Can I get a pool inspected with no water in it?

[jepponyc]

As my question probably reveals, I am a complete newbie to this forum and to pools in general. My parents are getting ready to sell their home which has an inground pool that has not been filled for maybe 15-20 years.

We wanted to get an inspection done before putting on the market and a pool guy in the area said he could NOT do an inspection without water in it. I understand it may not be possible to do a complete inspection, but I would have assumed that at least the surface, tiles etc. could be assessed. Am I wrong? Who would be best placed to do such an inspection - a pool maintenance company, or a pool builder?

The person I spoke to also worried me about the possible long-term impact of keeping a pool empty. I am not rushing to fill the pool with water just to check it out. I want to be honest with potential purchasers - the house will be sold as is - but I would also like to let them know the pool's condition to the extent I can.

Any recommendations of experts servicing the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington State would be most welcome.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Jepp and Welcome !! The 2 biggest concerns with an old pool are

1) does it hold water
2) does the equipment work

Without verifying either of those the inspection is kinda moot. The pool can appear in great condition and still leak like a siev through the plumbing, possibly under the pool/patio requiring lots of demo and money to fix. If anything an empty pool begs the question of ‘why’, even when you have a good excuse.

 

[jepponyc]

Hey Jepp and Welcome !! The 2 biggest concerns with an old pool are

1) does it hold water
2) does the equipment work

Without verifying either of those the inspection is kinda moot. The pool can appear in great condition and still leak like a siev through the plumbing, possibly under the pool/patio requiring lots of demo and money to fix. If anything an empty pool begs the question of ‘why’, even when you have a good excuse.

Thank you. Then, I have to ask (again, newbie question): if I were to fill the pool, what are the potential consequences in the event there is a major problem - and would I be able to know early enough to stop any major damage from occurring?

 

[Newdude]

Thank you. Then, I have to ask (again, newbie question): if I were to fill the pool, what are the potential consequences in the event there is a major problem - and would I be able to know early enough to stop any major damage from occurring?

Ask away anytime. We are here to help. If you had any leaks they are usually contained in the ground. Leaking for a long time could erode the areas around the pool or under the patio but once probably wouldn’t.

There would also be a small inherent risk if you have a basement that the water could find its way there if the pool is close enough. So if that’s the case, maybe fill it in several stages and let each level sit for a day or two to ensure it’s holding.

You are in a tricky spot. If you find any problems you have to disclose them, but if you leave it as is, the potential owners will assume the worst and make an offer factoring that. So at best you prove it’s in decent shape. At worst it’s probably not as bad as it could be in theory.

If you can also prove the equipment that’s great too, but much less of an issue because the whole equipment pad can be replaced for a few thousand and not dozens of thousands like the pool.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

I am assuming it is gunite/cement/plaster pool?

 

[jepponyc]

I am assuming it is gunite/cement/plaster pool?

Yes, it is.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Yes, it is.

Ok, good. Obviously with liner pools you'd need a new liner, likely. And fiberglass pools would probably collapse unfilled for that long.

So I would start by looking for obvious cracks in the pool. You are in a freeze/thaw zone so just make sure there are no cracks. I am not a plaster expert but having a plaster pool empty that long, I'd think, might need to be resurfaced. If you have any pool builders in the area maybe they could come out and suggest what would be necessary to do, and maybe can even do a check on your underground lines, etc. May cost you a little bit unless you could frame it that they are bidding on a possible resurface job.

I'd be afraid just to fill it and allow 10-15-20k gallons of water to possibly leak out.

 

[jepponyc]

Ok, good. Obviously with liner pools you'd need a new liner, likely. And fiberglass pools would probably collapse unfilled for that long.

So I would start by looking for obvious cracks in the pool. You are in a freeze/thaw zone so just make sure there are no cracks. I am not a plaster expert but having a plaster pool empty that long, I'd think, might need to be resurfaced. If you have any pool builders in the area maybe they could come out and suggest what would be necessary to do, and maybe can even do a check on your underground lines, etc. May cost you a little bit unless you could frame it that they are bidding on a possible resurface job.

I'd be afraid just to fill it and allow 10-15-20k gallons of water to possibly leak out.

Thank you - this is very helpful.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

By the way, my suggestion 2 years ago would be completely different than today! Back then I would have said you may want to look into having it removed since in the north pools are often considered a detriment to a house on the market, not a benefit. But after corona last year, people are actually looking for pools! So making sure it is a sound pool that can be saved may increase the value.

 

[jakeg]

Another area to consider is the plumbing, which can be inspected without the pool being filled. A pressure test can be done to ensure there are no cracks or leaks in the pipes underground. If there are leaks, it can be a pretty expensive fix.

When I purchased my house, the pool had been empty for 20+ years. Granted, I am in Arizona, and the heat/sun probably takes bigger toll here, but I had to have the pool resurfaced, several leaks in the underground plumbing repaired, and get all new equipment before I could attempt to put water in it.

 

[PoolGate]

As my question probably reveals, I am a complete newbie to this forum and to pools in general. My parents are getting ready to sell their home which has an inground pool that has not been filled for maybe 15-20 years.

