What do you pay for closing?

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pinguy

pinguy

0
May 30, 2015
529
Pennsylvania
This is our first year with a pool, so I'm starting to look into closing options. Local companies are all quoting me in the $500 range, which I think is a bit high.

I read the pool school closing article, and it all seems mostly straight forward except for blowing out the lines. A local company will do a line blow-out only for $136.

So I guess my options are:

A) Pay $500 per season for full service closing
B) Pay $136 per season for blow-out and do the rest myself
C) Get a Cyclone and learn to do it all myself


Any suggestions? I know a lot of you probably DIY the whole process.
 
For my first closing, I watched and asked the pool company lots of questions so I could learn how to close properly.

I closed it myself one year (without anyone else helping me) and ended up bursting an above ground pipe... luckily my heater and below ground plumbing was okay. Thankfully my son was in town and able to repair the pipe.

To avoid any problems, I'm back to having a pool company close it for me at a cost of $400 (Washington DC metro area prices). I always add extra polyquat60 since they never add enough.

I'm middle aged single female and I don't have the strength to do everything, but if I was a few years younger I would close it myself.

For some, paying a pool company to close is good insurance to protect yourself from costly repairs of burst pipes or broken equipment.
 
Kcindc : For my first closing, I watched and asked the pool company lots of questions so I could learn how to close properly. I closed it myself one year (without anyone else helping me) and ended up bursting an above ground pipe... luckily my heater and below ground plumbing was okay. Thankfully my son was in town and able to repair the pipe.
Click to expand...


What pipe exactly burst and how did it come apart? Blowing air through the system and having a pipe burst above ground sounds kind of strange. What type of air compressor were you using? Maybe you closed off a valve and pressure built up. When closing a pool, the main drain should stay open to protect the system and it is always the last to go, so the system does not build to much backpressure. Just curious. I am glad that you were able to fix it.


Pin Guy, I would recommend paying the $136, if you are not comfortable, as this is a fair price for the lines only. Keep us posted!
 
Catanzaro said:
What pipe exactly burst and how did it come apart? Blowing air through the system and having a pipe burst above ground sounds kind of strange. What type of air compressor were you using? Maybe you closed off a valve and pressure built up. When closing a pool, the main drain should stay open to protect the system and it is always the last to go, so the system does not build to much backpressure. Just curious. I am glad that you were able to fix it.


Pin Guy, I would recommend paying the $136, if you are not comfortable, as this is a fair price for the lines only. Keep us posted!
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It was the pipe between my heater and my in line chlorinator. It failed because i used a leaf blower which didn't have enough pressure to go through the pipes and equipment. It was enough to get the water out of the heater but after the heater the pipes dip down below the rest of the equipment before coming back up to the chlorinator.

If I did it myself again, I would purchase a compressor.

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Last year I had the pool company blow out my lines, RV antifreeze and air lock the main drain. Before they arrived, I had lowered the water level below returns. I handled installing the loop-loc cover after closing. Based on a CYA rise I measured in the spring, they added some dichlor during closing against my wishes. I'd have to look up the receipt but I believe it was $120. I'm debating about doing the blow-out myself this year but that $120 is kind of cheap insurance if anything should go wrong over the winter such as freeze damage...
 

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Wow...I think I need to open a side business with those rates! I did my own last year as a first time pool owner. Yes, I was worried b/c of no prior experience, but I am also the "I'd prefer to do it myself type", even though it probably took me 3x as long as someone who has done it for years. Good luck with whatever you decide!

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I pay $149.00. They close and put the loop loc cover on. I do my own chemicals otherwise they charge $16.00 for chemicals.

Opening, they open, make sure everything is working and put the cover away. I do my own chemicals and they charge 149.00 plus, if I open in March they give me a $50.00 gift card for their company.
 
pinguy said:
This is our first year with a pool, so I'm starting to look into closing options. Local companies are all quoting me in the $500 range, which I think is a bit high.

I read the pool school closing article, and it all seems mostly straight forward except for blowing out the lines. A local company will do a line blow-out only for $136.

So I guess my options are:

A) Pay $500 per season for full service closing
B) Pay $136 per season for blow-out and do the rest myself
C) Get a Cyclone and learn to do it all myself


Any suggestions? I know a lot of you probably DIY the whole process.
Click to expand...

Since this is your first year, maybe you can SLAM the pool, lower the water and pay the price for the education on actually closing your pool. You may be able to negotiate a lower price if you can help. You won't know if you don't ask. Good luck! I just closed my pool by myself but I have an above ground.
 
$300 for mine. I watched closely on the first closing. It was so easy. I noted what model of air blower they used and bought my own (cyclone, $300). Now I do my own closings.

You can lower the water yourself, bring it to slam level, throw a $15 bottle of 60% polyquat, and call the guy who will blow the lines for $136, or just buy the cyclone. I did.
 
Wow, I thought we were paying a bit much for 20 minutes work, three plugs and a couple gallons of RV antifreeze. We are only paying 150-175 but I still want to get a "Cyclone" and close it myself. I've seen it done enough times I'm sure I can do as good a job as the guys we get out here if I had the proper blower. That blower is the key. It's a bit much $$$300 to purchase initially but it pays for itself the second or third year. It's just spending that much for something you use once a year !!!

Anyone with a recommendation for something that works as well but isn't three hundred bucks ??
 

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