I have two plumbing questions

[jaydar]

The first ?...At the deep end of my pool there are three pvc pipes sticking out of the ground about a foot.Two are capped and one is open.These are about 30 feet from the pump and filtration system.What are they for?
The county wants me to cover them.Should I cut them to below the coping and use a threaded coupling and plugs on all three? or reaseal the two that are cemented and leve the third one open like it is?and just cover them with a plaster service cover?

The pool contractors never finished the work here and the county wants these things done.I had already paid my third and final payment when they were almost done and they never came back.They went out of business and the county said I could take no action against the pool company but they would try to get a remedy.Turns out about 70 customers got stiffed.A well known pool contractor too.

?"#2...my skimmer has two holes....one has suction and the other doesn't.Nobody seems to know...but I was told by one person that the second hole is for when water drops below the skimmer with the pump running it will draw water from the main drain so the skimmer won't suck air.
Well I know it doesn't do that because several times the water has gone that low...and the thing sucks nothing but air...so I shut it down and put hose in the pool and refill.
The times this happens is in extreme heat during rainy season and when it rains here it comes down in buckets so I sometimes wait to see if the usual twice a week downpours will fill it for me.

 

[JamesW]

The pipes could be several things. What color are they and what size pipe are they? If they are grey pipe, then they might be electrical for a light. Do you have a light? Is it working?

One might be a line connected to below the pool to lower the ground water when the pool is empty. Did they hit water when they dug the pool? If yes, how deep?

One might be a fill line.

One of the skimmer holes is for suction, and the other can be connected to the main drain or an equalizer line. An equalizer line goes directly forward through the pool wall and you would see the hole directly below the skimmer mouth about at the depth of the bottom of the skimmer. Is there an equalizer line?

Sometimes the second hole is not used and is just plugged.

Is there a valve for the main drain at the pump?

If you can post a few pictures of everything, then we would be better able to advise you.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

I am sorry to hear that you are going through this. It sound though like they were fairly far along. since you made the final payment. Secure a lawyer to protect your rights. There may be liens from unpaid contractors on your property. Different states have different laws.

If you have pictures of the build as they were progressing, that would help us a great deal to identify the lines.

Posting pictures is easy. Simply create a Photobucket album. Each picture will have 4 options of code revealed when you hover over them. Copy the 4th option and paste it in the message box here, one per line.

Scott

 

[jaydar]

Hi,

All 3 pipes are white 1.5" pvc...they're part of the water system...just don't know what.Not electrical because the conduit for my pool niche light is also sticking out of the ground about a foot.It has conduit in 2 of three ports a black 2x4" box is ontop...there is one extra knockout underneath...I assume for connecting some other service.Problem is....that needs to be moved back if I ever extend my deck and put a pool cage up.

As far as a Lawyer,,,The guy who contracted and ripped so many people off...was a very good friend of the real owner of this well known 40+ year pool company.He allowed his buddy to operate under the company name but as an individual contractor.

The county made a lot of noise and sent us letters telling us to be patient,they had confiscated properties in leui of damages.The guy who owns the original co. said he'd make good.He never did...he did for some.This was 2005 so I don't think I could get a lawyer on it anyway.
Besides He apparently had connections to the Governor (Crist) at the time and Crist basically pardoned him.I wrote my Senatore and got a letter back saying it was over and nothing I could do.

Anyway....I'm disabled and it takes me awhile to get the simplest things done...my back is toast so whatever I do I can only do for about 5 minutes ata time....wait and come back.I ran out of money putting this pool in.It was built basically so I could rehab after anticipated surgery...but AIG kept fighting an already signed sealed document in court.Lawyer #1 said he was working on it and I finally called court to find out my attorney hadn't filed anything in court to compell aig to pay for surgery.
Fired him and lawyer #2 just got it through the system..in 16 months...I finally have the OK.

Sorry for rambling.

There were things I could have done alright....but I'd be behind bars for life.

 

[JasonLion]

The only reason you need to leave a pipe open is if you have spa style jets that mix air and water. Wit those kinds of jets there is often an air pipe coming up somewhere that provides the air that comes out of jet. If you don't have any jets of that kind, you can seal off the pipe. If you do have jets of that kind, you can try putting a temporary plug in the pipe while the jets are running and see if anything changes. If the jets still work, then you can permanently seal up the pipe.

I would dig out around the pipes, cut them off several inches below ground level, seal them, and fill in the hole.

 

[jaydar]

?? No my jets only mix with air if the pump is not primed or there is a canister cover leak or low water in skimmer.

I know when heavy rains fill the pool it will fill to an inch above bottom of coping and within minutes be at the bottom of the coping.Was thinking maybe it is some kind of auto leveler.But...I've never seen water in the pipe or coming out of it...besides...it's a foot higher than the decktop.

Maybe access piping for clogs maybe?Or service lines for a spa I might put in someday?
I'd take a picture but I have no digital cam.

 

[JamesW]

It might be worthwhile having a service company come out to review your operations and advise you.

 

[Brentr]

I have an open pipe however it is very close to my pump. I was told that this is a safety for the drain in case both drains were accidently covered it would suck air in and release the drain holes. I wonder if one of your open pipes serves this purpose?