New Pool (It Floated) Major Help Needed

[Kindle]

Hi all!

I’m new to the forum and a new home owner that came with a pool. Neither my husband nor I have ever owned a pool before and we are realizing just how bad the previous owners of this house screwed us (though this, by far, is one of the worst screw overs). Clearly this pool needs ALOT of work. Im attaching some photos and I’m hoping some seasoned forum users and pool owners could direct me to my first few steps and where on the forum said steps are located. Warning, this poor pool looks like it’s been neglected for some time (we bought the house in Dec so it was covered already and had plenty of snow on top of the cover).

I couldn’t post the rest of the photos due to size limitations but there was so much water between the liner and the ground that the liner was actually floating (we have a creek about 700 feet behind the house and some heavy flooding from all the snow this winter and rain this spring) and the liner pulled away from sections of the frame. There are huge gaps between the concrete and the frame that water can easily enter. We put a sump pump between the liner and ground to remove the water and I think we got most of it but now we’re trying to figure out how to get it out as the weight of the water in the pool has the liner pushed up close to the ground again.

We’d appreciate any and all direction on where to start to fix this up. We don’t have a lot of $$$ as we tied it all up into the purchase of this place so we really need to do this on our own and we can’t afford to pay a company to come in and fix everything.

Thank you you in advance!

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello and welcome! I'm going to tweak your thread for more eyes. But essentially you are in a tough spot. When a pool "floats", it's all about damage control. Some pools have a main drain with a hydrostatic valve inside that's supposed to help with that situation. If yours has one you may need to have it looked at. If not, then you'll have to find ways to create an aftermarket way to control high water table issues and/or create well-designed drainage for the surrounding area. For now, the best you can do it try to get all the standing water out from under the pool. Keep water in the pool as it should be helping to press everything back down. Some damage, like the liner and/or separations at the coping, will have to be something addressed separately when you are ready. Since you are new to the place, you probably have other priorities, so just do what you can. For pictures, new members do run out of "complimentary space" fairly quickly. If you chose to become a TFP Supporter at some point (link below) you'll have access to your own gallery to upload tons of pics. Nice to have you with us.

 

[Kindle]

Thank you very much for the welcome and the response! That second picture is what the previous owners rigged to assist with the water table issue. They dug a hole, stuck a Rubbermaid trash bin in there, and submersed a pump. One of the issues is that they didn’t dig it deep enough to be level with the bottom of the pool.

Also, in one of those photos I posted there’s a hose in the skimmer compartment. I’ve never seen that in any pool I’ve ever cleaned before swimming (I’ve emptied skimmer baskets, used the skimmer tool, and at one point I knew how to use the test kit but that was 25 or so years ago). Could someone tell me what that might be for? There’s also one other weird thing where they bolted a pvc pipe to what looks like it would be where the air comes out to circulate the water. I forgot to get that photo but will head outside in a bit to get one.

They left us with nothing pool related when they left. All the hoses were left outside so they were cracked and as soon as we lifted them up when they snow melted they just crumbled. The skimmer accessories were literally a rusted pole and plastic frame with no netting. We have no manuals for the pump, everything is faded/peeled on the pump itself to we don’t even know the model, and were told (via the listing) there was a heater but guess what we can’t find?

We definitely got screwed pretty hardcore.

Pump.

Liner where we put the sump pump to drain the ground water.

Gap between concrete and frame.

 

[Texas Splash]

Oh my. They really didn't do you any favors. But hey, nothing that can't be resolved on thing at a time ….. one payday at a time. Stick wit the essentials:
- Can the pool hold water?
- Does the pump motor work?
- Does the filter work and not leak? Looks like a sand filter. Based on the history already, I'd change the sand.
- The cosmetics can be resolved later; one at a time.
- I suspect in the skimmer, you have two holes. One looks plugged I think. Either never used or the main drain had an issue so it was plugged. The fitting coming out may be left-over from some winterizing contraption they tried to fabricate. Don't know. But once you're ready to try moving water, it will need to come out so water can get in that hole and go to the pump.
- The Rubbermaid rig is junk and will need to be removed and done properly. That will be something you'll need to get with experts in your area, perhaps have a couple vendors give you a quote. If nothing else just you get more educated on the best options for your local area. Do a search here for float prevention or drainage ideas and you'll see lots of ideas for both above and inground pools.

It may not seem like it now, but at some point that can actually be a nice pool. But take it easy and don't let it overwhelm you. Ask question here as often as you need to. If there's a specific question better suited for a different sub-forum, post it there if you need to . People will help.