I just bought this house with pool a couple months ago and have never owned a pool before. I met the sellers briefly at the house closing and they gave me all sorts of information about the pool in a very short period of time. The main thing was “go to troublefreepool.com”
Everything has been going pretty well and now I’m planning to close the pool this weekend.
Here is some info about my pool:
22’ x 45’, the sellers said it was about 40,000 gallons. Plaster, in ground. 1 skimmer, 1 return. The pump/filter are in the garage. They did a lot of repair and replacement after the previous owners neglected the pool. I think they said the water lines were damaged from freezing and the neighbor came over and helped them dig up the pipes and put new ones in (the neighbor used to live in this house in the late ’60’s and actually built the pool at that time). They hooked up a new pump and filter and they used the methods from tfp. The pump and filter are both Hayward brand and the filter uses DE and has a multi valve.
I have a few last minute questions about closing. Most specifically, I'm going shopping tomorrow for some closing related items and want to make sure I know what to get and how many of each item I need.
1. The sellers left everything pool related here and I thought I remembered them saying the blue cover that was up in the garage was the winter cover, but we took it [them] down the other day and it looked like bubble wrap attached to a tarp. I was browsing amazon and noticed that they look like solar covers, not a winter cover. It’s also several strips, not one big piece. Can I use this??? The other cover we found is black mesh, I assume a leaf cover.
2. I don’t seem to have water bags either, but I have a ton of empty cholorine/bleach bottles and some wood boards. Can I fill the bottles like 2/3 and use those to weigh the cover down with boards in between?
3. I bought a compressor, is it better to blow into the drain on the pump, into the pipes that hook to the pump, or into the skimmer and return? Is there any way to avoid a huge mess in the garage when I remove the drain plugs?
4. I have no idea how long the pipes are, how do I know how much anti-freeze to use?
5. There’s a water line in the basement that goes to the poolside faucet and the sellers told me to blow the water out of that too. Should I put anti-freeze in that line too, and if so, how would I go about it since it’s in the ceiling of the basement? Through the faucet end?
6. Speaking of anti-freeze, I saw a couple people say they add anti-freeze to the pool water. Are you supposed to? Everything else I see only talks about it going in the pipes and the skimmer.
7. Does any anti-freeze go into the pump or filter?
8. Is the pool noodle in the skimmer necessary? Just wondering if I'll be able to find one in mid-late October.
9. With the pump and filter being in the garage, should I still coat the exposed drain holes after pulling the plugs? If so, can I use paste wax for this? I ask because I use paste wax on unfinished metal on tools to prevent rust, so I thought maybe it would work, plus I already have some and don't have joint compound.
Here are a bunch of pictures showing pretty much everything.
The compressor isn't assembled yet, but I got this one: 8 gal. 2 HP 125 PSI Oil Lube Air Compressor
Is it correct to assume that the 2 pipes hooked to the right side (in pictures) of the pump go to the skimmer and main drain, and the 2 pipes hooked to the filter go to the return and backwash hose? I'm trying to figure out the flow of the pipes.
Any help and advice is appreciated.
Thanks!
Everything has been going pretty well and now I’m planning to close the pool this weekend.
Here is some info about my pool:
22’ x 45’, the sellers said it was about 40,000 gallons. Plaster, in ground. 1 skimmer, 1 return. The pump/filter are in the garage. They did a lot of repair and replacement after the previous owners neglected the pool. I think they said the water lines were damaged from freezing and the neighbor came over and helped them dig up the pipes and put new ones in (the neighbor used to live in this house in the late ’60’s and actually built the pool at that time). They hooked up a new pump and filter and they used the methods from tfp. The pump and filter are both Hayward brand and the filter uses DE and has a multi valve.
I have a few last minute questions about closing. Most specifically, I'm going shopping tomorrow for some closing related items and want to make sure I know what to get and how many of each item I need.
1. The sellers left everything pool related here and I thought I remembered them saying the blue cover that was up in the garage was the winter cover, but we took it [them] down the other day and it looked like bubble wrap attached to a tarp. I was browsing amazon and noticed that they look like solar covers, not a winter cover. It’s also several strips, not one big piece. Can I use this??? The other cover we found is black mesh, I assume a leaf cover.
2. I don’t seem to have water bags either, but I have a ton of empty cholorine/bleach bottles and some wood boards. Can I fill the bottles like 2/3 and use those to weigh the cover down with boards in between?
3. I bought a compressor, is it better to blow into the drain on the pump, into the pipes that hook to the pump, or into the skimmer and return? Is there any way to avoid a huge mess in the garage when I remove the drain plugs?
4. I have no idea how long the pipes are, how do I know how much anti-freeze to use?
5. There’s a water line in the basement that goes to the poolside faucet and the sellers told me to blow the water out of that too. Should I put anti-freeze in that line too, and if so, how would I go about it since it’s in the ceiling of the basement? Through the faucet end?
6. Speaking of anti-freeze, I saw a couple people say they add anti-freeze to the pool water. Are you supposed to? Everything else I see only talks about it going in the pipes and the skimmer.
7. Does any anti-freeze go into the pump or filter?
8. Is the pool noodle in the skimmer necessary? Just wondering if I'll be able to find one in mid-late October.
9. With the pump and filter being in the garage, should I still coat the exposed drain holes after pulling the plugs? If so, can I use paste wax for this? I ask because I use paste wax on unfinished metal on tools to prevent rust, so I thought maybe it would work, plus I already have some and don't have joint compound.
Here are a bunch of pictures showing pretty much everything.
The compressor isn't assembled yet, but I got this one: 8 gal. 2 HP 125 PSI Oil Lube Air Compressor
Is it correct to assume that the 2 pipes hooked to the right side (in pictures) of the pump go to the skimmer and main drain, and the 2 pipes hooked to the filter go to the return and backwash hose? I'm trying to figure out the flow of the pipes.
Any help and advice is appreciated.
Thanks!