- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,925
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Removing only about half the water would bring your CH down to an acceptable level. That would bring your salt down to about 2350, also acceptable. Tile blasting can be done without draining the pool. Tile work could also be done without draining the pool all the way down, if the contractor was up to the challenge. So technically you don't have to drain the pool completely. Fool around with the calculators in Pool Math and you'll see what I mean.
Draining a pool comes with risks. The water is part of the structure. It's weight and pressure, or rather removing it all, can affect your plaster. That's more true of older plaster, but even newish plaster that has not been maintained properly can be damaged by removing the water. Mine was ruined by that, and it was only about four years old. Primarily due to really poor pool water maintenance before I owned the house, and a really bad acid wash, but the missing water contributed. Also, a pool can float right out of the ground when it's even partially empty. Do you know where your water table is?
Short version: the longer a pool is empty the greater the odds something bad can happen. Others here know more about that than I do, but personally, I'd never drain my pool if I didn't have to. I thought I wasn't going to, ever, but my CH got away from me, so I replaced 3K. It was only 2/3 full for a few hours, but even that made me nervous. I'm sure some pools can go many weeks without water without any issue. The problem is, you'll only know for sure how yours will be affected afterwards!
Draining a pool comes with risks. The water is part of the structure. It's weight and pressure, or rather removing it all, can affect your plaster. That's more true of older plaster, but even newish plaster that has not been maintained properly can be damaged by removing the water. Mine was ruined by that, and it was only about four years old. Primarily due to really poor pool water maintenance before I owned the house, and a really bad acid wash, but the missing water contributed. Also, a pool can float right out of the ground when it's even partially empty. Do you know where your water table is?
Short version: the longer a pool is empty the greater the odds something bad can happen. Others here know more about that than I do, but personally, I'd never drain my pool if I didn't have to. I thought I wasn't going to, ever, but my CH got away from me, so I replaced 3K. It was only 2/3 full for a few hours, but even that made me nervous. I'm sure some pools can go many weeks without water without any issue. The problem is, you'll only know for sure how yours will be affected afterwards!