What to do??

[danl]

We have a 27' x 52" Delair . Late last summer the pump quit. Decided to wait until the spring.

Yesterday I noticed a lot of water in the yard. The liner has sprung a major leak and it only has about six inches of water left. I had intended to replace the liner as it is 10 years old and the bottom of the pool is very bumpy.
I was going to remove the liner, smooth everything out and possibly put styrofoam down.

Here is the dilemna, the state is going to take our house sometime in the near??? future to build a new highway.
We don't know when for sure, possibly within 6 months.
If I order a liner online, I am afraid we will get a strong wind and blow the sides away. and I won't have anything to put the liner in.... We are expecting stormy weather for the next few days.
The state will have to pay us more for the property, if we have a working pool and besides my wife likes it.

Any thoughts or ideas?

[danl]

I called a local pool company and they recommended I patch it.

Can I remove the liner, smooth out the sand and still match up the skimmer etc. ports?

[aylad]

If you can patch it for the time being and just get a few more months out of it, then I definitely would go that route instead of replacing the whole liner and having to leave it.

The problem I see with taking the liner out and then putting the same liner back in is that it has stretched over time with heat from the sun and weight from the water, and I don't think you're gonna be able to get it to stay where you want it in the pool once you get everything lined up. However, I guess it's worth a try and you really won't lose anything except a little money for patches in the process (don't know how expensive it will be to refill the pool in your area).

They do make patches for vinyl pools that are designed to put in underwater. Is the hole small enough that one of those might work, at least temporarily until you sell the house?

Janet

[danl]

I haven't found the hole yet. I will do that tonight after work.
I am going to get a patch kit on the way home.


So I should just not worry about the bumpy bottom? I had no clue what I was doing when I installed the pool 10 years ago and the bumps are mostly my footprints that for whatever reason have gotten worse.

We are not selling the house. it will be emminent domain where they just take it and pay us whatever they want. We should have the option of buying the pool back from the state and moving it to wherever we end up.

thanks

[AnnaK]

That sucks, about having to give up your house for a highway. Eminent domain, everybody's nightmare. Here in my area it's humongous power lines.

I wouldn't worry about the bumpy surface as long as you don't have sharp rocks or roots poking through. Pollen and other debris tends to collect in the dips but you can brush/swish/vacuum that out.

I'd patch the liner and make do for this season.

[waste]

Don't know how viable this is but, as you'll be forced out of your home ~soon, maybe ditching the pool and getting an Intex quickset would be an option ?

[CarlD]

That's really horrible. At least the land is going for a highway and not to allow some developer to build a shopping mall on land he got below market value via eminent domain.

You probably won't get your money from the state so I'd invest as little as possible in this pool. If you can't take it with you, don't spend $$$ on it.

Will they at least cover your mortgage???

[danl]

We have no idea how much they are going to give us for the house. The price erosion in the housing market has me worried.
We are planning to rebuild elsewhere on our farm but our hands are tied now.
Fortunately there is no mortgage. worked real hard to get rid of that.

As of right now I'm just going to try to fix the hole and replace the pump. I emailed the highway department today and they said it can be as soon as July 2010 or as late as June 2011. Quite a spread there. aint it.

linerworld.com has a pump with free shipping for less than $200.00. what do you think?


Thanks for the input.

[AnnaK]

Free shipping is always good.

I don't know if this link will work for you: http://tinyurl.com/39gyrh7. It's a Google Squared search for 'above ground swimming pool pump'. Click on the down arrow in the PRICE column and sort from A-Z which will then show prices from lowest to highest. There are a number of pumps at HP from 3/4 to 1.5 at under $200.

I'd put as little money as possible into the pool to make it functional for this year. How long is your swim season where you're at? Of course, the pump is something you can take with when you relocate the pool and it might make sense to get the best you can afford.

[NWMNMom]

Regarless of what state you live in, an Above Ground Pool is not considered a permanent structure and therefore not part of the real estate. Only permanent structures that are actually attached to the surface of the ground or IN the ground such as INground pools, sheds, garages, outbuildings and your home are part of the real estate - even mobile homes (unless they have a basement and brick or concrete foundation - not a slab) are not permanent structures. Unless there is something completely different about the Assessors in your county, they will not assess the property at a higher value for eminant domain if you have an above ground pool. It is treated no differently than having a trampoline or sandbox on the property. You should be able to remove it without having to buy it back from the state.