Can I leave my pool uncovered for winter?

[Rich D]

You can drain under the skimmer/return and then blow the lines clean with a shop vac, then got drains either airlock them and/or fill with antifreeze.

You can also plug your skimmer opening and plug your returns so you don't have to drain the water down.

Which is best? Depends on your pool and your area and water replacement cost is probably a factor.

Personally, I don't like water on the sun shelf and uncovered you might lose that much water to evaporation putting the little but there at risk to freezing.

Thanks for the suggestions. I do not think I would sleep at night knowing the plugged pipes were under water. It is just me, but any type of temporary plug in my mind is prone to failure and to have that water trying to get in all winter would keep me up at night wondering if it made it in.

Of course antifreeze would give me some peace of mind but it sounds like alot of antifreeze and would still not be as good as the ends of the pipes being out of the water.

Your post did make me realize there is no way I would want water on the shelf just for those reasons. Last winter I had over about 1 foot of ice and I would definitely want to drain at least below tile so this will only leave 6" on the shelf.

So now it is back to if there could be any harmful affects like drying out, cracking, excessive mottling from sun exposure in the winter with 15" to 18" of exposed plaster. We will definitely be closing as late as possible because as noted above we enjoy the view and the waterfall.

Hopefully a few more new englanders will chime in if they have plaster and go without a cover in the winter. I assume any plaster pool will need to be drained below the tile so there would always be some sort of exposure.


@ PoolguyinCT

Just curious if your comments are based on your own pool or your experience in the industry ?

Thanks, Rich..

 

[Rich D]

Thanks for the detailed reply ..

I love all the big rock. Very nice.

Thanks..

I opted for only the wash. Long story longer: they destroyed the plaster with the acid wash, then denied responsibility. This was last summer. Last fall I had it replaced. A few months ago, after a protracted battle, they ponied up for the repair.

My PB is talking about a acid "Bath". Supposedly safer then a acid "wash", However things can still wrong and I am not willing to take the chance.

Are you saying they paid for the pebble tech?

Thanks, Rich..

 

[Dirk]

My PB is talking about a acid "Bath". Supposedly safer then a acid "wash", However things can still wrong and I am not willing to take the chance.

Are you saying they paid for the pebble tech?

Thanks, Rich..

I've read posts here that refer to a "no drain acid wash." Perhaps that's what your PB is talking about. But I'm with you, it sounds risky. In my head, if there's enough acid involved to affect the finish, it's going to cost some plaster, one way or another. I don't think there's any way around that. Acid doesn't discriminate and magically attack just what you don't want to see, it eats everything, and doesn't stop until it's properly neutralized. It's possible to control the reaction precisely, by someone that really knows how to do so, but some PBs think they do, when they really don't (that's how my plaster got destroyed).

Maybe someone else here can describe a "no drain acid wash" and why that's any better for plaster than a "standard" acid wash.

To your question: I got paid 100% of what it would have cost to replace the plaster and marker tile, including water, salt, startup expenses and chemicals. I only paid the difference between a plaster finish and a pebble finish, and I paid for the tile blasting, which was not part of the original deal. In other words, the settlement = exactly what was fair...

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Thanks for the suggestions. I do not think I would sleep at night knowing the plugged pipes were under water. It is just me, but any type of temporary plug in my mind is prone to failure and to have that water trying to get in all winter would keep me up at night wondering if it made it in.

Of course antifreeze would give me some peace of mind but it sounds like alot of antifreeze and would still not be as good as the ends of the pipes being out of the water.

Your post did make me realize there is no way I would want water on the shelf just for those reasons. Last winter I had over about 1 foot of ice and I would definitely want to drain at least below tile so this will only leave 6" on the shelf.

So now it is back to if there could be any harmful affects like drying out, cracking, excessive mottling from sun exposure in the winter with 15" to 18" of exposed plaster. We will definitely be closing as late as possible because as noted above we enjoy the view and the waterfall.

Hopefully a few more new englanders will chime in if they have plaster and go without a cover in the winter. I assume any plaster pool will need to be drained below the tile so there would always be some sort of exposure.


@ PoolguyinCT

Just curious if your comments are based on your own pool or your experience in the industry ?

Thanks, Rich..

I don’t have an Infloor at home..
my comments are based on the 1000s of residential, commercial, municipal pools & water park winterizations I have performed.

 

[Rich D]

I don’t have an Infloor at home..
my comments are based on the 1000s of residential, commercial, municipal pools & water park winterizations I have performed.

Have you ever seen any type of damage to the plaster ( you had only mentioned mottling in your previous post) that could have been caused by exposure in the winter months?

 

[Rich D]

Tasker

I've read posts here that refer to a "no drain acid wash." Perhaps that's what your PB is talking about. But I'm with you, it sounds risky. In my head, if there's enough acid involved to affect the finish, it's going to cost some plaster, one way or another. I don't think there's any way around that. Acid doesn't discriminate and magically attack just what you don't want to see, it eats everything, and doesn't stop until it's properly neutralized. It's possible to control the reaction precisely, by someone that really knows how to do so, but some PBs think they do, when they really don't (that's how my plaster got destroyed).

Sounds like you were lucky they destroyed it instead of just overdoing doing it and giving you a rough finish that they could have argued was the common result of a acid wash. I always try to get a few estimates with references and check the BBB before contracting a with a company. But even then I have still gotten unsatisfactory results. My pool build certainly had its share of issues (poor/no proper compaction on backfill - dug out and did my self after..) ,(plastered over a cleaning head that did not break though the plaster till the next season), (pool equipped pad not properly compacted and now is unlevel) (fist closing they put compressor on coping and damaged 2 pieces of coping).

Maybe someone else here can describe a "no drain acid wash" and why that's any better for plaster than a "standard" acid wash.

The description I got was they simply add enough acid to the pool to do the etching without draining. They turn off your equipment and install a few circulating pumps and let them run for a certain amount of time. I forgot how they return your water to the correct levels but that is basic idea.

To your question: I got paid 100% of what it would have cost to replace the plaster and marker tile, including water, salt, startup expenses and chemicals. I only paid the difference between a plaster finish and a pebble finish, and I paid for the tile blasting, which was not part of the original deal. In other words, the settlement = exactly what was fair...

Sounds like in the end they did actually do you a favor but what a terrible ordeal to go through to get it.

 

[Dirk]

Sounds like you were lucky they destroyed it instead of just overdoing doing it and giving you a rough finish that they could have argued was the common result of a acid wash.

Absolutely. I had even signed a waiver to that effect, that the acid wash would not leave the surface perfectly smooth. He attempted to use that waiver to get out of settling, but I think he knew that would never fly in court, which is why I think he caved before we got that far.

Sounds like in the end they did actually do you a favor but what a terrible ordeal to go through to get it.

Now that the incredible stress I was put through has faded in my memory, I'd have to agree. I originally contracted this guy to clean up the calcium scaling. He was going to charge me $900 (probably about double the going rate). It never would have looked "like new," just somewhat better. What I ended up with was in essence a brand new pool that someone else paid for. Ironically, the settlement didn't include that original $900, so I didn't even pay that. He just overlooked it. I don't feel the least bit unethical about that, that was my compensation for loss of use, pain and suffering, and for the labor I contributed to the startup. So, yah, in the end, it all worked out...

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Keep horizontal planes saturated you will be fine.