: $9500
Plumbing Materials -- Pipes, 2 skimmers, 2 return outlets, 2 jandry/pentair 3 way valves, 1-2ft spillway: $4000
Run new gas line: $4000
Electrical and bonding, includes running a line: $2200
Equipment pad: $400
Pentair 3HP Intelliflo3 VSF: $2100
Intelliconnect Smart Control: $400
AOP 25 OZONE + UV: $1600
AOP 50 Degas Vessel XL: $1200
Pentair Clean & Clear Plus 320 cartridge filter: $1300
Master Temp 300 Natural Heater: $3700
Strip existing deck, remove 4x20 concrete slab for new plumbing. Pour new slab, finish patio with travertine patter or similar: $13000
Eclipse auto safety cover with prefab box: $17500

Grand total: about $82000.

This exceeds our budget by about 20k, but we're willing to stretch if the prices are reasonable. The guy who did this estimate was awesome and seemed very knowledgeable. The only thing that I think he didn't address is that the only ventilation in this room is that big fan you see here
Photo Aug 31 2023, 9 07 17 PM.jpg

Odder still, the room has two vents that feed in conditioned air from our main level AC, so in the winter the room is nearly as warm as the rest of the house, and in the summer it's pretty cool.

We'd like to go with a dedicated dehumidifier for this room, but the two contractors seemed split on this. One said it wasn't necessary and to just use the ventilation fan, the other said we could have a pool-rated mini split to do the dehumidification.

Finally, I know that AOP systems are very contentious here, so I don't want to start another argument :LOL:, but I understand that UV systems do make sense in indoor pools because they fill in for the lack of sunlight. We were also leaning very heavily towards a saltwater system, but we told that it would cause issues with the automatic cover.

Anyway, appreciate any tips, feedback on the quote, and suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

Joe
 

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Welcome to TFP! :wave: Like you , that would be quite a sticker shock for me as well. :eek: They certainly have a way of embellishing some of those items, but I do agree that it's a major overhaul due to the age and structural integrity of the pool being empty for so long. Lots of concrete work for sure. Curious to know what the 3rd company quotes - if they reply.
 
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There is no concern about using an autocover with a saltwater pool. I would, however, go with the top model of whichever brand you go with, as they are usually the most robust in terms of materials. Unrelated to corrosion, the covers generally work fine though are EXPENSIVE to repair when needed.

For an indoor application such as yours, the benefits of having an autocover are numerous. I am never sorry we went with ours outdoors either.
 
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You will want a proper pool room dehumidification system with heat recovery ventilation from a company like DCA or Desert Aire. Using exhaust fans will not only waste the heated air from your pool room but also create negative pressure that will suck the conditioned air out of your house since homes aren't 100% sealed. Your utility bills will skyrocket. Close off those vents from your house otherwise the humidity and fumes will be spread throughout your home. You will want a dedeciated furnace for this space and the room air should be 2 degrees higher than the water otherwise the pool will evaporate quickly. This is not something you want to go cheap on or cut corners, do it wrong and you can easily condemn you house as mold grows and it rots from the inside out. Find a HVAC contractor in your area that has expertise with pool rooms. You could check with some hotels or gyms in the area to see who they use.

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Check out this link: https://www.desert-aire.com/sites/default/files/Brochure-21st-Century-Pool-Design-Guide-DA030.pdf