New owner of empty pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

Choven

0
Nov 28, 2017
15
San Angelo, TX
Greetings, I've been reading these forums the last few weeks as I prep for my upcoming project. Because I still have tons of questions, I thought I'd join and post them. My wife and I purchased a foreclosure in January 2016. The house has an inground pool that was half-filled with what I assume is rainwater. Because of the costs of new home ownership, we were unable to tackle the pool in 2016. Now at the end of 2017, I'm ready to start getting the pool ready for next season. The pool has an attached spa with overflow. From what I can tell, it is a concrete pool that appears to have been painted with epoxy paint. I'm not sure if the entire pool was painted with this paint because some areas (floor, corners, steps) seem to have a thicker layer than some of the walls. I have paint peeling in spots that have exposed the underlying concrete. We have had a hard time finding anyone to come and look at the pool since it is empty, but we did find an individual who quoted us a price to paint (about $5000) or plaster (about $7000). From what I've read here, plastering is preferred but I'm unwilling to spend the money now because I don't if the pool leaks thus requiring an even bigger expense. My plan is to get the pool filled and operational now with the intention of paying to replaster (and retile) in a few years. Painting seems to be a short-term fix to cover up the stains on the paint and the exposed cement. I spent the last few weeks draining the pool and cleaning it. I scrubbed the pool with TSP this past weekend. I thought I'd ask my questions before continuing. Here they are. 1. A few of the spots with chipping/pealing paint have rough edges (sharp points from the paint). Can I sand those down? Relatedly, I think the previous owners tried to apply plaster to cover up the spots where the paint chipped off in the spa. Now, those areas where the plaster came off of the floor are really rough. How should I address these floor? 2. If I use water-based acrylic pool paint, do I have to acid wash the pool? It seems like the acid only etches cement and plaster, and won't do much to the current paint. 3. Given that I plan to replaster in the future, would it be better to just sand the rough spots, try to bleach the walls (or acid wash the walls), and proceed with filling the pool? Again, I appreciate any help on this project. I've never owned or lived in a house with a pool, so this is all new territory for me. Thanks...C
 
can you post some photos? imgur.com is a free method to do it.

My last home had a painted pool that was long overdo for plaster.

Having been through that myself, If it's a 2,000 difference, I would seriously consider
plastering. The paint will be coming off again within 2 years, pretty much guaranteed.
 
Alright, I made it home to take some pictures. Here's a link to imgur: https://imgur.com/a/TmwNV

I agree that the plaster price is good. However, we don't know if the pool can be functional if it is filled. The house was a foreclosure and there is no way to know why the pool was initially drained. It could be because that's the bank's policy (empty pool to avoid accidental drownings) or the previous owners had a leak and chose not to fix it. We could probably afford to do the plaster now, but we wouldn't be able to perform any major repairs if needed. Thus, I'd like to get the pool up and running and replace what's needed prior to investing in the new plaster.

I already emptied the sand filter so I can start with fresh sand. I still have to redo all of the above-ground pipes because they used regular PVC ball valves and all of the handles have broken. The water heater isn't hooked up to any of the plumbing, and I'm not planning to hook it up until after we can confirm that the pool holds water and the pump and filter work.
 
You most likely could fill the pool to see if it is water tight. Only other issue would be underground lines but you should be able to assume those are OK. If the shell holds water, drain it and re-plaster. If it does not, time to reconsider and see what needs to be done.

Painting it will just be money thrown away.

Take care.
 
If there are leaks in the shell, they would be at the skimmer, return, or main drain if you do not see cracks in the plaster. Minor cracks would be taken care of in the course of plastering the pool. Usually what happens is that old plaster is chipped out, cracks are repaired if needed, and new plaster is applied. If there are leaks at the skimmer, return, or main drain they will leak whether there is paint or plaster in the pool. You can fill up the pool and check it for leaks before having any other work done.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I spoke to my wife and, after looking at the pool a bit more, we decided to forego the paint and fill the pool. If it holds water, then we'll work with an "ugly" pool for a year or two. This will let us learn the ropes of pool ownership (and the TFP method!) and buy the necessary equipment (cover, hoses, etc) while saving up for a proper renovation with plaster. If the pool leaks, we have the money to fix it now whereas we wouldn't have the extra money if replaster. I hope to get it filled this weekend and see where we stand.
 
I tried to bleach the stains out, but it didn't seem to have an effect. I'm pushing ahead with filling the pool. I'm a day early because my test kit arrived today instead of Monday. One last question for this thread: Do I start tackling all of the water balance immediately, or do I hit it with chlorine first as I'm determining if the pool leaks? If I detect a leak, then do I continue with my water adjustments as I try to find the leak?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
What is the temperature of the fill water? At 60F and below everything slows way down with water chemistry.

Run a full test (exc CYA) of your fill water. Post the results here.
Add bleach to get 3 ppm FC in the water. Maintain that as close as you can.
If a leak is obvious, then water chemistry management is not as critical. If it appears you do not have a leak, then water chemistry management is important.

