Can I drain my pool?

[MiamiCuse]

I have an inground pool in Miami, FL, water table I think is 3 to 4 feet below grade, the pool is 7 feet deep.

I was told that if I drain the pool it would crack.

However, I need to get it replastered, and now, I am doing major renovation on the house, and will not be using the pool for another 4 months. I would prefer to not have to buy chlorine, shock, acid, PH, and run the pump and filter for 8 hours a day for no reason for 4 months.

Can I drain the pool and leave it dry in the mean time?

I think there is a valve at the bottom of the pool for pressure release, but I am not sure...

Thanks in advance,

MC

[RBM]

Make sure it has a relief valve, or your pool can float

[Richard J Kinch]

See my discussion of this at:

In short, you usually can drain without relief, and you can measure the static groundwater pressure to be scientifically sure. The scare stories are typically spread by contractors who use your fear to break your sales resistance.

[hallerb]

my uncle had a beautiful pool installed. when he sold the home he told the new owners dont drain it. it had relief valves in the bottom. well they drained it, and it floated and was ruined. my uncle who built the pool was back visiting, he had moved to florida and was very upset the new owners had ruined his pool........

a very sad event, new owners had to break up and fiil it in.

yes dont drain it, yes it can float, yes it can demolish itself

i am a regular poster here and have NO connection to any pool contractor.

[SteveB]

"MiamiCuse" wrote

You can dive down and pull the valve. Just be sure the suction doesn't get you when the pool drains. It drains fast.

Steve

[hallerb]

in high water table areas theres a pressure release valve, that lets groundwater enter pool in the water pressure under pool gets too high.

just the presence of such a valve indicates high water pressure and severe chance a drained pool can be destroyed........

lower water level a little, cover properly and chemical ass needed.

[Sacramento Dave]

One of my friends pools floated up when they drained it . Deep end came up about a foot. I also just watched my neighbor have a pool put in , they left about four holes in the deep end for water to seep threw. When they plastered they filled them in.

[Sacramento Dave]

What dose the contractor that is going to re-plaster the pool advise? I know his contract covers is butt 20 deferent ways.

[gfretwell]

Generally speaking there are 2 separate systems for preventing the pool from floating. When they build the pool they put a pipe in the gravel under the pool to pump out the ground water and they also have plugs in the main drain, directly to the gravel, that they leave out until they fill the pool. If you can still find the stub up from the pipe under the gravel you can pump the ground water out. Unfortunately they usually bury that when they pour the deck. Even if you can get the plugs out of the main drain and let the water equalize you won't want to leave the pool like that very long because the dirty ground water will stain the plaster.

[HeyBub]

Call your local fire department. Will they come out and re-fill the pool lickety-split if it starts coming up?

In my view, the damage to a pool (I don't have one) could be more, dollar-wise, than some of the fires the fire department deals with. Yet, in some communities, the fire service is prohibited from saving a wealthy individual (must be if he has a pool) tens of thousands of dollars.

In the alternative, you can get a hose that fits the fire plug in front of your house and the special wrench. Re-fill the pool yourself. You might even be able to do this legally by borrowing a water meter from the city. They have these meters available for construction crews - for example - that need to buy 5,000 gallons of water at one time.

[willshak]

on 9/15/2007 7:58 PM MiamiCuse said the following:

Keep the water in the pool. Get a pool cover (or solar cover). Buy a pool winterizing chemical kit (might be hard to find in Fla.). Add it to the water. Install the pool cover. You can run the filter with the pool cover on every few days, just to circulate the water. The cover will prevent evaporation and keep the chemicals working longer. Here in NY, our pool is covered about 8 -9 months a year. When opening in the early summer, our water is is almost crystal clear and only requires a little vacuuming and pool chemicals to make it suitable for swimming within a couple of days (if you can take 50º temperature water, that is). Saves having to fill the pool again, and prevents any 'floating' of an empty pool.

[SteveB]

MiamiCuse said the following:

Why not call a contractor that deals with this sort of thing 24/7 and follow their advice? Is seems you have a history of coming to Usenet when you should be asking qualified professionals.

Steve

[Oren]

This a point in Richard's link. He built a bulkhead (cheap)!

BTW, anybody know the water table levels in Las Vegas? Elevation 2000' High Desert.

I will be doing a drain and clean in the future.

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[Oren]

"...we the unwilling, lead by the unknowing, have done so much with so little for so long we are now qualified to do anything with nothing..."

-- Oren

Hofstadter's Law - It [a task] always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.