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OT Update on Pool issue.

My friend just came to look at the pool and brought the sump-pump along with him just in case. He saw where the liner had come away from the top in a couple of places and said that it *can* be fixed if we buy (yeah, we have extra money coming out the wazzu) some heavy plastic and the glue for pool repairs. Apparently the previous owners of the house messed up big-time (wait 'til I tell Matthew, he'll say "And you're surprised... why?" when they dug a hole to sink most of the ABOVE-ground pool. They miscalculated the width and made the hole wider than it should have been... therefore after laying the lining there wasn't enough of it to hang over the sides of the pool like there is normally supposed to be... *that's* why it has come undone. SIGH

We kind of knew that something wasn't quite right with it last year when we had it drained and noticed that there were parts of the lining "wall" on the "floor" of the pool (I hope that makes sense to you reading this) and therefore one side of the pool seems to be deeper than the other side when you stand in it.

So now we have a decision to make... do we drain the pool (I personally vote YES on this, as I just fished out a drowned squirrel which obviously fell from one of the nearby trees, as the pool is fenced in and the dogs couldn't have caught a squirrel and dropped it in there.) and *try* to stretch the existing liner which my friend doesn't think there is enough give to use? Or do we try to come up with enough money to buy heavy plastic and the glue for the pool repair patches and *add* an extention on to the top of the existing liner, and leave the water... which my friend says will be alright (even after a dead squirrel was in it) once we put chlorine in the pool to purify it? OR (yes, there's a third choice) do we drain the pool and try to come up with $200 - $300 for a brand new liner? Somehow I don't see the third choice happening this summer, as we're barely getting by as it is.... I just went and made *partial* payments on the bills, and am hoping that it will be enough to keep things from being shut off.

I was talking to my sister on the phone on my birthday and she was telling me how she had fallen on her cement steps... I told her about the hassle I just had with Ontario Works. She said "Someone in our family in ancient times must have thoroughly pi**ed off someone else who put a major curse on our whole family and this generation is paying for it now. If it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all." Oh well, at least things aren't as bad as they *have* been in the past... and we are getting by a bit anyway. I still have 1 1/2 months to go before my appeal hearing date, so maybe things will change for the better after that happens. *shrug*

Gem

Reply to
MRH
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Fourth choice, assuming you can get the labor and some dirt free: Drain the pool, move the liner temporarily and get some dirt and fill in the side and the bottom where it's extra deep, so the liner will be the right size for the newly smaller hole. Pack the dirt firmly and smoothly.

Good luck with the hearing.

=Tamar

Reply to
Richard Eney

Knowing very little about pools (WHy would I, in Labrador???), I think that Tamar's suggestion is a good one.

Katherine

Reply to
Katherine

It's actually done quite often, 'sinking' the pool into the ground to increase the depth without increasing the size of the pool walls. Not something I did when I had my above ground, but something I thought about often *AFTER* the install.

If the money to purchase the glue and extra plastic seems daunting, don't even think about emptying the pool. Draining and re-filling a pool can be expensive. Note that some areas may charge you even for EMPTYING the old water, because the chemically treated water has to be processed by the sewer system. Then you have to pay the per gallon charge for refilling. You can contact your township water supplier to get a good idea of the costs.

As for your concerns, trust me, the pool water will be FINE -- even after the dead squirrel -- once it is shocked with chlorine. It will surely gross

*YOU* out, but the chlorine WILL KILL any bad things.

Don't forget the additional cost for the water! And, new water requires LOTS of chemicals to initiate treatment.

*IF* I were you and I decided to drain the pool, THEN I would certainly not use the existing liner with the increased depth. If the pool were drained it would be the perfect time to replace the damaged liner OR address the initial miscalculation and fill-in the dirt at the bottom and sides of the pool.

Here's hoping things start looking up soon!

Reply to
L

Yes, very good suggestion.... however, our friend who came to check it out yesterday has gone on vacation as of this morning and won't be back for a while, and we don't really know anyone else to help with this. I have gone to check on the cost of the pool repair kits (whew, there is a lot of glue with those... but I'm not sure how much plastic for patching.. not likely too much) and it isn't too expensive. However I may have to ask at the Pool place in the city for a sheet of the right kind of rubbery plastic to attach for an extension... fingers crossed that they don't charge a fortune.

Matthew agreed with me about not particularly wanting to swim in a pool where a dead squirrel had been floating, so we put the sump-pump in there last night and it's almost totally drained out now as I type. We will give the repair/extension a shot, and work on getting another pool liner for next summer... or late this summer if we can swing it. :o)

Gem

Reply to
MRH

Actually we just put a sump-pump in the pool and drain it out onto our lawn (did it last spring when we took the cover off and saw the mess the previous owners had left us). Only downside to that was that it made the grass grow even faster and Matthew had to mow it sooner than he was hoping to. LOL Then after washing it all out and rinsing, we used old towels to sop up the remaining bit of water, and put the garden hose in to refill the pool. The water bill was a bit higher than normal, but the bill is sent out every three months here in our town so we had some time to save up for it so it didn't put a major dent in other things. After that we followed the directions of our friend who has had a pool for years and it was ready for swimming in after a few days in the sun to semi-warm it up. Never did get quite warm enough for Matthew's liking, but I found it refreshing. :o)

Eeewww, icky! Anyway, like I said in a previous post... Matthew and I decided to drain it down again anyway, and it's almost totally emptied out now. He's waiting to find out from a girl he's interested in if she can go on a date this weekend.... and which day... then he will work on the pool on the other day.

If we could afford to buy a new liner right now, that's exactly what we'd be doing instead of trying to extend the existing one to fit over the edge. We'll definitely be working on getting a new liner for next summer, if not the later part of this summer, before closing time.

Thank you! I have all kinds of positive feelings going on... so hopefully it will happen. :o)

Gem

Reply to
MRH

Good luck with it, Gem! And keep us posted.

Katherine

Reply to
Katherine

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