"Hibernating" a pool for 10 years

Jump to latest Follow Reply
new_to_pools

new_to_pools

0
Jun 25, 2014
2
La Quinta, California
Hi everyone, I'm new to pools!
I have an income property with a long term lease (5 to 10 years), and the lessee doesn't want to deal with a pool.
The pool was built in 1995, made of plaster, in the Palm Springs California area.
It has been proposed to: drain the water / fill with sand / cover the pool for 5 to 10 years.
When the lessee vacates: remove the sand / repair (re-plaster, caulk, fix tiles, possibly replace filter and motor).
My questions:
1. Has anyone had experience in hibernating (or retiring a pool) for an extended period?
2. What would be some of your recommendations?
3. Are there alternatives to filling with sand?
I've attached a picture of the pool for reference. Pool3.jpg
Thank you
 
If you leave the pool drained you will need to drill holes in the bottom of the deep end (or open the hydrostatic valve in the main drain if you have one). Otherwise the pool could float out of the ground.
 
I would put an swg on it and hire someone to come out weekly to brush / vac and add ma - test with a tf100 and report back. Bound to be cheaper than filling with sand then reclaiming later and the lessee would get a pool without the hassles.

If you do fill it I would have something written into the lease about a very large penalty if the lease is broken to compensate for the pool recovery.
 
I would hire a pool company to care for it if at all possible. That is better than filling it in!!!
 
It seems odd that someone would rent a place with a pool when they really don't want a pool.

Maybe lease to someone else or sell it to this person and let them do what they want.
 
We just 'opened' our pool after 8 years of no use. So far things are ok and I'm waiting to see if it stays that way!

IG dark Gunite pool located in NY. I left the pool filled with water, poured a ton of bleach in it, installed a loop lock cover. That's it.
every so often in the warm months I threw some more bleach in as I was concerned about Mosquitos. Was going to throw some gold fish in for skeeter control but I stayed with the bleach

When we drained it we were fully prepared to marble dust it. I also though I would see major cracks or chunks of the sides out. At least some of the waterline tiles off. Nutten!

I expected to find the remains of some critters but the loop lock did a great job and we just had a lot of seaweed type growth

After the major cleaning we were told by the pool repair company that the only need for dusting would be cosmetic, so we passed for this year as we had a major project going on with over 2500 ft of pavers, regrading, drainage, retaining walls, fencing etc.

Although the plumbing was ok we re plumbed everything above ground.
Cracked the egg filter, sand was caked up but everything else was ok so we had it cleaned & fresh sand was installed. Had the Laars oil heater rebuilt as it became a hotel for mice and they use the combustion chamber for nesting material. Had all the AC wiring checked and repaired where needed. Found the superpump that I stored in the garage for the 8 years hooked it up to the new plumbing and it's working ok. May replace with a 2 speed or VS.

Most of what was needed to be done would have been covered by good routine maintenance over the years so the cost of 'closing it' for the 8 years was minimal.

I also think we were lucky and we may still have issue with the surface but time will tell
 
That's a beautiful pool and back lawn.

It would probably be cheaper to keep the pool open for that period of time than it would be to carefully fill it in and then years later carefully dig it back out, make an unknown amount of repairs, etc.

I would be inclined to insist that it be kept open and include the pool maintenance in the lease amount. At the very least you will have to factor into the lease all the costs of filling it in and then opening it back up years down the road.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
zimm said:
I'd get a loop loc cover (solid with mesh drains) for it (love mine) and put a sump pump on the step to keep the water level below the tile and let it swamp. You can always drain/refill it when the time comes to open it.
Click to expand...

id either do that as a 10 year swamp or a 2 year swamp is really no different or if there was wiggle room in the lease amount to cover for weekly pool maintenance, see about hiring it out. I know if I didnt necessarily want a pool, I would at least accept it if I didnt have to lift a finger to maintain it.
 
Thank you ALL for your replies, you all have been very helpful. Loop Lock Cover, sounds like a good idea.
There is no fence around it, so I would have to make sure whatever covers the pool is solid (or that it supports sufficient weight so nobody can fall into the pool).
Letting it "swamp out" might be a solution!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply