Lights Leaking after Rebuild

Jump to latest Follow Reply
MrSethTaylor

MrSethTaylor

Member
Jul 17, 2023
18
Sacramento, CA
Pool Size
30000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Pool is 8 weeks post renovation. Plumbing was not changed or updated and has been tested to hold pressure. The light conduit was not pressure tested and the leak detection company confirmed we are loosing 35gal/hr through the pool lights.

I've contacted my builder but they are being slow. Are there any ways to temporarily slow/stop the leaking niches without doing the builders job - I want them to come out and do the repacking of the light cord passthrough. Looking for more of a tape garbage bags over it kinda thing for now (I know chinsy, but I want them to fix it and don't want to give them a reason to say I did anything and therefore....)

Its been leaking like this since the day we refilled, shouldn't the builder have done a bucket test etc just to double check (its free afterall)?

Should I push for them to reimburse the cost of testing, the water bill (35000 gallons a month)?

Should I just be happy if they even come fix it....?
 
A light niche can leak in a couple places. It could be the niche shell itself that has cracked, or it could be the cord conduit somewhere along that line. Odd that "by coincidence" it just happened. :scratch: Any heavy equipment or tools used near the deep end during the reno?

Since this was a pool reno, I suppose it's possible there could be a gap between the gunite/plaster and where the night niche is set into it.

If it's the conduit, you could look into some pool butyl tape or a conduit plug. If it's the niche shell itself, you could use some epoxy.

I'll tag @1poolman1 who is a local from SAC who may have additional tho9ughts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrSethTaylor
MrSethTaylor said:
Pool is 8 weeks post renovation. Plumbing was not changed or updated and has been tested to hold pressure. The light conduit was not pressure tested and the leak detection company confirmed we are loosing 35gal/hr through the pool lights.

I've contacted my builder but they are being slow. Are there any ways to temporarily slow/stop the leaking niches without doing the builders job - I want them to come out and do the repacking of the light cord passthrough. Looking for more of a tape garbage bags over it kinda thing for now (I know chinsy, but I want them to fix it and don't want to give them a reason to say I did anything and therefore....)

Its been leaking like this since the day we refilled, shouldn't the builder have done a bucket test etc just to double check (its free afterall)?

Should I push for them to reimburse the cost of testing, the water bill (35000 gallons a month)?

Should I just be happy if they even come fix it....?
Click to expand...
There is no "packing" of a light niche or conduit that is normally installed. Butyl tape, as Texas Splash, mentioned, or a light cord stopper, as below, can be installed to block the conduit. The one listed is for 1" conduit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrSethTaylor
I have been working with my remodel builder to fix some leaks at the niche. They have come out twice to try and puddy the conduit at the niche unsuccessfully.

Next they want to drain below the light and use aquabond to seal the leak. This is instead of digging up the brand new concrete and pebble to install a new niche. Pool was redone 2 months ago.

Is this a bad idea, best approach, please help.....
 
1poolman1 said:
There is no "packing" of a light niche or conduit that is normally installed. Butyl tape, as Texas Splash, mentioned, or a light cord stopper, as below, can be installed to block the conduit. The one listed is for 1" conduit.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the comment, I was wondering why not use something like that but the builder isn't really giving that option. They want to drain down and use aquabond to seal around it now since the puddy isn't working (I think it might be worse actually)....
 
Typically the soil around the conduit settles and shear the conduit off from the back of the niche. If it settles enough the light cord can be pinched or cut.

Ideally the best way to fix it is to replace the niche and make a new conduit connection. But that should have been done before the pool was redone.

If the offset from the conduit and the hole in the niche is minimal, you could probably epoxy in a stainless steel cord grip and then still be able to pull the light cable if needed. Ideally to do this the pool would need to be drained to at least below the niche.
 