Take care.
 
Here's an update. Pool is still filling (a few more hours remaining because I turned the water off before going to bed). I filled the spa portion completely and there's a leak. My best guess is at the drain since that is where it leaked prior to my attempt at fixing it with water weld. I thought I had it fixed, but I guess the weight of the water in a completely filled spa is still forcing some water through a small crack. My current plan is to try Marlig's Fix a Leak in the spa. I don't know if the main pool leaks yet. I did run some water quality tests:

Temp 66
pH 7.7
TA 250
CH 175

I know I have hard water, so I used the "high level" method in the K-2006c kit to get a baseline. Should I remeasure using the lower level? Based on our monthly water reports for the tap water, it seems like pH, TA, and CH are pretty close given the lack of rainfall in the past month.

Finally, I know the spa leaks and I have the ability to turn off the spa drain and the spa return lines as I wait for the Fix a Leak to arrive. Should I do so and only use the main pool volume (6400 gallons) when calculating addition of acid, calcium chloride, and stabilizer?

Thanks again for all of your help. I've been learning a lot about pools these last two weeks by browsing the forms. I'm now making "wish lists" for when we completely renovate the pool and deck area. And despite the stains in on walls of the pool and the exposed concrete, the nearly filled pool already improves the appearance of our backyard.
 
You should have a valve to turn off the spa drain. I would do so. That will help you know if the pool leaks.

I have to say I do love the water line tiles. So classic looking.

Right now your main concern is the FC and PH. Once the pool is full you can add a bit of CYA......say enough to get it to 30 just to help the FC. That should buy you some time to see if the main pool leaks.

Kim:kim:
 
Alright, the pool is filled and I have the pump and sand filter operating, more or less. The filter (Pentair Tagelus TA 50D) leaks at the valve handle. I disassembled it (including removing the handle) and lubed the o-rings, but I still get a leak at the handle. I followed the manual and tried to reseat the handle, but I suspect the O-ring is worn. When the filter turns off, I hear air being sucked into the filter and I have to reprime the pump and release the air from the filter. Another item on the valve is the sight glass. The vacuum break is curled up, so when I started the backwash, water sprays out of the holes. This is what the sight glass looks like: https://www.amazon.com/Pentair-Mult...12337818&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=tagelus+272550

I could probably find a replacement O-ring at the hardware store, but I'm not sure if that will fix it since the manual says that I have to replace the assembly. As it stands, I really can't keep the filter on because of the amount of water that will leak from the valve head. Should I bother buying a new o-ring?
 
The leak was at the handle stem. Actually, I had leaks at the handle stem and the valve seal. Once I disassembled it, cleaned it, and lubed the o-rings, the only spot for the leak was at the handle stem. I have since replaced the O-ring at the handle (#5 in the diagram) and have stopped all leaks. Now, it seems like my pump is exhibiting cavitation. I am drawing water from the main drain and skimmer. Output is the pool return. I also have a spa return and something labeled "power jet". The power jet is one jet in the spa. Since I know the spa leaks, I turned the spa drain, power jet, and spa returns off.

I did replace the sand in the sand filter, backwashed it, and set it to filter. When running, the pressure is about 22-23 psi. That seems high to me. Did I forget a step? Should I have ran the pump on "rinse" before setting it to "filter"?
 
Yes....once you backwash you should do a rinse. This settles the sand back where it should be. Don't worry that you did not do it .............I did not know about the rinse cycle when I did my first backwash.....baby I have come a long way! LOL

Kim:kim:
 
How many return jets do you have? Is the pump lid pulling air? Did you take the lid off and lube the o ring?

I would think it would have best to at latest rinse the new sand to get rid of the fines. Might try it.

Sounds like progress.
 
mknauss said:
Is the pump lid pulling air? Did you take the lid off and lube the o ring?
Click to expand...

Yes, I removed the lid and lubed the o-ring this morning. I noticed cracks on the O-ring, but since I didn't have a replacement, I put it back on. And yes, the pump lid is pulling some air. This may be why my pressure is elevated?

As for the cavitation, I discovered that I was low on water and the skimmer was sucking air. I narrowed it down by only pulling from the main drain. Some of the loss was from backwashing; the rest was from forgetting to remove the "on" clamp from the mechanical timer. Now that the breaker to the pump is turned on, the mechanical timer is in operation. It just so happened that I had the 6-way valve removed so I could replace the o-ring on the valve stem. When I went out to replace it, I heard the squeal of the pump and knew what I had done. It may have only run for 5 minutes, but it was enough to soak the side of the house.

I also backwashed the filter again (the water seemed clean) and rinsed the sand bed. When I switched to filter, the pressure was down to about 17 psi. It's back up to 21 psi, but I'm not going to worry about it until I can determine if the pool is losing water.

Other than the spa leaking, I think I have everything ready to assess leakage in the main pool. I have the pump running, some CYA in the skimmer basket, muriatic acid added to drop pH, and I dosed again with bleach. Should I run the pump overnight?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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