Leak in pool with leak detection company coming to repair

[homegameroom]

So I have a leak in my pool. I don't believe it is in the shell, and some preliminary leak detecting by me and my trusty syringe of food coloring makes it look like it is in a return line (I do not have the ability to close off that line). I always felt like there might be a small leak somewhere, but something has changed because now I'm losing a good 1/2 inch or more per day.

I have a screen enclosure over the pool and, even if I wanted to, there just is not much room to bring anything in to break up the patio around the pool - and I do NOT want that to happen!! Besides that, I'm in the process of replacing the roof on my house, so my reserves of cash are down to $0.

A pool leak company is coming in tomorrow to find it and recommend repairs. I've looked online and there appears to be are a number of options for repairing underground plumbing leaks without completely replacing the lines. Is there anything I should look out for or avoid?

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

 

[kimkats]

I look forward to seeing what the leak company has to say. You say you cannot close off the line to the returns. How many returns do you have and do all of the come back the pad to one pipe?

 

[homegameroom]

I hope there is an "easy" fix (said every pool owner ever!). There are 5 returns coming into the pool and they all leave the equipment pad in one pipe. :-(

 

[kimkats]

Well here is hoping they can find it fast and a fix does not involve a jack hammer

 

[homegameroom]

Or a concrete saw. ?

 

[homegameroom]

The leak detection guy called to ask me about the leak - i told him all the details - losing ~3/4" per day, the attached spa doesn't lose a drop of water, and the return line I suspect the leak is in. He seems pretty confident its a cracked pipe and, of course, there is only 1 way to fix it (and it involves either a jackhammer or concrete saw). he said he would probably get to my house early; i can't get out of work until after 1:00 so I might miss him. He said he'd take pictures and send me a detailed report. I gave his company my credit card info; the cost of the detection is $350. Let's hope the repair(s) are cheap and easy (said every pool owner ever!).

 

[homegameroom]

Sooooo. A very nice guy came out at 11:30 to check the pool out. He was very thorough and tested everything. All of the lines are good, no cracks, no broken plumbing, but he took the covers off of the 2 main drains and discovered a couple of epoxy repairs at the seam of the pool to the drain. Sure enough, one of the repairs was leaking. He put some epoxy on the leak and it should be fine....for now. The areas around the drains looked pretty bad. The housings were fine, but the area around the top where they seal to the pool just does not look good.

So, for only $1495 cry they will come out, drain the pool and dig out the area around the 2 main drains, repair them, and replace the diamond brite coating in the pool. It should be complete in 1 day (I'm told), so I scheduled it for next week Thursday - just in case something goes wrong. The repair should look good (keeping my fingers crossed). I'm all for repairing it rather than patching it. I love the pool and don't want to worry about it.

Here is a pic of the drain with a little epoxy on it. Ill post repairs of the real work when it starts.

 

[Newdude]

Sorry you had to make that choice but you made the right one, albeit a costly one. Piece of mind is priceless though.

 

[Jimrahbe]

HGR,

I would think about moving the repair out a couple of weeks, just to make sure their temp fix really worked, before going ahead with the long term fix...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sktn77a]

So, for only $1495 cry they will come out, drain the pool and dig out the area around the 2 main drains, repair them, and replace the diamond brite coating in the pool.

Actually, I don't think that's a particularly bad price if it fixes the leak. Do they guarantee their diagnosis and fix?

 

[kimkats]

Please know the new plaster will not really match. I am sure they will try but I want you to have that in mind so you are not too disappointed.

 

[homegameroom]

They offer a 1 year guarantee, which is pretty nice. I know the plaster won’t match perfectly, but I’ve seen some pretty awful repairs where it looks like the repair people didn’t even try to get it to look the same. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!

 

[homegameroom]

HGR,

I would think about moving the repair out a couple of weeks, just to make sure their temp fix really worked, before going ahead with the long term fix...

Thanks,

Jim R.

my checkbook certainly agrees with you, but both drains had a few repairs already and they kind of look like Crud- and this leak appeared fairly suddenly. I don’t want it to spring up again if I’m out of town.

ive only owned the house for the past 4 years,so I don’t know the entire history of the pool. Better safe than sorry (I hope!)

 

[homegameroom]

Well, the leak is gone, so the epoxy repair did the trick. Time to stock up on some salt , CYA, chlorine and borax to get ready for the drain, repair, and refill next week.

 

[homegameroom]

It’s repair day! The technician arrived a little early and draining has started- and is moving along quickly!

 

[homegameroom]

Yikes! The pool walls didn’t look bad when it was full of water. What is this? Copper staining? It’s an 18 year old pool. I’ve only been here for 5 years and never added copper.

 

[homegameroom]

That was quick!

 

[homegameroom]

Drain # 1 has a lot of epoxy in it from other repairs.

 

[homegameroom]

Drain #2 does not look any better.

 

[kimkats]

So it has been a problem from long ago. Here is hoping YOUR crew can fix it and fix it right!

We will work on the stains. Try this link: Stains in Your Pool - Trouble Free Pool Let us know what you find when you do the "tests".

Kim