Anyone have ladders with sand inside to keep them in water?

[cubbybeave08]

I have a ladder that the pools store sold me so that I could have a closing locking gate. The thing is a piece of Crud. It is flimsy the screws keep coming out. The worst part of it is that the directions said to fill with sand. Now I have sand that keeps getting left on the bottom of my pool. I can't think of where it would be coming from other than from the ladder. Anyone else have this problem. I do not have a sand bag under the steps on a shelf like some people's ladders...mine is filled with sand. my problem is that every day I have to get in and clean sand off the bottom of the pool . I don't have a leak in my liner I have carefully inspected the bottom of the pool and don't see anything...and I am not losing water. Because of the heat the past two weeks I add an inch or so every week but not enought to warrent a leaky ladder. Pool is brand new this spring...Anyone have trouble with these types of ladders...It really is not a step system, but a ladder system.

 

[dattia]

I have the system which has a ladder outside the pool with a self-locking mechanism and steps going down into the pool. Two of these steps have a top piece that pops off, is filled with sand and popped back into place. I do have sand leaking from these pieces but it seems to remain in the area and not get scattered about. It is not enough to cause a problem, but is certainly enough to annoy me.

I think next year, I will remove them, refill them with sand and perhaps run a bead of caulk around the caps before I put the steps back in place. Does your ladder have a filler hole with a cap? Maybe some silicone is an option.

 

[MikeInTN]

Moved to Swimming Pool Equipment -MikeInTN

 

[Guest]

I bought stairs that have a removable 2nd step that is supposed to be filled with sand. I bought it from someone on craigslist (still in the box!). He said that he'd called the manufacturer and was told that it would be better to fill it with gravel (as sand sometimes leaks out), so I did that. I didn't rinse it real well so there's some sand in it, but it seems to stay in there pretty well. The only issue I have is that the gravel in there probably only weighs 80+ lbs, while the sand would weigh about 100 lbs. I got the smallest pea-gravel I could get, but couldn't use the whole 2 bags.

I was thinking that they ought to have a better closure system, like a screw in plug instead of one that you just press in.

 

[krcossin]

Use river rocks instead of sand to keep the inside bottom step from floating. Also do your liner a favor and get a strip of rubber membrane from Home Depot or Lowe's you can find it near the showers. This will protect the liner from being worn out via the ladder rubbing.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Use river rocks instead of sand to keep the inside bottom step from floating. Also do your liner a favor and get a strip of rubber membrane from Home Depot or Lowe's you can find it near the showers. This will protect the liner from being worn out via the ladder rubbing.

I have a ladder pad got it from the pool store...