I'm in the process of purchasing my grandparents house with an in ground pool with a vinyl liner circa 1975 ish. About 5 years ago, my grandfather closed/covered the pool because he didn't want to take care of it any more. Unfortunately, he passed away so I have very little knowledge of the pool's construction, age, last liner replacement...basically everything. I've also never owned a pool before. I'm getting a little overwhelmed and nervous that I made a huge mistake. In order to get some info about the pool, we decided to take the cover off to see what condition it was in. Basically, it had turned into a black swamp. The water was terribly black and thick at the bottom with sludge. The liner is pulling away from the track in multiple areas and the corners have come off. We wanted to clean it up a little before a township inspector condemned it and prepare for a liner replacement (which we knew wasn't going to be salvaged based on the ripping and everything) so we drained it. We had to shovel the bottom of the 8 foot deep end with a snow shovel to remove the last of the muck. This whole process took about a day/day in a half so it hasn't sat empty very long. The liner is already pulling away from the stairs and areas of the deep end walls. I'm not worried about salvaging the liner at this point just the structure of the pool itself. I can't quite tell what kind of pool structure it is---it almost looks like fiberglass but I know it wasn't a drop in type pool like the more modern day pools. There isn't a drain or any type of plugs in the bottom for pressure or draining. I'm putting some water back in it today---at least it is clean and clear for now---and having a pro come on Saturday morning (4 days away). Do I even bother continuing to get some water into it? If I plan on replacing the liner does it matter if water keeps pressure in the pool? Appreciate any help you can offer.
Old in ground pool....I might have made a big mess
- Thread starter cflodmand
- Start date
Any pictures of it drained? If the walls are not steel (or block or concrete) they could be fiberglass or polymer - the base is most likely cement based or hard packed sand.
- May 11, 2021
- 973
- Pool Size
- 7000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-30
Do you know how the water table looks like in your area? If the ground water level raises (let’s say with the storms we had today or the remnants of Elsa by the weekend or some other force of nature your pool could float without water to hold it in the ground.
Since this is not a gunite pool it won't float, however the liner could float and get wrinkles, which doesn't matter since the liner is going to be replaced. What could happen with heavy rain is a washout and collapse of pool walls due to groundwater pushing the walls in. If you can fill the pool back to almost full and that will help protect the walls from caving in as long as the pool holds water. Wait until the new liner is ready to install to drain the pool. You can add liquid chlorine and brush the pool to keep it from turning back into a swamp before the new liner comes.
Thanks everyone! I started refilling it yesterday out of panic...I figured it was better to be full than empty. I was able to find some paperwork of an old company that worked on the pool and I reached out to them. It seems that it is fiberglass walls and a sand bottom with a hardener on it. Going to try to get a couple of quotes for the liner and it seems some of the track will need to be replaced too. I dumped some bleach in with the water to kill whatever was left in the bottom and it actually was clear for now. Excited to learn more about taking care of the pool and bringing it up to date. I think my grandfather would appreciate me trying to save it =)
I was reading about that in a few forums too...the pool is sort of this odd in ground in the low-end but sort of build up around the back. I honestly don't know anything about the water table. I'm going to load it back up with water just to be safe in case Elsa comes our way. Thanks for the advice!
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,966
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
PICS! You can copy/paste right in the editor window. PICS of the equipment pad as well from various angles.
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Selenap
Well-known member
Here's what I found this afternoon. Looks like a Sand master filter with the model number SM2506T from Hayward Pool. I think I found an owner's manual online that references this model number. (Pics say too large to add here so I'm linking them). I have no idea what I'm looking at though haha.
If you are using your phone to take photos you will need to use a lower resolution to post them here. Looks like a half buried pump next to it too. Can you get any information on it? Also on the line leading out of the pump there is a sweep T with a ring on it. Is that capped off?