When it rains, it pours. See this post for my other fun problem.
The plumber I used is a nice guy, but he seems to fly by the seat of his pants a bit too much...and his technique isn't all that modern or refined. Of course I only figure this out after I "know better"...
Piping is run kinda sloppy and haphazard...lines cross over themselves on the way to the pad and in some cases three pipes rest crossed on each other in one spot. the lines to my initial pad valving were not parallel and were not at the same elevation. I've since redone some of it, so at least from above ground all looks good. I did the pad myself...by then I had learned my lesson.
The positive is his runs are decently shortest route with minimal bends, so at least I have that to calm my perfectionistic brain. The tradeoff is the lines are run under the shell. Keep that in mind as I continue.
My biggest issue with his work was the seemingly still common method of plumbing the returns and spa jets with the fixtures in place rather than stubbed, capped and pressurized. Not only does this make for some sloppy finish work and uneven plastering, but junk gets in the lines that belches out over your pristine plaster when you first fire up your new pool and you can never be 100% sure if the plumbing, which pressure tested just fine 7 months ago, is still intact.
And guess what? I tested on my own (because of a complete lack of trust) and our skimmers now drain water faster than my kitchen sink. It all bubbles up into our as yet unplugged main drains.
Somewhere, under my shell or under my decking, a pipe must have burst over the winter or been broken during the shotcrete or decking prep process. My plumber, who kept reassuring me that my pipes tested OK and were "just fine" even after I had called him stating the bleeding obvious, "can't understand it."
So...now he's tunneled under my deck and is chipping away at the back of the concrete skimmer pockets, attempting to get to the bottom of the skimmer to attach a new fitting and run the piping out alongside the pool. He has one cut out and I have not gotten a status on the second skimmer as of yet. This is day three of this fiasco.
My advice...two things to insist upon...
1) Pressurize all lines from day one of plumbing until you are ready to run your equipment on a full pool
2) Run lines around the pool, not under
Crimeny.
The plumber I used is a nice guy, but he seems to fly by the seat of his pants a bit too much...and his technique isn't all that modern or refined. Of course I only figure this out after I "know better"...
Piping is run kinda sloppy and haphazard...lines cross over themselves on the way to the pad and in some cases three pipes rest crossed on each other in one spot. the lines to my initial pad valving were not parallel and were not at the same elevation. I've since redone some of it, so at least from above ground all looks good. I did the pad myself...by then I had learned my lesson.
The positive is his runs are decently shortest route with minimal bends, so at least I have that to calm my perfectionistic brain. The tradeoff is the lines are run under the shell. Keep that in mind as I continue.
My biggest issue with his work was the seemingly still common method of plumbing the returns and spa jets with the fixtures in place rather than stubbed, capped and pressurized. Not only does this make for some sloppy finish work and uneven plastering, but junk gets in the lines that belches out over your pristine plaster when you first fire up your new pool and you can never be 100% sure if the plumbing, which pressure tested just fine 7 months ago, is still intact.
And guess what? I tested on my own (because of a complete lack of trust) and our skimmers now drain water faster than my kitchen sink. It all bubbles up into our as yet unplugged main drains.
Somewhere, under my shell or under my decking, a pipe must have burst over the winter or been broken during the shotcrete or decking prep process. My plumber, who kept reassuring me that my pipes tested OK and were "just fine" even after I had called him stating the bleeding obvious, "can't understand it."
So...now he's tunneled under my deck and is chipping away at the back of the concrete skimmer pockets, attempting to get to the bottom of the skimmer to attach a new fitting and run the piping out alongside the pool. He has one cut out and I have not gotten a status on the second skimmer as of yet. This is day three of this fiasco.
My advice...two things to insist upon...
1) Pressurize all lines from day one of plumbing until you are ready to run your equipment on a full pool
2) Run lines around the pool, not under
Crimeny.
