Need advice for restoring old pool

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Ryan0186

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Jun 13, 2016
12
Belton, SC
Hello to everyone,

I am new to the forum and was directed here while doing some research online for my current project. My wife and I purchased a house that has an old cinder block pool that has been empty since 1980. The pool was built in 1947 and is made of cinder blocks and concrete. The concrete in the pool is in exceptional shape for its age with only a few minor areas that need attention. The house was sold to us by my In-laws and the pool was built by my Wife's grandfather who was the original owner of the home back in 1938. I was told by my father in law that the pool does not have any leaks as the drain was clogged for several years allowing rain water to collect in the pool. I am planning on pressure washing the pool, Sealing the concrete and painting the surface with a rubberized pool paint. The dimensions of the pool are 32 FT long, 12FT wide, and 6FT deep. I can do all the work myself for this project, however my main concern is that the pool never had any kind of filtration system on it for the 35 plus years that it was in use. My father in law said that when he was a child they would chemically treat the water but would need to drain and fill the pool several times during the season to keep the water clean and clear when it was in use. I know that I am going to need to install an in-ground pool filter system and am not sure as to the easiest way to do this. I would like to do the work all on my own. Has anyone ever seen a situation like this with an in-ground pool and how was the filter system added? I am thinking that I would like to install a sand filter system or if there is a way to keep it clean without installing a permanent system I may go that direction. I was looking at some of the robotic pool cleaners online but was not sure if these only picked up debris on the pool or if they actually filter the water. Thanks for all the advice.
 
I have no legitimate suggestions other than I *think* it could be doable.....if you're a little creative? Perhaps make it in to a vinyl lined pool? Cutting holes for skimmer, returns and drain? Is the area around it cement that would need chiseling out to bury the pipes? How did it get drained during those times in use... does it already have some sort of drain built in ?? Does it have any equipment at all at this point??

I had to respond cause I love older pools and would love to see a picture of yours, please?
 
Hi Ryan, and welcome.
I too am curious about how you'll retrofit the plumbing for filtration, but I also wanted to let you know about paint options.

Friends of mine have a concrete pool that they used to paint with the rubberized stuff. Their experience was that they have to repainted every 3 years. This year, they switched to an expoxy paint, which is supposed to last 10 years.

By comparison, though I'm lucky, my liner is 15 years old. This is the first year I've been temped to change it ;)

So after a party a while back, we wondered aloud which would say longer...their new epxy paint job or my imminent new liner...but you'll have to likely wait at least 10 years to find out ;)

I tell you ths so you can consider your options....a vinyl liner might be worth consideration ;)
 
OH my! This one is going to be neat to watch! PLEASE sign up with photobucket so you can share pics.

We need to know what we are working with to give any advice. I am sure someone on here will be able to get your pool set up with a filter!

Kim:cat:
 
Thanks for all the replies. I will try to go out and get some pics taken of the pool. For now there is no equipment on the existing infrastructure. There is a drain at the bottom of the pool that was installed when the pool was built in 1947. The drain is still functional and runs to the back side of our property about 75 yards down hill to a large drainage ditch. The existing drain pipe is about 3 inches in diameter and has a large PVC ball valve on the end to control water level in the pool and drainage. The pipe is free of obstructions and drains well when we have a hard rain. My wife and I discussed the idea of lining the pool, however I feel that for longevity purposes and maintenance I will prob end up painting with a good pool paint and add a small amount of sand to the mix for traction. Our neighbors have a pool that was built in 1965 and was designed exactly the same as ours. I ran into him this morning and asked him as to what he had as a filter system. He showed me that they have an above ground sand filter system set up. His pool is 12FT W X 28 FT L. He has one intake skimmer on the long side of the pool and and outlet for the water on the short 12FT side. He says that the water circulates just fine and he has not had any issues priming the pump. Ill go out and see if I can get some pics to add to give y'all a better idea of what we have going on here.
 
What a great old pool! What fun it will be to put that back in service. Can you imagine what a luxury that was to have back then??

I am wondering which way your winds blow across it, as I think that can be a factor in where you want your skimmer.

Would you consider above ground pipes?
 
I would think, given that you have an existing main drain, that you have more than half of the battle completed. Installing a skimmer and in wall returns is easy compared to trenching under the pool and trying to install a main drain. It's just a matter of figuring out how to connect to it.

While you neighbor may have an above ground FILTER, he most likely does not have an above ground PUMP. Above ground pumps are designed to work where the level of the water in the pool is higher than the pump. In ground pumps work when the water is below the pump. Teh filter itself will work with either, its just a matter of sizing it correctly for the number of gallons in your pool.

-dave
 

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Welcome to the site. I cannot help you with any of these issue as I am totally new to pools myself. I spent many days at my grandmothers house in Belton, SC growing up and recently move from Williamston to Easley. Still not that far away from you. This will be a fun renovation to watch.
 
So I am not opposed to using above ground piping for the system. I was looking at a few diagrams online and it looks like the main drain needs to be tied into the intake pipe that runs to the skimmer. The problem for me is that there is really no way for me to be able to dig down under the pool to tie into that pipe. My question is how necessary is it to have the main drain connected to the filter? maybe possible to just run a pipe down the side of the pool and back up to the pump to make sure that I get proper circulation from the bottom as well? Thanks
 
Main drains are not necessary. They don't have to be tied to the skimmer. PB do that to reduce costs. A skimmer is necessary.

The problem with pool pain is that is generally looks great the first year, ok the second and by the third you want to repaint. Expoy is generally no better.

If i were you I would contact some pool companies and ask them for some bids to get it going. You don't have to hire them but you can listen and ask questions. I'd go get a bid for a liner.

And Have fun

You have made KimKats very happy she now has someone else's money to spend.
 
KimKats thats a good idea. My yard has a small slope to it from the back long side of the pool that runs all the way down to the lowest part of the property. I guess I need to find out where the easiest place to access it by digging would be and to tie the pipe in there. I guess I can just run the pipe back up the hill toward the pump system. Ill prob need an extra large pump motor or something to push all that water back up the hill to the filter. Ill go and take a pic of the slope to show y'all what we are dealing with here.
 
Ok, So for some reason I cant add the image one here. Anyhow, I think it may be too hard to locate the pipe in the ground. I am kind of thinking it may be possible to just run a bottom drain pipe down the corner of the pool and then back up to the filter. I can just patch over it with concrete to make it more secure and permanent.
 
You dont NEED a main drain hooked to the pump filter. It helps with circulation and cleaning the pool, but those of us with above ground pools have been doing just fine without them for years.

Rember, water is a static head surface. if you were to put a pipe on the end of your main drain where it daylights, the water level in that pipe would come up to the same level as the water in the pool under its own pressure. There would be no need to pump it up that additional height. There would likely be a bunch of dynamic head loss from the pipe run, but no static head loss.

-dave
 
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