Looking for tips for leak repair by pool company

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M

Mathyou

0
May 17, 2016
17
New Orleans, LA
Hello!

I have a leak in my pool that I'm unable to find and I resorted to calling a professional in to find and repair the leak. I'm looking for any tips in handling this so I don't get scammed. I'm a first time home owner and this is our first major project using some type of contractor/professional company.

So about the leak - I have to add water to the pool everyday. The water level will be at the midway point of the skimmer opening when I go to bed and in the morning the level is at the bottom of the skimmer opening. I did the bucket test as well and there is definitely a leak. So I end up adding water to the pool everyday.

I ended up finding a pool service company (through Yelp) that performs leak detection and repairs. They sent out a guy this morning and he used a needle with some dye to try and find a leak around the skimmers and return jets. He wasn't able to find anything and said they will have to come back to perform a full leak detection with listening equipment, etc. He mentioned that the leak could be in the piping underground, the light housings, or around the main drain and he didn't notice any "crevicing". He said a leak detection will cost around $450 and plus another $150 or so if they need to dive in and plug the main drain to find the leak.

If the leak is an underground pipe, they could pinpoint the location with the equipment and cut out a section of concrete to repair the leak. Obviously it'd be nice if the leak is somewhere else.

I was hoping they could get started today, but apparently they are working on a big job at a country club or something so they will come back later in the week. So before they come back I was just looking for some tips in how to handle the process. I'll have to be at work later in the week when they come back so I told them I could leave the backyard gate unlocked, but now I'm worrying about if I should be there or not and just trust them to make the repair without my input...

How do I know if they are telling the truth about where the leak is, what kinds of things do I need to get in writing, etc. I'm just trying to avoid the situation where they say the leak is in the underground pipes and they need to do all this stuff that's the most expensive repair and it end up not fixing the leak and I've been left hung out to dry. The guy did say repairs are warranted for 60 days.

Thanks for any help!
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. $450 (plus another $150) seems a bit steep to me based on some other leak detection posts I've seen in the past. Not sure if they are charging a bit more because we're out of season and the rising cost of hot chicken soup once they're out of the chilly water. :) I would recommend obtaining the repair work in writing, and certainly check on how they warranty their work. A good leak company will stand-by their work and make every effort to make things right for you. Since the skimmer and returns seemed to be ruled-out, the main drain or light fixture could be the culprit. Here is an example of how water can leak from a light fixture (where the rear conduit connects to the housing):



Lastly, HERE is the TFP leak detection page designed to help give you an understanding of potential leaks and where they may be coming from. Unfortunately in the end, sometimes the only resort is to have the professionals do the job with proper equipment. Feel free to reply as much as needed though f you continue to have questions. Best of luck to you.
 
$450 plus $150 is a bit on the high side.

I suggest you watch a few of the leak detection videos on You tube so you have a better understanding of what is going on. Before I would go do the listening test I would let your pool drain down. If it stops below the skimmer then you know its there. I would not let it get below the returns. If you have a high water table I would not let it drain below the skimmer. If that doesn't show you more I would try the dye test again. Most leaks are at the pool and not back in the pipes so you really need to rule out the pool before you go to the pipes. That what your company tried to do but I would go look again.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to do some more research around here and see what I can find out. The guy that had come out didn't really seem to interested and only took all of 5 minutes with the syringe going around the pool and didn't even check all of the returns.

I thought about just letting the pool go and see where the water level stops falling so fast, but then I read stuff about pools popping out of the ground without enough water weight... yikes! I did let it go down to a return once but it just made a bunch of noise when the pump was running so I decided to fill it back up (never let it get lower to the lights).

I turned off the skimmer valves and just have the main drain open, to see if maybe the leak slows, but now I'm getting a small amount of air bubbles coming from the returns. I don't know if that may have anything to do with a leak. Previously I attempted the same thing and let the water level go below the skimmer openings and later there was no water in the skimmer area (where the basket sits) making me think there was a leak in the pipes or something from the skimmer because all the water drained out.

If worse comes to worse and I decide not to get a pro out here until the Spring, how should I maintain the pool for the winter? I really don't want to have to put water in the pool every single day for the next few months. Since the weather is getting colder I don't see how a pro could get in the pool themselves.
 
If you closed the skimmer return and was able to pull water ONLY from the main drain and you saw an increase in air bubbles in the pump basket or return jets, then that would indicate a suction-side leak at some point from the drain. Now this is assuming your drain actually has its own dedicated line to the equipment pad/valve. Sometimes, the drain is plumbed underground to the skimmer (they share the same line) which can make detection a bit tricky. But I agree that a little more research may be in order to be safe. It doesn't sound as though the first repair tech invested too much effort for you.

In your area, definitely don't let the water level drop too low. We know southern LA is notorious for that high water table. Worse case scenario ..... keep topping it off until you can better isolate the leak. If you learn it is the drain, you can plug it and do just fine with the poolside skimmer(s). Many, many pools operate just fine without a main drain should that be the issue. As for the cold water temps ..... leak companies are prepared for that with wet suits. They'll be just fine.

Stay close to us here and use the search feature as much as you like. Leak detection is very common, so you'll find plenty of past experience here to help. Keep us posted!
 
I just went through a leak finding search. With the help of this forum and youtube I was able to eliminate the skimmer and return lines as the source. I located and fixed a long vertical crack which slowed but did not sole the problem. I let the water level fall to the point it was no longer leaking ( about 16" lower than normal). I located that the crack that I had fixed continued about 8 " lower. So I applied somemore 2 part epoxy to the crack which solved the problem for now. So thank you guys for the help.
 
So in my search for this leak I realized that the water goes down faster when the pump is running.

I also found a spot that I think is close to the leak source. There's a crack in the concrete that appears wet, even on dry sunny days. I never noticed this before since the pump runs at night and by the next day it is dry (as for why I have it run at night, my pump timer doesn't keep time properly, it spins too slow. Annoying, but anyway...). So I tested some more and when the pump is running, I saw some air bubbles popping up from the crack. I can't get the bubbles to appear every time, but I saw it happen at least once. The crack is near a return jet, about a foot or so from it.

Seems to me there could be a crack in a pipe under the cement. The return has a cap on it that makes the opening smaller which I guess creates higher pressure. Could this be putting too much pressure on the piping right behind it causing it to crack? It's been on there since I bought the house in the Summer.

EDIT: The return eyeball kind of looks like this. It's a slit that points to the side.

View attachment 55962
 
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