Weighing Pool Steps Down...alternative For Sand?

[chaz]

Question,

We have the Biltmore in-pool steps. The directions say to use a bag of sand to weigh down the steps. My wife doesn't really want to do that, nor do I actually.

We have plenty of old edging type stones/bricks stacked up around the house that we need to get rid of. Could we use those? As long as we clean them off of course. I am just concerned about them affecting the water chemistry at all.

Thanks

[miandsh2000]

we did the same but put them in thick plastic bags. has not affected chemistry.

[Anka]

We're not in love with the sand bags, either. Our pool is open very late into the year, last year we closed it at the end of October, and we opened it as soon as the ice was thawed on the cover. Removing/replacing the sand bags is a major PITA when the water is just 50 F or so.

Last weekend we came up with step weights which, while they do incorporate sand, are much easier to handle. Using 3" PVC pipe we cut three lengths to fit into the cubby hole made by the bottom step. We capped one end and put a screw top on the other end of the tube. We filled the tubes with sand and packed the sand down to eliminate air bubbles using water with bleach added. That way, if they're not entirely water tight, we hope to limit algae growth inside the tubes.

Two of the tubes lie side by side with the third one placed on top of them. This provides enough weight to keep our steps from floating and it stabilizes them. To each tube we tied some yellow floating rope and knotted the other end to the handrail.

Removal/replacement is relatively easy since each tube weighs less than 20#. We take off the rails, tilt the steps slightly forward, and tug on the rope until the tubes come out.

I'll try to post some pictures next week, if you're interested.

[Trigger]

We're not in love with the sand bags, either. Our pool is open very late into the year, last year we closed it at the end of October, and we opened it as soon as the ice was thawed on the cover. Removing/replacing the sand bags is a major PITA when the water is just 50 F or so.

Last weekend we came up with step weights which, while they do incorporate sand, are much easier to handle. Using 3" PVC pipe we cut three lengths to fit into the cubby hole made by the bottom step. We capped one end and put a screw top on the other end of the tube. We filled the tubes with sand and packed the sand down to eliminate air bubbles using water with bleach added. That way, if they're not entirely water tight, we hope to limit algae growth inside the tubes.

Two of the tubes lie side by side with the third one placed on top of them. This provides enough weight to keep our steps from floating and it stabilizes them. To each tube we tied some yellow floating rope and knotted the other end to the handrail.

Removal/replacement is relatively easy since each tube weighs less than 20#. We take off the rails, tilt the steps slightly forward, and tug on the rope until the tubes come out.

I'll try to post some pictures next week, if you're interested.

Just curious, (I don't have these steps, just a J ladder). Does anyone see an advatage or disadvantage to filling Anka's tube with cement? That was the first thing I thought of after reading her latest post and wondered if they'd be a down side to it?

[Anka]

Just curious, (I don't have these steps, just a J ladder). Does anyone see an advatage or disadvantage to filling Anka's tube with cement? That was the first thing I thought of after reading her latest post and wondered if they'd be a down side to it?

Quickcrete will probably be our method next season.

Our Website "How We Dealt With It" at http://ellerbachxxx/Pool has photos of the step weights.

Ummm . . . that's ellerbach dot com. For some odd reason the URL shows up as xxx instead of com.