Sawdust in pool

[mckeetree]

I want some opinions on this situation. We did a removal today and everything goes good until the caretaker of the property calls me about an hour ago and says "Well, you got sawdust in the pool. Filters are stopped up and I am calling a pool guy out and looks like you get paid nothing." I told the caretaker some sawdust might get in the pool to which he had no reply. Now he says the pool had an electric cover and we should have used it. The owner is Don Nelson. He used to be coach of the Dallas Mavericks. I have to go through this caretaker and have no way of talking to Mr. Nelson directly.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I usually tarp up pools and ponds as SOP.

I would want to see the mess first before anyone else fixes it. If the controlling party does not give you a chance to make amends, or document, then you have a leg to stand on in court. FWIW

Anyway you go about it, you probably lost the account with the caretaker.

 

[andosca]

it's been a while since i took care of a pool though i now have one but unable to open it this year for lack of time. the sawdust would have to pass through two baskets if it went through the surface skimmer and would have had to go though an inline filter and a basket if vacuumed. did you buck up a big tree on the pool patio with a dull saw? i would think it would take a lot of fine dust to clog the filter and if it did you could backflush it.

 

[mckeetree]

I usually tarp up pools and ponds as SOP.

I would want to see the mess first before anyone else fixes it. If the controlling party does not give you a chance to make amends, or document, then you have a leg to stand on in court. FWIW

Anyway you go about it, you probably lost the account with the caretaker.

I think you are right. Anyway I go about it I probably lost the account.

 

[mckeetree]

it's been a while since i took care of a pool though i now have one but unable to open it this year for lack of time. the sawdust would have to pass through two baskets if it went through the surface skimmer and would have had to go though an inline filter and a basket if vacuumed. did you buck up a big tree on the pool patio with a dull saw? i would think it would take a lot of fine dust to clog the filter and if it did you could backflush it.

It was a big tree but the saw was not dull.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Too bad the convertible wasn't nearby with its top down... could have killed two birds with one stone!

Seriously though, doing a cleanout flush and refill of the diatomaceous earth is not going to cost more than the removal! Heck, most of the chips will float on the pools surface and can be skimmed up with the net! Even with the cover on the pool it will still get sawdust all over it that would eventually wind up in the pool.

 

[tree md]

I did a huge job last year on a rural property with over 200 trees to prune or remove. I was working in the back yard when the pool girl came to clean. She was HOT! Told her I was about to do a large tree right next to the pool next and asked if she wanted to wait until I finished the tree before she started cleaning. She said no problem. It was probably 25-26" DBH but I took it out in about 15 or 20 minutes. Roped 2 limbs from over the pool, free fell a couple limbs, topped it and dropped it in 2 or 3 cuts. She cleaned the pool with no problems at all and never said a word about the saw dust. Did I mention that she was HOT!

I think the caretaker was probably pissed about the saw dust. I doubt very seriously that it did any damage. Pools get all kinds of #### in them when it storms.

 

[BC_Logger]

it's been a while since i took care of a pool though i now have one but unable to open it this year for lack of time. the sawdust would have to pass through two baskets if it went through the surface skimmer and would have had to go though an inline filter and a basket if vacuumed. did you buck up a big tree on the pool patio with a dull saw? i would think it would take a lot of fine dust to clog the filter and if it did you could backflush it.

:agree2:

I call in experience on the caretakers part probably just over reacting, the skimmer basket and the basket in front of the pump probably has chips in it and if there is chips in the filter a good backwash will flush them away

absolute worst case you have to pull the dial valve on the sand filter and clean the chips out or if a cartage filter split the filter remove the cartages and just rinse it out

 

[capetrees]

it's been a while since i took care of a pool though i now have one but unable to open it this year for lack of time. the sawdust would have to pass through two baskets if it went through the surface skimmer and would have had to go though an inline filter and a basket if vacuumed. did you buck up a big tree on the pool patio with a dull saw? i would think it would take a lot of fine dust to clog the filter and if it did you could backflush it.

Completely correct.
My friend has a pool, does very little maintenance to it although he should do more and the filter only gets clogged over time due to neglect. What you have here is a situation where the filter was probably just about to need to be replaced or backflushed anyway and your sawdust was the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back". You didn't clog the entire system. No way. You were just the last thing that went into the filter before it was full. I would demand to be there when the pool guy does his work and see what is really in there. You would have to really be putting a LOT of chips in the pool before the filter clogged.

