How to replace the skimmer

[bkh114]

Heya, So in remoding my ol' pool I need to replace the skimmer w/out removing my still good FL keystone coping. Here's my plan:


Cut an opening in deck large enough to allow room for a new skimmer.
Chip out concrete around old skimmer. Dig under by hand & cut pipe & remove old skimmer.
Chip out tile around the pool opening to allow new skimmer tunnel to fit under coping w/ intake lip just inside wall opening?
Drill 1/2" holes 6" apart and 3 inches away from the wall opening, clean, dry install 10"x3/8" rebar w/ epoxie?
Apply 2 part SGM Bond Kote to old concrete and let set over night.
Plum in new skimmer to existing line.
Pore concrete in voids. ( The skimmer directions call for 4 inches under and on all sides) but I plan to fill the hole w/pea rock to 6 inches below skimmer tunnel?
Now the tricky part for me: I need to fill the area between the underside of the coping and the top of the skimmer tunnel. the rocks in concrete will be a problem so I plan to use sand mix mortar to fill this void while the concrete pore is still fluid?
Any Ideas?

 

[JasonLion]

Replacing a skimmer while leaving the coping intact is a tricky job, but you seem to have already considered all of the major issues. Getting the plumbing connection right is tricky, as it is underneath everything and you won't be able to move the skimmer around much at that point. This connection is also very important to get right.

It is simpler to remove the coping and then re-install it later, though such a patch is almost always visible afterwards.