Thanks everyone, this has been so frustrating. We allowed the pool to drain until it settled and stopped. 3/4 inch below the skimmer and 8 inches above the lights. Builder came out, found a crack in the pebble and said "thats your problem" we'll put non matching puddy in it and get out of here" - still drops at the same rate. Haven't wanted to pay the leak detection company another fee to come out and say the builder didn't fix the lights like we said the first 2 times (the builder came out twice to puddy the lights). Now based on where it stopped draining I'm wonder if its the skimmer they installed, or the autofill, or the multiple cracks they found in the pebble (all of which were areas they fixed/replaced/reworked a little, or all the above. Pool has only been filled for almost 12 weeks now. So very frustrating. Still trying hard to work with the builder to come do something, anything.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Texas Splash
As of today they want to blame it on the crack repairs and since those aren't covered by any sort of warranty I'm sol. Out of the goodness of thier hearts they will come out and fix the cracks however along with some other cosmetic issues.
I'm still not convinced its not the skimmer or autofill they installed since the water stops dropping right below the skimmer, well above the lights and the cracks go down 3 or 4 feet further. American leak detection still thinks its the light niches - so I have no idea where the problem actually sits or what needs to be done.
 
MrSethTaylor said:
Plumbing was not changed or updated and has been tested to hold pressure. The light conduit was not pressure tested and the leak detection company confirmed we are loosing 35gal/hr through the pool lights.
Click to expand...
That really sums it up. With a certificate of testing from ADL, I don't see how the builder can skirt the issue.

I will add one final thought because it applied to me. During a pressure test, it held, but we knew I still had a leak. That leak was determined to be inside a return jet itself just behind the eyeball. See the pic below. If ADL pushed testing plugs deep into the return (PVC) lines during their testing, they would not catch a bad jet fitting. With a new pool like yours that shouldn't be an issue, and/or ADL did in fact inspect those closely. But I figured I mention it. Otherwise, your builder really needs to make things right for you. I hope you are able to keep a good dialog with them so that things don't get ugly and communication shuts down.

 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
If the water level stops dropping just below the skimmer I would believe the leak stops at that level. Still pool water and dyed water from a bottle show even small leaks pretty well. There may be multiple leaks some may leak faster than others.

Depending on what your contract states, it should be pretty clear who is liable for what. It seems like many have challenges with pool repairs, but it could also be that more people post about issues than projects that go smoothly. Does the existing contactor what more to fix the leaks? Does the leak detection company have recommendation on repairs and/or companies that can do the work? If it's within the small claims court limits, it might be an option to coax the existing contractor to step up.
 
Texas Splash said:
That really sums it up. With a certificate of testing from ADL, I don't see how the builder can skirt the issue.

I will add one final thought because it applied to me. During a pressure test, it held, but we knew I still had a leak. That leak was determined to be inside a return jet itself just behind the eyeball. See the pic below. If ADL pushed testing plugs deep into the return (PVC) lines during their testing, they would not catch a bad jet fitting. With a new pool like yours that shouldn't be an issue, and/or ADL did in fact inspect those closely. But I figured I mention it. Otherwise, your builder really needs to make things right for you. I hope you are able to keep a good dialog with them so that things don't get ugly and communication shuts down.
Click to expand...
Trying my best to be as amiable as possible. Im also not out to have them do a bunch of work they don't need to, I'm not a complainer - but the pool is none functional the way it is now.

My jets aren't like that, they are just pressed into the pipe coming through the wall, I have wondered if that could be part of the issue. No glue, housing etc just pressed in.

pool fitting
 
  • Like
Reactions: Texas Splash
I have an issue with the leak detection company now as well. They said my skimmer was intact and not a cause for concern. Over the weekend I found the attached - originally I thought this to be just the tooling line where the mold for the skimmer separated but in the picture you can clearly see the cracking running down its length
 

Attachments

  • 20231029_153940 (Small).jpg
    20231029_153940 (Small).jpg
    71.7 KB · Views: 8
  • 20231029_154837 (Small).jpg
    20231029_154837 (Small).jpg
    50.8 KB · Views: 8
I see the crack that appears to follow (down) the corner of the skimmer throat entrance. It appears to stop just above the waterline. If so, it shouldn't be an active leak problem, although if the water level was higher it could be. I would be inclined to clear, dry, and apply some silicone or epoxy to that crack.
 
The water level had been allowed to drop quite a bit by then. My issue is the skimmer was just placed in August, both the leak detection company and pool contractor missed this on more than one visit. I feel like this explains why the water loss is increased the higher the water level is kept and eventually stops once the level of the skimmer is passed.
 
It does look like a crack. Does the water stop dropping once it's at the bottom of the skimmer opening?

If this was just replaced, they should be on the hook to replace it again. May have been cracked the installer did not notice, but that is not on you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply