Are you buying a home in New Jersey with a pool or hot tub? Both of these amenities can add enjoyment and fun to your life. They offer places to relax and unwind, for the kids to play and splash, and for the entire family to soak up the sun. However, they can also be quite expensive, particularly if something has gone wrong. A pool inspection can help ensure that you’re making an informed decision here, but what should such an inspection include?
Safety Requirements
One of the first and most important things to cover in such an inspection is the range of safety features on the pool. These must meet state and local requirements and can include things such as having a permanent perimeter fence in place and the like.
Physical Structure
A thorough pool inspection will cover the entire physical structure of the pool and its surrounds. It includes the body of the pool, including the concrete and sealant if the pool is in-ground, and the liner, if the pool is aboveground. Other aspects that are checked include the stability and condition of the decking around the pool. This inspection is very in-depth and can comprise an immense number of items, ranging from the finish on concrete to the grout between tiles to the condition of metal uprights supporting an above ground pool.
Equipment
Your soon-to-be pool uses a wide range of equipment. There’s a pump to move water in and out, filters, pipes and valves, and more. All of this equipment must be in good working condition. A thorough inspection will verify the condition of your equipment, and determine if any maintenance work or repairs must be done. The inspector should also determine the type of pool pump in use, so that you can use this information in planning for your utility bills. For instance, a two-speed pump is more economical than a single-speed pump.
Not a Home Inspector
It’s important to understand that only trained; licensed pool inspectors should handle this inspection. It should not be something that a home inspector does (your home inspector likely will not offer). This is because home inspectors lack the training necessary to inspect pools, hot tubs, and their surrounds correctly.
At Atlantic Leak Detection and Utility Locating, we have years of experience inspecting pools and hot tubs for clients throughout NJ.
