Don't, whatever you do, leave your pool empty at any time. This will result in permanent damage to the structure.

The pool should be filled as soon as it is completed and shock dosed with chlorine straight away. Even though it will not be in use during the winter it should be regularly cleaned, the chlorine doseage maintained and the pH kept at the correct level. Chlorine usage will be far less in the winter than in the summer.

The pump should be timed to come on for a couple of hours a day to allow reduced filtration of the water and keep it running freely.

The time scale for the construction of a normal size swimming pool is three weeks, a month at the most. The fact that you are apparently being asked whether you want to leave the pool empty is also worrying as no professional pool builder would even consider this as an option.

Thanks beachcomber, I was hoping you'd be around.

This pool has been a farce really, the problem seems to be that between each stage of the job there is a gap, so whilst the actual work may well have only taken 4 weeks, in total it will be more like 9 weeks!

This is I know the problem with not being on site whilst work is in progress and so we have largely been accepting of the dealys.

Enquiries locally all say that he is a reputable and very good pool builder, just very busy. The idea about leaving it empty has I think come from the agent we have been dealing with, so could well be nothing to do with him.

Still we can't afford to make costly mistakes because of poor advice, and thats the beauty of this board, so thanks again.
Jan

OK Jan.

Just to reiterate, do NOT leave the pool empty for any length of time. My pool was built eight years ago and has never been emptied, has been maintained through each winter and only loses water through splash out and evaporation and backwashing.

In fact, once the winter rain starts I never have to top it up in the winter and it is usually overfull by the Spring.

On average I use 100 grams of chlorine a day in the height of the summer when the pool temperature is around 30ºC and about 100 grams every ten days in the dead of winter when it is about 12ºC and pro rata in between. A 5kg tub of chlorine costs arount €25 and will easily last through the winter months.

Maintaining the pool throughout the winter may seem to be a waste of money as it is too cold to swim but, believe me, it is well worth it.

Beechcomber is giving you excellent advice here.

Do not leave it empty as it will seriuosly affect it. I also agree with the advice to dose it even when it is out of use.

Good luck

Alan

Just interested.....
Why shouldn`t one leave the pool empty?

Juco

Hi

I am no expert but as I understand it the tiles etc will warp and crack if they are subject to excess heat, leading to leaks.

As the sun is so hot everything dries out and shrinks.....at least thats my excuse.

Alan

Yes, and also, depending upon the type of soil, the ground can actually move and expand when it dries out after being sodden and can crack the structure of the pool whereas if it is full of water the pressure is counterbalanced.

and although pools themselves are dangerous places for kiddies, rodents, and other nasties, they are even more deangerous when empty.

All this talk of chlorine doses, have you considered a saline pool. ours is fantastic, would never go back to chemicals.

That sounds interesting Sarah, can you give us more info?

Salt water swimming pools are sanitised by a process which produces chlorine from the salt so they are not chemical free and you still have to control the pH by using sodium bisulphate.

I have friends who have tried this and frequently had to use chlorine to supplement the system especially when the water temperature rose above its critical point of 28ºC.

They also found that even running the pump for 24 hours a day in the summer did not produce sufficient chlorine to maintain the level. After a few months the chlorine generator broke and they reverted to using chlorine on a full time basis.

These two web sites may be of interest:

http://www.poolplaza.com/pool-school/salt_how_works.shtml

http://phoenix.about.com/cs/wet/a/saltpool01.htm

By all means try it but you could well find it to be an expensive failure.

My own opinion is that there is no alternative to a well maintained and properly dosed chlorinated swimming pool.

yes chlorine is produced by the salt cell (electolysis) but the result is you have an altogether crisper fresher pool that leaves hair and skin soft and none of that yuk that reminds you of public pools. We chuck in a sack of salt every now and then and a bit of pH minus sometimes. buts its not high maintenance and all our guests comment on it. We have up to 20 people in the house at one time and the max we ran the pump in the height of summer is 8 hours. We run mainly on solar power so pool pump is a huge issue for us, the pool people say we should run it for longer but it really isnt necessary. And of course the pool being perfect is essential in a guest business and we have achieved that. We are not on mains water either so in fact biggest challenge is managing water level in height of summer (splashing and evaporation) with demands of the house and the water delivery man!

I fully agree with the comments made by sarah911. I have a salt water pool and it is great. On the comment made by beachcomer about his friends pool, I would say that their salt water generator was not man enough for the size of the pool thats why they had a problem maintaining the chlorine level. I have just had to replace my salt water chlorinator with a new one through old age and I was advised to put in one for an 80,000lit pool even though mine is only 50,000lit. They said I would be cheaper to run in the long term, an so far they are right.

Hi,

.......And a couple of years later I come across this post - just the sort of thing I was looking for !!

I will take a look at the two websites mentioned, but in the meantime, any advice re the following ?

We are having an 8 x 4 m pool built shortly - the hole is dug and a very rough concrete base in place at the moment. We are in the country inland of Malaga, and are not on mains water, but we have a well. This is not drinkable water, as it has lots of sulphates & nitrates etc in, but we have been told it is OK for the pool & for watering. Given the chemical mix already present, I am more inclined to the salt method for purification, and wondered if anyone out there has any experience of this "spa" type water in their pool ?

Also the question of fill versus leave empty - accepting that it can be structurally dangerous to leave it empty, filling it will bring a further problem, as we are not on mains electricity yet either ! We will have a generator, but as we will not be there permanently, there will be no-one to refill the fuel. We cannot therefore run the pump, so filling the pool means a yucky green one when we do arrive ! The pool will be painted rather than tiled, by the way. So which is better - unfilled, or untreated ?!

One final question - any recommendations for pool maintenance & supply firms in this area (nearest biggish town is Antequera) ?

Cheers,
Chris

When we had a pool built at Iznajar, we were not allowed to fill it initially from the mains. We had the water delivered by tanker. The pool was 10x5 and they cost was around 4 or 5 hundred euros, I can't remember exactly.
The pool was built and maintained by Cirino of Cirino's Piscinas. Cirino is a lovely guy and we were very pleased with his service. He is based at Antequera. If you contact him please say "Hola" from Richard and Marina (we no longer live in the area).
I don't know if I can post the link to his website, but it should come up under his company name.

Hi Kayley (or is it Marina ?!)

Thanks for this - I will search for his website. Personal recommendation is always good !!!
Cheers,
Chris