A tree has fallen into the pool at the house we are buying and the pool is full of what has been described as "sludge". We haven't seen it yet but this is what we've been told. The tree will be removed but how do we go about sorting the rest out? We have no idea. Someone said that pools have plugs?? Surely, you don't just pull out the plug to empty it?
Does it cost a fortune to get it emptied and refilled? It's a salt water pool. The solar panels are also damaged but the insurance will cover that.
It is the neighbours tree that fell in. Does that mean that they have to pay anything towards the cost of sorting it out?
Have no idea where to begin. We go for our final inspection next week so would appreciate any advice before we finalize the sale.
Any advice would be so appreciated. Have been on night shifts and the brain is very wooly.

I'd be looking at getting it ALL put right BEFORE I completed on the sale.......never believe promises about repairs to be carried out after you have signed

Yes, I see the logic there but there is only 6 days left before we hand over the money. I thought, if they are unable to sort it in that time, that maybe they should pay all or some of the costs of what is not covered by insurance. It seems they would be in trouble with the council at the moment if it was refilled (I don't know why). Possibly because the water is not safe at the moment after the storm. We just have no idea of what money will be involved.
It just seems wrong that we would have to sort it all out of our own pockets.

The day before we sold a house, we had to get something fixed, broken by our tenants.

The buyer got a quote for the repairs, and suggested we reduce the sale price by that figure, so that the sale could still go ahead.

We agreed, what else could we do ?

If it was the neighbours tree surely it would be the neighbours insurance that covered full cost for removal AND repairs ??

See what your solicitor suggests....

cleaning the pool water is easy,i had just finished building my pool when the storm hit,got my water spot on and cristal clear,but then the storm flooded my pool with mud and loads of tree branches,
go to a pool shop and buy some floc pour it in and run the pump for an hour or two,turn the pump off and let the floc do its thing over night,next morning or afternoon you will see a all the mess sitting on the bottom of the pool, set your filter to waste then use a pool vac to hoover the bootom of the pool,there is enough rain on its way to top up the lost water without any cost,
my pool is very big 136,000 ltrs, average pools size is up to 50,000ltrs it cost me $100,00 to sort mine,
Martin

Thank you for that info. It doesn't seem to be too much of a drama then. Ours is a saltwater pool, does that make a difference? Silly to ask, but where does the salt water come from? Does this get delivered?

yup mines a salt water pool too,
the water is just water, you buy bags of salt at the pool shop and pour them in,make sure you buy fine salt and not rock type salt as the fine powder salt disolves better in the water,rock salt/crystal salt will sink to the bottom of the water and takes forever to disolve
dont get it from the diy store either go to a pool shop,
where are you moving to??
Martin

Best thing is see what the sludge is and how fine it is. In most cases, a good long back wash will clear most of the gunge and then you need to empty the various filters. Get the pool as empty as you can, and give a clear out by hand as much will be left on the bottom.

Then turn the hose on and let it run, run run.... it will take ages but you'll be starting fresh.

For me, if the pump and filters are still working, that's the main cost. While a pain to clean, it is perfectly feasible the pool will be fine once cleaned out.

If filling with fresh water it would be best to get a pool chap out to give it the once over and get the right chemicals etc back in the pool.

We're moving to The Gap

If you fill a pool from the mains supply, how much would that cost approx? We have been in rental accomodation since we got here so all this is totally new to us.
A big thank you to all for all the info so far. You are all putting our minds at rest. At the same time, I feel so guilty mentioning it all because in comparison to what has happened to other people. Our problems are just so minor. On the other hand, we will be handing over all the money that we have in the world so we want it to be right.

due to water restictions you cant fill a pool from the mains water supply, you have to buy water from a water delivery company,136,000ltrs of town quality water cost me $1,900 about 4 weeks ago
i would be very suprised if you have to drain and refill it,mine was so full of mud and leaves you could not see 4" below the surface,when i cleaned the bottom out there was 1ft of leaves all over the bottom and 2"of mud,one week later and i have just taken a water sample to the pool shop to get it checked and all i needed to put in was 4 bags of salt and 20ltrs of chlorine,
its so easy to fix that he will probably have done it by the time you buy the place,

Welcome to The Gap - despite recent events it *is* a fantastic place to live. It has a tremendous community spirit, great schools and up until now great leafy scenery!

I wouldnt worry too much about the pool - trees can be removed easily and sludge can be pumped out (probably by your pool pump as long as you keep cleaning your filter). As long as theres no structural damage then I'm sure it can be fixed before you settle (subject of course to relevant tradies being available to pull the tree out - they are a little busy right now!)

With regards to payment - see your solicitor, this is exactly the sort of screwed up situation you pay them to deal with!

If you have any pool questions I recommend asking for advice from Mo at The Gap Pool shop - he's really helpful and anything he cant sort out for you he'll at least know who to contact to get things fixed.

Dont worry about pool maintenance - after a while its a no brainer and just another automatic domestic maintenance task!


Feel free to PM me of you have any questions about The Gap - I've been in Brissie for 10 yrs and The Gap for 8 yrs so I know my way around pretty well!

Nothing sensible to add but I was just amused by the idea of a plug in the bottom Hope you get it sorted.