 

[LTREES]

I tell the HO to cover the pool if they don't want saw dust in it. They say ok or don't worry about that. I would want my pool (if I had one) to be covered to keep out the bar oil. I can't see clogging the filter from the TD. I'd show up when the pool guy is there, hopefully it is not this guys buddy doing pools on the side. Just doesn't make sense to me. Demand to see the pile of saw dust that did the clogging. I bet he didn't set up the filter right when he opened it. My FIL did that one year.

LT...

 

[Happyjack]

Completely correct.
My friend has a pool, does very little maintenance to it although he should do more and the filter only gets clogged over time due to neglect. What you have here is a situation where the filter was probably just about to need to be replaced or backflushed anyway and your sawdust was the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back". You didn't clog the entire system. No way. You were just the last thing that went into the filter before it was full. I would demand to be there when the pool guy does his work and see what is really in there. You would have to really be putting a LOT of chips in the pool before the filter clogged.

I agree with this 100%. I have a Pool, so I can relate. I would bring my Camera or Video camera with me when the Pool guy comes to see what the problem is. Also if you mentioned that you may get some chips in the Pool, it should have been the caretakers responsibility to cover the pool before you started the work.

 

[treeclimber101]

No offense but it sounds like this guy was setting you up for a beating one way or another, if there is damage to pool you need to document that before it is cleaned or they have no leg to stand in court, and after this happened would you ever want to work there again anyway, cover you back side on the future and mention these things so you always can say I told a so.

 

[chip's-tree]

I want some opinions on this situation. We did a removal today and everything goes good until the caretaker of the property calls me about an hour ago and says "Well, you got sawdust in the pool. Filters are stopped up and I am calling a pool guy out and looks like you get paid nothing." I told the caretaker some sawdust might get in the pool to which he had no reply. Now he says the pool had an electric cover and we should have used it. The owner is Don Nelson. He used to be coach of the Dallas Mavericks. I have to go through this caretaker and have no way of talking to Mr. Nelson directly.

I've worked over half dozen pools and it takes a heck of a lot of sawdust to cause a real problem. some caretakers have to show their POWER. he will more than likely pay you if you are nice when the two of you talk again. but either way you should get the change to fix the problem, if not then it will help you in court. remember to always be professional.

 

[tree md]

To tell the truth, that is not how it works in this business anyway. We are insured for just this circumstance. I would tell him that either he can let you bring your own professional out there to look at it or you can turn it into your agent and let him investigate it but "I will be paid".

 

[ckliff]

TOTAL BS!

I'm an arborist & I have an inground pool. I've also done lotsa work over pools.
The caretaker is full of it! Take 'em to court.

Thats why pools HAVE filters (tell that to the dodo).

 

[mckeetree]

I sincerely appreciate all the response and it makes me feel better about the whole deal even if I never get a penny out of the job. I am going to call the caretaker tomorrow afternoon and ask him which direction is all this going.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Tell him he is a CARE TAKER, if he didnt take care to cover the pool that hes responsible for and that you had mentioned, perhaps he should find himself another way to feel important.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

I wonder if hes going to pocket the money thats supposed to go to you and say you got paid?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I wonder if hes going to pocket the money thats supposed to go to you and say you got paid?

There ya go; how many of us have worked with caretakers/managers that expect a little grease/baksheesh for getting the contract?

I've worked at a resort and a country club and at both places I would get asked by contractors how much I would "want back".

 

[Bermie]

I agree unless you dumped a truckload of chips in the pool, the filters might be clogged but I can't see that sawdust/chips would have wrecked it.

The caretaker needs to prove that only your dust caused a problem.

Keep the high road, if you come across as reasonable and professional, you may well keep the account.

I spent about half an hour the other day cleaning my dust out of a pool, the HO was cool with it all but I wanted to do what I could to mitigate the issue, other than a HUGE tarpaulin, there wasn't much I could do to keep the crap out, I had a small tarp that caught some small branches and twigs but the dust just drifted and blew in...ornamental spruce were leaning out right over the pool. I got to most of the dust before it got sucked into the filters.