We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape. We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?
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On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:53:46 -0400, Jud McCranie wrote:
We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape. We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?

of course not. If it is a surprise to you then either his communciation
skills are **** poor or he is out to scam you. Either way will cost you
unexpected money.

Mostly likely, he charges by the hour and that includes sitting around for the
pool to drain. If you keep him, find out exactly what you are to do, what
he will do, and get the total in writing.

Best suggestion: If you have a Harbor Freight close by; check item
#98342-1VGA. It is a small sump pump that will do the job for $40.00! Plus
should you need to drain the pool again foe any reason you have the pump on
hand. It is fairly slow as opposed to the "trash pump" that the pool "guy"
would use, but what is the hurry vs. hiring someone to do it at the $200.00
( which isn't too unreasonable). I have had one of these pumps for over 5
years and is still pumping when I need it G Look at Harbor Freight .com
( item # 98342-1VGA)

Bill


"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape. We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?
--
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On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:16:08 -0400, wrote:

If you are in no particular hurry, siphon it out with a hose
The real question is why he wants it pumped out and why he had you
fill it in the first place. I think I would still be shopping for pool
guys before I wasted thousands of gallons of water..

We siphoned it out the first time. We had already done that before I
called them because it seemed like the thing to do. I called them and
they sent a guy out who was supposed to tell me about it and give me
an estimate (I had gotten the first one on the phone). He looked at it
and called someone on his cell phone for a long time. Then he asked
if we had anything to shock it. (no.) He said to fill it back up.
After that was done I called them back. They were to come out Friday
morning, but they didn't. I was gone Friday afternoon and there was a
phone message saying that they had been out and now it was $200 to
pump it out and then they would "go from there".
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Jud McCranie wrote:
We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape.

What does "not in good shape" actually mean?

We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?

I drained my pool using a submersible pump from Harbor Freight. I think
it cost about $50 on sale. It took two days, but I have very deep pool,
built back in the days when diving boards were the norm.

Remember that you have to drain the pool into a drain that goes into the
sewer, you can't drain it into a storm drain out on the street.

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:34:14 -0400, Jud McCranie
wrote:

and now it was $200 to
pump it out and then they would "go from there".

Those are "worry words" for me. Is "go from there" meaning the wallet?

1) If not leaking - have the water tested (within one hour at a pool
shop/supply).

2) Cleaning filters, etc, etc. Run the pump for clearing up the water
(if cloudy).

0.a) Fire the pool guy.

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:57:36 -0400, wrote:

What is he supposed to be fixing. Do you have a leak?

No, it is not leaking. It hasn't been used for three years so it is
pretty nasty. The water is full of algae. There are a lot of leaves,
etc in it and stains on the liner. The idea was to get it cleaned up
and back in shape to use.
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On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:56:45 -0700, SMS
wrote:

What does "not in good shape" actually mean?

The water is very dirty, leaves and other trash in the pool, stains on
the liner.

Remember that you have to drain the pool into a drain that goes into the
sewer, you can't drain it into a storm drain out on the street.

We are out of the city and don't have a sewer.
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"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape. We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?
--
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NO! I'll pump it out for $150. OR, you can put a garden hose in there, and
drain it yourself for free overnight. But you should at least buy me dinner
for this valuable free tip.

If you use the vacuum hose from your pool, and just do it by simple suction,
it will drain in 1/8 the time as a garden hose. Trick is to get as much
gook as you can to empty out. Do this by easy brushing, swabbing with a
mop, spraying with a hose sprayhead before you empty it by simple suction.

$200? Where do you live, Beverly Hills?

Steve

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:51:05 -0400, Jud McCranie
wrote:

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:56:45 -0700, SMS
wrote:

What does "not in good shape" actually mean?

The water is very dirty, leaves and other trash in the pool, stains on
the liner.


Do what I did. Cut down 5 trees, remove 35 box plants (shed leaves),
and several other plants. All away from the pool. No more leaves to
speak of, but a "few".

Some people I talk to cannot figure it out.

I even told the neighbor I would cut his tree branches, because they
were in my way..

We have an above ground pool that has been unused for 3 years. It is
not in good shape. We drained out all of the water except for about 3
inches. We had the pool guy come look at it to give an estimate to
clean it up and get it back in shape. Before he came he estimated
$45-50 (which I thought was low). He came and said for us to first
put water back in the pool. Now he wants to charge us $200 to pump
out that water! Does this make sense?

Not much to it really. Drain it, clean it out, scrub the liner best
you can and fill it back up. Make sure your pump still works and
clean out your filter.

The pool store can check your water for you and sell you whatever
chemicals you need to get the chemistry right again.

Steve

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:08:49 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

of course not. If it is a surprise to you then either his communciation
skills are **** poor or he is out to scam you. Either way will cost you
unexpected money.

He said that they would scrub the walls down while the water is being
pumped out. Is there any reason why scrubbing the walls has to be
done then?
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"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:08:49 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

of course not. If it is a surprise to you then either his communciation
skills are **** poor or he is out to scam you. Either way will cost you
unexpected money.

He said that they would scrub the walls down while the water is being
pumped out. Is there any reason why scrubbing the walls has to be
done then?
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The answer is yes, no, definitely, maybe, and I don't know. I had a 30'
Doughboy pool, and I really had fun in it as the whole family did. At
first, we did not know how to keep it up, so got algae and gook in it, and
had to go through a major job of cleaning it.

One thing is for certain. As the water is taken out, the pool walls become
very noodly and unstable. Scrubbing on them will send waves around the
metal of the pool. I'd say that just on the basis of the water helping keep
the shape that it would be good to scrub down as you drain it, and let the
stuff fall down where it can be suctioned up.

That being said, there is a point where such an amount of water is taken out
that the pool becomes flimsy, so it is a good thing to either add water as
you drain it, or have a cartridge filter going, and a suction hose on the
bottom to get the stuff as it is knocked free. But you have to clean the
cartridge about every hour.

"Scrubbing" has its limits, too. If a lot of hard water buildup has been
allowed, some serious chemical treatment is required to eat away that. But
it's not kind to the liner, as is a serious amount of scrubbing.

All in all, BTDT, got the T shirt. Much easier to learn how to maintain the
pool and keep ahead of it instead of doing major work that might not work.
Reinstalling a liner on these puppies isn't easy.

Steve