FINALLY: Pool Renno Ongoing -- Questions for All

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Hi -- I'm back! I have an immediate question about draining off cover. There is a ton of rain buildup on the cover -- the pool guy quoted $1000 to get the water off the cover. My mother purchased a sump pump (see photo) -- but whatever she is doing, the pump is draining the pool water, not the water on top of the cover. We are having some of the pool construction folk over next week and we have a 4th of July event this thursday -- so really wanted to drain off the water.

Can you help me? Thanks in advance.
 

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From what I can see, and the circumstances you describe, that is a mesh cover. You cannot drain water off of a mesh cover because there is only one body of water which freely passes through the cover. The cover is sagging into the water. Perhaps the height of the water under the cover has now increased so it is in contact (and through/above) the cover. It was probably lower before and not contacting it. The only thing to do may be to drain the water down (which she is effectively doing), remove the cover and reinstall. The water will build back up and go back through the cover though.

Alternatively, the cover could be pulled on top of itself and to one end. Doing this very slowly will cause the water to drain through it back "into" the pool. You'd have to go super slow pulling it. I'm not even sure if it would be possible without few burly folks.

I may be off in my view of the situation so we'll see what other come back with also.
 
As @bmoreswim and @PoolGate suggests, it should be easy. If you need a little help get some teenagers to help. Make sure they hold one end off the pool while you roll it up from the other so debris getting into the pool is minimized. $5 to each kid should be plenty for 10 minute's work, even for Millennials! Get a set of test results posted if you need any advice on how to clean up the mess quickly.

Good luck!

Chris
 
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My .02 on the standing water: Get some mosquito dunks from Lowes/Home Depot etc and put 2 or 3 on the cover/in pool. That standing water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitos once it sits for a week or so.

My feelings on electrical in general near a pool: I'd have a gfci outlet more than 10' from the pool but less than 20'. The reason is people want to use it for blenders raidos etc. 10' away eliminates the possibility of something falling in the pool. Closer than 20' curbs the urge to get an extension cord for radios and the like (the extension cord makes your electrical potentially in the pool). I'd never rely on gfci to save my life (even though it might, they can and do fail).
 
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Dutiful Daughter said:
Thanks all -- We were able to get the pool cover off. Now -- question to the group, it looks like a swamp. Should I post a new thread on how to make it blue again as we sit out the months until the project begins in March?
Click to expand...

Just keep the discussion going here.
 
Marty do you think this might be one of those times it is best to drain and refill? They are in Oregon so it is quite a bit cooler so that might be helpful AND they are planning on redoing the plaster in March so............

DD see if you can find out how much it would cost to refill. Make sure to ask if they will waive the sewer fees and such since you are doing a pool.

Kim:kim:
 
It could be a great time to drain. What is the water table? Where in Oregon - Astoria or the Dalles?
 

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hi all --

I'm back. My original thread, 50 Year Old Pool Reno, is now a bit old, so the notice says to start fresh. Here we go. So it's another winter, the pool is another year older -- and the project has been pushed to Q1 2021 given the size of the project (pool is only 1 part). I only got a quotation/bid today. Here it is. It feels high to me -- so I wanted to get some comparisons. To refresh, we live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Not a lot of options. To the best of my knowledge, pool builders in Portland will not come down. However, I still want to be comfortable we are "in the ballpark" for scope and pricing.

Scope of work: removing existing tile/mortar.
Replacing the existing copper piping for the pool with new 2 1/2 inch main drain suction (and new anti-vortex lid for code)
Adding 2 new skimmers (shout out to TFP for designs last spring I used to request a quote on additional skimmers)
Installing (4) 1 1/2 inch supplies
Install a CMP autofill with overflow line
Install 2 300W equivalent LED lights in the deep end

New Pool Equipment Room
VS pump
Pentair Clean & Clear Cartridge Filter (BTW -- why is this in a quote for a sand filtering system?)
300,000 BTU natural gas heater
replumbing room to install new (never lube) valves

Surfacing
Grind a chip existing return lines to ensure flush finish
Sound out pool for hollows and chip as needed
pressure wash
bonding agent applied by roller application
plastering to average thickness of 1/2 inch
New water tile and coping
Initial start up

Cost $58K

Upgrade to Hydrazzo : an addition $9700.

