i have a dilemma with my in ground pool which i am hoping that someone on here can advise me with the best way to proceed. i purchased my home in feb 2015 and it came with an in ground pool. when i removed the cover in may it was obvious there were some issues with the pool. it was built in 1982 and it is gunite with plaster. there were quite a few loose tiles and a small hole in the shallow end of the pool (3ft to 8ft). well over the summer the hole got bigger and i am losing at least a quarter inch of water per day. i was planning on draining the pool down to the slope area and removing the hydro plugs so that i can start removing the old tiles. the guy at the pool store told me that i should wait until spring to empty the pool but here lies the problem. if i cover the pool it is still going to be losing water and if the water empties faster than i can check on it it might be 3/4 empty and the plugs will still be in and if it is in the winter the water might be frozen and also all of that water will be in the ground water table. btw the pool is also in bad need of painting. at least if i empty it now i can remove the plugs and the hole should act like a very large plug. obviously i won't be able to complete all of these projects until spring 2016. so do you think it would be to empty it now or wait until spring. i am also considering purchasing a heater and i can't decide between a heat pump or propane. i like the water warm between 90 and 95 and in the summer the water was in the mid 80's and on very hot days it approached 90. i would want the water heated up for the day so i can swim. because of the weird shape of the pool, it was built by anthony pools and the shape is called mt. airy, it would be hard to put a cover on the pool to keep the heat in. i read that propane would heat the water faster than a heat pump but i am concerned over what it would cost to run the heater. please help if you can. thanks