Swimming pool instructions

[Marc]

Hello all

I have just bought a property in the Aveyron department in South West France which has a swimming pool.

At the moment the pool is empty but I will soon need to fill it up and care for it during the season. The problem is that the instructions that the previous owner has left (which are in French) and not very good.

My question is, does anybody know where I can turn to find basic information on how to look after a pool. I really need to know how to fill it, clean it etc but the valves and pipes etc under the pool house look really complicated and I don't even know where to start.

What I really need is somebody to visit me and show me the ropes but failing that a good guide or somebody who could go through it with me by e-mail or telephone would be great.

Thanks

Marc

[Alan Knighting]

Marc,

I am too far from the Aveyron to visit you and without sight of a pool it is very difficult to advise. There may be another member who is much closer to you and can find the time to visit and advise. Failing that, your local Piscine Contractor will probably be happy to visit, start up your pool and give you brief instructions on how to maintain it. You will learn a lot for the future just by watching them do the work. They will charge you of course.

One piece of advice I would give you is never drain your pool as part of your winterization. In winter, the moisture in the ground will freeze and cause enormous pressure to be exerted against the sides of the pool. If the pool is empty, the pressure can and often does buckle, crack or cave in the sides of the pool. Also, in extreme cases, the hydrostatic and ground pressure can heave the entire pool out of the ground.

Alan

[John Borg]

Marc, like Alan has said, your best choice is a local contractor - he will explain things and obviously hope he can "win" a new client, as pools are an ongoing concern, always demanding attention, chemicals, gadgets and what ever.
The valves may look complicated, but once you are shown how and you LABEL them properly (also label the pipes with arrows to show you flow direction - it helps to understand things) things will be easier.
If in doubt, DO NOT try to work it out by flying blind as a closed valve which should be open can destroy your pump or filter within seconds! In time, you will learn to detect problems, even by the sound of the pump etc, though you have to be guided by a proffessional at first.
I too would volonteer to come on site, but living in Malta makes it a bit of a trip

[Jimbo]

Alan Knighting wrote:

One piece of advice I would give you is never drain your pool as part of your winterization.

Hi Alan

We've recently drained our pool to carry out some repairs on the mosaic tiling. A friend suggested that it's not a good idea to leave the pool drained over winter, so I checked through the threads on pools and read your comments. The thought of the entire pool heaving itself out of the ground sent me immediately towards the brandy bottle!

Do we need to re-fill the pool completely over winter - the previous owner used to drain down by about one third? I've been reading advice about winterising but any advice from you would be most welcome.

Jim

[Alan Knighting]

Jim,

It is generally accepted that emptying a pool in Winter is a very bad idea. If the water in the ground freezes this causes a very high pressure to be exerted on the sides of the pool. If the pool is empty the pressure can buckle or even cave in the sides of the pool. In the extreme, the pressure in the ground could heave the entire pool out of the ground.

How to deal with this depends on whether you are absent or in residence over the Winter.

If you are absent then I would suggest you fully winterise the pool. By that I mean shut it down completely.

• Backwash the filter
  Correct pH to 7.4
  Superchlorinate
  Add winterising fluid (not car antifreeze)
  Run the pool for 24 hours
  Lower water level to 12" below the skimmers
  Close all valves
  Drain the filter, pump, heater and pipework
  Switch off water and electrical supply
  Cover with heavy duty cover
  If possible have the pool checked each month

If you are resident you could shut down the pool as above, or you could simply lower your maintenance routines. By that I mean, run the filter for 1 or 2 hours a day, check pH and chlorine every four weeks and clear out any debris on a regular basis.

I am in residence and have tried both approaches. I have adopted the low maintenance approach but that's just my personal preference.

Hope this helps.

Alan

[Jimbo]

Alan

Thank you for your speedy and helpful reply. May I ask one supplementary question please: we don't have a winter cover - how important is this as part of the winterizing process? We are living at the property all year

Jim

[enid]

We follow the low maintenance route too - last year we only had the summer cover on and all was well

[Alan Knighting]

Alan

Thank you for your speedy and helpful reply. May I ask one supplementary question please: we don't have a winter cover - how important is this as part of the winterizing process? We are living at the property all year

Jim

Its main importance is to keep most of the debris out of the pool particularly if there are adjacent trees and bushes. It also blocks the sunlight thereby minimising the formation of algae.

Alan

[Jimbo]

If, like Enid, I used a summer cover to do the winter cover's job, is there a chance of damaging it (ie: are summer covers not up to the job of handling severe frost)? It's cold here in the winter - down to -15C last year.

Jim

[Alan Knighting]

Jim,

I guess you could use a summer cover but most of them are not really suitable.

A winter cover should overlap the edges of the pool and needs to be securely held down either with ties or with bags filled with water or sand.

Most summer covers merely float on the pool surface. In any case the cheap "bubble wrap" ones are simply not sturdy enough.

With the temperatures you are talking about I would recommend you use something to absorb expansion pressure exerted by ice forming on the surface of the pool. Nothing fancy, a few air bags floating on the surface will do the job. String them together and run them down the middle of the pool.

Alan

[Jimbo]

Thanks Alan. I appreciate your advice. So cold here last year that we had snow, that was a surprise for me. Made good pix!

Jim

[Alan Knighting]

Jim,

Geographically speaking, you and I are not a great distance apart and Enid’s not far away either. Yes, we can get some very cold snaps in our neck of the woods.

Most of the owners I know who live here permanently take the low maintenance option for the Winter. It allows one to react to the cold snaps and it leaves one with little to do to the pool when Spring arrives. Basically it’s - high-pressure hose the terraces and turn up the timers. Pretty simple really.

Fluffy

[Fraise]

We're nearer the coast and the winters don't get as cold as further inland. We don't reduce the water levels but remove the skimmer baskets etc. This is our 7th winter of looking after one of the pools BUT even old hands can do silly things ! Last year we forgot to drain the water out of the solar showers,one shower was fine, the other froze and had to be replaced this spring,typically it was under a year old too We should have known better This year we did drain the water from the showers

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[la vache!]

Fraise,
a little off topic, but do you remember how much the solar shower cost approximately? It is on my 'to do' list for this winter.

[Fraise]

Can't remember Susan but not a big investment as we had them put in when the pools were put in. I think only a few hundred euros. It might cost more to have one put in later cos of the extra plumbing costs.Go for a good one, some seem a bit flimsy which isn't much good if you're renting out! We've got one wwith a soft back ( reservoir),which is the oldest,and another that is ssolid all the way up. Ironically the solid one, at under a year old, was the one that froze . It has been replaced with the same though cos I don't want little monsters squeezing it to death either !! The soft back one has lasted 7 years so far, including forgetting to drain it last year. When we used to have the pool company do all the maintenance they disconnected it and put it away every winter. It has been a brilliant buy and will replace it when it eventually ascends to solar shower heaven

www.thepetitmanoir.com