My questions.

(1) Is this in the ballpark (I know it will probably be high - not a high volume pool location, but want a sense)
(2) is this cartridge filter part of a sand system?
(3) Should we really replace our existing pool like that works w/ 2 LED lights? (We are swimmers)
(4) Is its standard to get a break out of labor and materials -- or is this general quote for the whole project as a single bid common?

Thanks in advance!
 
DD,

There are three types of filters.. DE, Sand, and Cartridge filters.

You are being quoted a cartridge filter, which I personally like.. It has nothing to do with a sand filter.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Dutiful Daughter said:
Jim --

You may remember me from last spring. My mother will be 80 in April. What is the story on cleaning the cartridges? And what happens to the existing sand system if its changed to cartridge?
Click to expand...

Dd,

Sorry, I don't remember what I did yesterday... :mrgreen:

If they install a cartridge filter, the old sand filter would be removed and I would assume scrapped... If it is working now, then I am not sure why it would be replaced.

To clean a cartridge filter, the top of the filter has to be removed and the cartridges taken out and hosed down. Your mom may be the exception, but it is not something that I would normally recommend for her to do. The bigger the filter the less often they would need to be cleaned. I am sure I could go for a full year between cleanings, but I clean mine once in the Spring and one in the Fall.

Is this pool going to be maintained by you, your mom, or someone else?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Hi again --

BTW -- moderators, should I go back to the old thread? It has all the photos and historical discussion?

HOWEVER -- back to my main question -- breaking out the bid. Are all of these pool bids just one big number w/ a bunch of stuff in it? I want to push for labor v materials and understand the costing for each section. To be clear -- the last bid we got was 1/2 the current bid. The last bid was for a slightly different scope -- but the difference between them is to add 2 returns and upgrade/redo the pool mechanics. So I'm trying to track something on the order of $30K of unexplained expense.

I know we have little to no choice -- but I was looking back at the same PB from 18 months ago -- his quote then was $6600 to upgrade to hydrazzo. Today the upgrade was $9750 for the same upgrade. Same pool. I can't believe that materials costs on this has gone up since April 2018.

And back to the SWG problem/Cartridge etc. Currently and forever, the pool has been a sand filter. Its just this bid that suddenly includes a filter cartridge.

Separately -- the PB told the landscape architect that no one is doing salt pools b/c of corrosion these days. My understanding is that us a builder error in failing to put in appropriate sacrificial nodes -- but does it matter? If in a community where there are no people who understand salt -- should I take the risk? Or just stick with what we know -- and then its a guarantee we have pool maintenance?

I know people will say "get 4 bids" -- but there are few options in the state of Oregon. Its a PB paradise. Anyone from SoCal who is willing to underbid to do a spring 2021 project up in Oregon, with some free housing -- LMK. . .
 
Dutiful Daughter said:
I know we have little to no choice -- but I was looking back at the same PB from 18 months ago -- his quote then was $6600 to upgrade to hydrazzo. Today the upgrade was $9750 for the same upgrade. Same pool. I can't believe that materials costs on this has gone up since April 2018.
Click to expand...

He knows you either have no choice or you really want him to do it. Hence he thinks he has you over a barrel. I'd ask him why he increased the bid in such a short period of time - let him know you don't think the raw materials have gone up that much, so you're asking why? He may say "OK, I'll do it for what I quoted back then", just to get out of an embarrassing situation!
 
Remember that repiping a pool is a huge job. Hew responsible for anything he finds underground or hits and he has to backfill and compact it all and redo the decking/coping. I dont know the size of the pool but for a complete overhaul that's not out of ballpark in a high market like I have here. We dont price material and labor the only place you see price is an option to upgrade for x amount of dollars. What you want is a line item estimate. That breaks up each step and tags an amount to it.....the price changes depending how busy PB is or how much he wants the job at the time. I give high prices at times and I'm direct with explaining it's a nightmare job and what's involved to do it right. Otherwise I wont do it at all
 

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