Winter closing plaster question

[jimim]

Hey guys. Got a closing question. This year I’m going to drain down below my returns before the guys come to close me.

My plan is spin my scale control and poly 40 a day before. Next day lower water to below returns using my bottom drain since the skimmers will be dry once water goes below them. Is it ok to have my top step and some plaster exposed if it’s sunny out till the next day when they come? They will be blowing out all my lines and putting the cover on pretty much.

Anything else seem out of place with me doing this. Trying to save them time waiting for the water to drain out cause now that I’m hard plumbed it takes longer cause I can’t full throttle my pump to push water out like I used to into the woods. It’s tied into my gutter system to the drains now. The pipe can’t handle the huge quick amount of water.

 

[ajw22]

Leaving plaster exposed for a day will be fine.

 

[jimim]

Ok thanks. Aj does my plan seem ok for them? To finish me up. I’m going below my returns this year. I usually don’t usually go below them. I don’t want to have a lower amount of water that can freeze onto my second step or bench. The only thing I can do is keep water above returns and then that runs risk of ice pulling plugs out or go way way below returns to have bench and Second step with no water on them like first step. I always struggle with the right thing to do is. Any opinions?

Jim

 

[ajw22]

Your pool water level is likely to rise over the winter unless you continuously pump it down if we get a wet winter like last year. So I would not agonize over the water level you set. It is likely to rise.

On steps and ledges you want water either below it or enough above it so a layer of ice on the surface of the water does not lay on the pool surface.

Ice does not get very thick in our area. So put the water level above the returns and steps or below the returns and steps. Putting the water above keeps the surface of the water from ending up at the level as the water rises.