Questions to ask the previous owner

[Pointyhead]

As you might know, we are in the process of buying a home with a 18x36 inground. I have some questions and my realtor said that she would pass them on to the selling agent to give to the owner. I realize he's under no obligation to answer, but we have mutual friends (hey, it's a small town!) and know that he's a very nice fellow, so I expect he'll respond.

Here's the list I came up with so far, but is there anything else I should ask that will help me down the road as a noob pool owner?

What year was the pool built?
Who built it?
What is the gallon size?
Do you use a pool company to maintain it? If so, which one?
Does it have the original liner? If not, when was the new liner installed?
How often do you backwash the filter?
Are there any quirks or peculiarities with this pool that should be passed on?

Can't wait to move in on the 18th!

 

[RobbieH]

The one about the pool company wouldn't matter to me, I maintain my pool myself, as should you!

Do you know the pool is a vinyl pool, not gunite/plaster? Wondered why you asked about the liner. Do you know if the filter is DE, sand, or cartridge?

 

[Pointyhead]

It's a vinyl lined pool, with a Hayward S-244T sand filter. The liner appears to be in good shape, but I'd like to know its age. I figured that I'd need to know who installed the liner if there's any issues with it. I did note that there was a vinyl pool patch kit in the pool house cabinet, so there might have once had a tear. And it's listed as a 18x36 but it has "coffin corners" on each end, so I don't know how much that would affect the sizing. I figured out using the caculator that it's around 30,000 to 32, 900 gal.

Here's a link to a pic of it.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9iJ2m1qHce54H41FRZ8seIwgASHNucKtcoL-mqtfu1w?feat=directlink

 

[RobbieH]

On the sand filter, you can figure this one out on your own. When you move in, backflush the filter until the water coming out the backflush hose runs clear. Wait 30 seconds, put it back into filter mode, and start back up the pump. Note the PSI on the gauge. I backflush mine when the PSI goes up 10-15 psi, mine normally runs at about 15 psi, I backflush at 25-30 depending on where it's at when I catch it. With any luck, you'll have a rotating ring on your gauge you can turn to point the "Clean" arrow at the PSI needle after you backflush, and it'll have another indicator for "Dirty" or "Backflush", taking all the guesswork out.

I will say I can typically go all swim season without having to backflush. I don't think you are going to have the same results, as you have a large pool but a 300 lb filter, you may be backflushing occasionally through the swim season. Sand filters are very easy to maintain. I prefer them over cartridges or DE, but that's just my opinion.

 

[jblizzle]

A more recent recommendation for when to backwash is when the pressure rises 20-25% of the clean pressure.

In the previous example, with a clean pressure of 15psi, backwashing at 18-19psi would maintain better circulation.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[reesedj]

That's a nice backyard - congrats.

We were close to buying a home with an existing pool and in exchange for lunch, I had the owner walk me through how to use the equipment, vacuum, add chemicals, etc. We ended up backing out of the contract due to inspection issues; but it was a good education.

You mentioned he was a "nice fellow" - he should be up for showing you around. Even if you know some of the ins and outs, letting him show you everything will give you a feel for how he maintained the water chemistry, equipment, etc.

 

[Pointyhead]

Swapping lunch for a walkthrough is a great idea! Thanks, I'll do that. The house is in excellent condition, per the home inspector I hired. The owner is a liscensed builder who built the house himself. It's got quite a few features and details not found in tract housing. I figure that if he put so much into the house and the yard, that the pool would be in the same conditon. The only thing I have found amiss is the pressure gage is rusting and has become almost unreadable.


Pump
https://picasaweb.google.com/117318047836077111252/May292012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

[RobbieH]

New pressure gauges are cheap and take about 2 minutes to install.

 

[Pointyhead]

I sent a list of questions to the seller, and got back answers to all my questions. The pool was built by a local pool company in 2002, (and still in business!) and the liner was replaced last year in the spring. It is 25,000 gallons and has the original automatic pool cleaner he bought with the pool, a barracuda model. He said he would be glad to meet and show me all about the pool and the cleaner. Looks like it will be a easy transiton!

 

[Pointyhead]

We took the sellers of our new house to dinner last night and had a field trip back to the house for pool school. I found out that we have a lot more ties to friends and neighbors than we first realized and that they are really nice people that take great care with everything they do. The wife is the one that took care of the pool, so she showed me everything that she does to maintain it, and the schedule she uses to do everything. They are planning to have one last swim party with their kids this weekend, and she promised that it will be cleaned and balanced by Monday, when we close on the deal.

Thanks for the idea to take them out. I feel pretty confidant that I can maintain this pool now!

 

[BoDarville]

If the previous owners did use a pool company for work outside of day-to-day maintenance of pool chemistry, that would be good information to have in your hip pocket. Like most BBB'ers, I take care of daily testing and cleaning. However, most pool owners will, at some point, need work done that is beyond the scope of their knowledge or time allowances. I use the pool company that the previous owners did for such ad-hoc repairs on the theory that they were familiar with the pool and I did not have any experience with another pool company. Turns out to have been a good move. They had maintenance records and have done a good job whenever we have called them out. They know I use BBB and even support the use of liquid bleach as a primary chlorine source. They even suggested that I not use pucks in the in-line chlorinator unless I was out of town for an extended period of time and could not find someone to look after the pool.

 

[Pointyhead]

Yes, they gave me the company that they use. I also found out that they changed the sand in the filter two years ago, the liner last spring, and that if I need any pool supplies or parts, since he's a builder with a license, he will get me anything I need at his cost. I may look at getting a new pool cleaner, as the one he has is the original 12 years old, even though it still works OK.