New pool owner

[ontuy]

Good afternoon everyone.

I bought a house in December that has is inground and "kind of" indoor pool. It is built into a 40x30 solarium that is not conditioned space.

The pool is 12x20x4 oval. It has Fiberglass panels on the sides and what looks like concrete on the bottom.

The equipment for the pool is in the basement of the house. It has a 3/4 HP Pump and a cartridge filter as well as an electric tankless water heater.

When we moved in the pool was about 1/3 full and green. We decided to drain it and see what we actually have. The seams of the Fiberglass were sealed with (I assume) permaseal. There are lots of hairline cracks in the fiberglass panels and some of them had some permaseal smeared on them. There is also a lot of discoloration on the fiberglass.

I took my pressure washer and removed the permaseal from the walls and seams and have new to apply. We also decided to paint the pool. I have done some research (before finding this site) that says since I am going over fiberglass that I can only use Epoxy Paint with a Gunite primer. Does this sound right to everyone? I havn't checked yet but I assume that I should put the permaseal in first and then paint over it. Any suggestions?

If anyone has any glaring "You have to do this or else..." type suggestions please let me know before I do more harm than good.

We are really looking forward to our new to us pool. We have never had one before.

I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions along the way and from what I have been reading for the last few days this is where the smart people live.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

I am not familiar with this kind of construction. It sounds a little like it is designed to have a vinyl liner, but then there would not have been any need to seal the panels. In any case, I do know that paint doesn't usually last very many years and so can get to be expensive over time. Hopefully someone who is more familiar with this kind of pool will be along soon and be able to more fully answer your question.

 

[mas985]

This is the same type of pool my Mother has at her house and she is one state away from you. I think it is a popular design for Illiana region.

I know that paint has been a real big issue with that pool. They had tried many different brands and methods but it still kept peeling after a few years. The winters are very harsh there and not much can really stand up to it.

The only thing I can suggest is to do your research and look for new types of coatings since most of the older types haven't really held up well.

 

[ontuy]

Thanks guys.

While I doubt paint is the ideal fix it looks to be the most cost effective at this time. I havn't seen anything that renews fiberglass yet.

I am hoping that with the pool being indoors the paint will last a little longer than the 5-8 years the information predicts.

Any thoughts on a cheaper alternative to Permaseal (local pool store is wanting $18 per tube)? Anyone have any hints on applying it or should the standard instructions on the tube suffice?

 

[duraleigh]

I am not familiar with that type construction but, over the years, am VERY familiar with the failing of pool paint. I would say 5-8 years is beyond optomistic....2-3 perhaps.

There are a variety of ways a vinyl liner can be affixed to that pool and can usually be made very attractive. Somewhere in the $1000-$1500 dollar range for a liner to fit your pool perfectly and give you the kind of trouble free longevity that pool paint wont.

 

[ontuy]

How long does the average liner last?

 

[waste]

How long does the average liner last?

Of course the answer is dependent on the care taken with the liner! Chemically abusing it will shorten the life as will letting sharp objects (glass, rocks, metal) fall into the pool and tear the liner. However, you can reasonably expect a well cared for liner to last well over 12 years (I've seen some that are over 25 years old and still going strong - well, a little faded) Most manufacturers give a 20+ year warantee, but that's just on manufacturing defects and is so pro-rated that it's pretty much useless after 5 years. As Dave said, it's pretty easy to attach the receiving track for the liner to an existing pool.

We're just trying to proffer an option to painting the pool - if you have any other questions-- fire away :-D

Oh yeah... welcome to TFP! Good luck with the project, we'll be here to help in any way we can.