We wanted to get an inspection done before putting on the market and a pool guy in the area said he could NOT do an inspection without water in it. I understand it may not be possible to do a complete inspection, but I would have assumed that at least the surface, tiles etc. could be assessed. Am I wrong? Who would be best placed to do such an inspection - a pool maintenance company, or a pool builder?

The person I spoke to also worried me about the possible long-term impact of keeping a pool empty. I am not rushing to fill the pool with water just to check it out. I want to be honest with potential purchasers - the house will be sold as is - but I would also like to let them know the pool's condition to the extent I can.

Any recommendations of experts servicing the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington State would be most welcome.

Regardless of your inspection, the buyer will do their own. Why are you even doing an inspection? You could do one, fix everything found, and the buyer's inspector will STILL find something wrong with the house.

 

[jepponyc]

Another area to consider is the plumbing, which can be inspected without the pool being filled. A pressure test can be done to ensure there are no cracks or leaks in the pipes underground. If there are leaks, it can be a pretty expensive fix.

When I purchased my house, the pool had been empty for 20+ years. Granted, I am in Arizona, and the heat/sun probably takes bigger toll here, but I had to have the pool resurfaced, several leaks in the underground plumbing repaired, and get all new equipment before I could attempt to put water in it.

That's great to know we could do something by way of inspection. Is a plumber then best placed to do the pressure test - or does this still require pool-specific expertise?

 

[zea3]

A regular plumber should be able to pressure test a line. I would let the company you contact know the situation and see if they are comfortable with doing the work. Also tell them you want a master plumber doing this inspection, not a technician or apprentice.

 

[jakeg]

That's great to know we could do something by way of inspection. Is a plumber then best placed to do the pressure test - or does this still require pool-specific expertise?

It's hard to say - you may have to call around and ask. I would imagine most plumbers could do it - They just pressurize the system with water using a hose and a pressure gauge, and then wait to see if it holds the pressure. The folks who did the pressure test on my pool were plumbers, granted, they were contracted with the company that was resurfacing my pool. Once the plumbers determined there was a leak, I had to hire a "Leak Detector" company to locate it. The Leak Detectors redid the pressure test using gas instead of water and then used some fancy sonar equipment to locate exactly where the leak was underground. If you don't have luck finding plumbers that know how to do a pressure test on pools, you may be able to have a Leak Detection company do it.

 

[Newdude]

Pools make make many electricians and plumbers act funny as they don’t want to mix the two. I had an awful time locating a start capacitor for my sprinkler pump. The plumbing supply places said it was an electrical part and the electrical supply places said it was plumbing. I went 0-fer-3 at the pool store because it wasn’t a pool pump

Anywho, any plumber who doesn’t want to do it is probably better off for you anyway because you can certainly question their abilities if they themselves question their skills for something so basic. ‘But it has electric ‘. ‘Yeah, so what, not in the part I need you for’. Lol.

 

[jepponyc]

Regardless of your inspection, the buyer will do their own. Why are you even doing an inspection? You could do one, fix everything found, and the buyer's inspector will STILL find something wrong with the house.

That's an interesting perspective. Thank you for sharing. I guess my thinking was that if the pool was in ok shape, we could leverage that in the price; without knowing we'd have to discount the price - because the purchaser would have to factor in the cost to either rehab or get rid of the pool altogether.

 

[PoolGate]

That's an interesting perspective. Thank you for sharing. I guess my thinking was that if the pool was in ok shape, we could leverage that in the price; without knowing we'd have to discount the price - because the purchaser would have to factor in the cost to either rehab or get rid of the pool altogether.

Pools are sold as-is anyway in your house contract. It would be nice to know going into the sale that it's sound I suppose. If a seller, in this market, came to me about a pool being a negative I'd suggest to them to look for a house without a pool. "Discount the price" is nowhere in this market's vocabulary.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Pools are sold as-is anyway in your house contract. It would be nice to know going into the sale that it's sound I suppose. If a seller, in this market, came to me about a pool being a negative I'd suggest to them to look for a house without a pool. "Discount the price" is nowhere in this market's vocabulary.

No, but you could get lower offers because of it. Of course, in this sellers market I don't think that will happen.

 

[PoolGate]

No, but you could get lower offers because of it. Of course, in this sellers market I don't think that will happen.

It depends on where you are. When a house comes on the market near me, it is listed for 10-25% over it's "value". It then proceeds to get 10-20 bids for another 10-20% over the listing price. If you are lucky, and are cool paying 30%-50% more than a house is worth, and are willing to put in a 100% no contingency offer (NO inspections), maybe, just maybe, the seller will grace you with an acceptance letter.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

It depends on where you are. When a house comes on the market near me, it is listed for 10-25% over it's "value". It then proceeds to get 10-20 bids for another 10-20% over the listing price. If you are lucky, and are cool paying 30%-50% more than a house is worth, and are willing to put in a 100% no contingency offer (NO inspections), maybe, just maybe, the seller will grace you with an acceptance letter.

Yes, that is why I caveated it!

That won't last forever.