Bought a house with a bad case of DIY-itis and a pool

[Spdif48]

Howdy y'all! I am moving north a bit to the California Central Valley. I have enjoyed reading the TFP forums for a long while. Sometimes I wonder how things work and TFP usually had a couple of great answers to anything pool related. Now I've bought a house and own what was advertised as a pool but after the first test turns out to be a giant vat of drain cleaner.
FC 3
CC 1
PH >8.2
TA 275 (25ml sample test stopped after 20 drops of R-0009, redone with 10ml sample)
CH ?? (gave up at 550, sample stuck at purple, tried adding 5 drops R-0012 first, same result. at that point the sample was 30% reagents)
CYA 140 sigh

Looks like I get to start pool ownership with a water exchange. I wonder where the waste line on the sand filter is plumbed to.
After replacing the water I'm looking forward to ripping out the brand new deck to find the hidden electrical junction from when the previous owner moved the equipment pad. Also need to replace the Intermatic power center that is housing a sprinkler controller and is spliced to some too short wires coming out of a conduit stub with a set of wire nuts waving the breeze next to the chlorinator.

DIY is great. I got a BA in DIY. The school called it Theatre but it was all about using what was available to make the audience think they were somewhere else. Sometimes you need a specialist.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
Start a thread in the appropriate sub forum for any questions on the DIY!

 

[Oly]

Welcome. I had a similar dyi pool experience when we bought an older home recently. You can learn from my happy story by following the link below in my signature.

 

[kimkats]

That is quite the intro!! Some of that stuff sound SCARY and none it if sounds fun (tearing up the decking) BUT all of it sounds like it needs to be fixed for sure!

What did the home inspection say about the pool and such? *wing nuts swaying in the breeze"

Kim

 

[Spdif48]

@Oly Hello. I read your new pool thread, thanks for sharing the story. The picture of you in the deep end had me laughing out loud. Thanks for the including the part about talking to the city before draining. I wouldn't have thought of talking to the public works department.

@kimkats I just need to throw money at an electrician. Instead of scared I am astounded that people don't care to do a good job when the not doing a good job could kill them and the people they love.
The home inspector's scope of work doesn't include pools so I had to ask them to include the wiring, and he did. The pool inspection from a local pool builder didn't say more than "thars a pool" and "test strips results".

 

[kimkats]

That is ALL??? Nothing about THEM fixing the problem??? Unreal that it happened in the first place and they don't even have to pay to have it fixed! Sigh...............life is not fair so move on and make it safe for YOUR family!! Good job!

Kim

 

[ajw22]

@Oly Hello. I read your new pool thread, thanks for sharing the story. The picture of you in the deep end had me laughing out loud. Thanks for the including the part about talking to the city before draining. I wouldn't have thought of talking to the public works department.

@kimkats I just need to throw money at an electrician. Instead of scared I am astounded that people don't care to do a good job when the not doing a good job could kill them and the people they love.
The home inspector's scope of work doesn't include pools so I had to ask them to include the wiring, and he did. The pool inspection from a local pool builder didn't say more than "thars a pool" and "test strips results".
View attachment 111949

That low voltage or high voltage in those splices?

What are those wires for?

 

[Spdif48]

That is ALL??? Nothing about THEM fixing the problem??? Unreal that it happened in the first place and they don't even have to pay to have it fixed! Sigh...............life is not fair so move on and make it safe for YOUR family!! Good job!

Long story short, my wife wanted *this* house and I wanted to make her happy. The whole house has a bunch of DIY problems and if I started asking for things to be fixed the sellers would get more money by backing out and selling the house to someone else. I didn't trust them to make any repairs anyway. I am lucky enough to have the knowledge to spot many of the problems they left us. If I was expecting a very nice house I'd be angry.

That low voltage or high voltage in those splices?

What are those wires for?

That's two legs 120VAC, neutral and some sprinkler valve wiring. I think I see a bonding wire or a ground, but not both. You know, because it wasn't wrong enough.

It'll be wonderful when its safe.

 

[kimkats]

Happy wife-Happy life! Good call and I can see why she wanted THIS pool and yard! Here is hoping the house is as pretty or will be when you get done with it!!!

Kim

 

[ashtonfitzgerald]

I can relate to the DIY nightmare...Though it looks like you guys picked a good one! Once the problems are fixed properly, you'll be very happy KNOWING it was done well.

We bought our current place 6 years ago and could see the DIY writing on the walls. Got it for a good price and are slowly working through the issues. Electrical stuff was first. One example was the outside receptacle on the deck was neither GCFI protected, nor protected by conduit--just bare wire flapping around the underside of the deck. The best was they used a gang-box intended for indoor applications only, wide open to any water that chose to fall from the sky. At least they used 12/3 gauge ?

 

[Oly]

Your situation is nearly identical to my mine.
My wife was all in on day one. After our offer, I did my best in 15 days to find the deal breaker before closing. What I discovered was a decade of neglect, a big list of projects and deep down a beautiful home that was well designed and well built. We bought it as is and got busy hoping for no surprises. We also watched the movie, The Money Pit for comic relief.
Stay the course our story has a happy ending and yours will too. And post more pics.