New Pool Nightmare - Need Advise ASAP

[rooneyalyssa]

Hello,

Me and my husband built a pool with a independent contractor who then subcontracted all the work out. Everything was going great until the pool was finished and we filled it and we started losing water.... The subcontractor we used ghosted us..... So we had to resort to a leak detection company.

We hired a leak detection company they came and did all the pressure tests ( we have no leaks in the pipes, so it must be structral or fittings ) and decided based on where the water was in the ground that it must be leaking from behind a light in the pool. We paid them for the leak detection and the repair. We had to drain the pool for them to do the repair on the lights and when it was drained my husband noticed that one of the side suctions was leaking as well as a little leak in side of main drain ( guessing both were not plastered well ). My husband hired a subcontractor he knew to patch these issues.

We now just filled the pool yesterday and it is still leaking...... the leak detection company says they will charge again for leak detection which makes no sense to me, I feel like they are just trying to take our money. So we drained the pool again today and do not know where the leak is in the pool, we need help and feel like we have no one who gives us honest advice.. We notice two things that could possibly still be the issue, I have attached images. One is of the side suction that was patched already all around, I notice part of it is damp, not leaking though, can this still be the issue? another one is of a small area of plaster/pebble, we vacuum up this small puddle and 10 minutes later it is back. Is there a crack? is the plaster done wrong in this area? is this normal? And are either of these cracks capable of having a 26 x 17 pool leak about an 1 - 1.5 inches in less then 24 hours?

Please I need professional, honest advice. Would be much appreciated.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alyssa,

The best thing to do to find a pool leak is to fill the pool up and let it drain down until it stops.

Skimmers have the most leaks
Then comes the pool light
Then the main drain
The shell can leak that that is not too common.

Show us several pics of your pool and equipment pad and we can try and provide some better answers.

1 to 1.5" per day should be pretty obvious.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The pictures aren't very clear.

What is supposed to be the "side suction"? Is this a suction port for a suction vacuum cleaner? Or is it a wall suction for a pump?

Also, where is that water puddle on the floor in relation to your main drain? Does the main drain have a hydrostatic relief valve? What is the ground water saturation like in your area?

If you have ground water surrounding your pool you need to open up the hydrostatic valve to let the ground water pressure equalize with the pool or else you risk floating that pool out of the ground like a boat in water because that's exactly what it is. Pools can only be safely drained when there is little or no ground water in the area around the pool.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Also, if you have any pictures of the pool shell during the construction process, that would be helpful. We'd like to see what the plumbing looked like when the rebar cage was in place prior to the shotcrete/gunite shell formation.

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Alyssa,

The best thing to do to find a pool leak is to fill the pool up and let it drain down until it stops.

Skimmers have the most leaks
Then comes the pool light
Then the main drain
The shell can leak that that is not too common.

Show us several pics of your pool and equipment pad and we can try and provide some better answers.

1 to 1.5" per day should be pretty obvious.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi,

We did drain the pool down until there was no more water left. The pools lights were just put pool epoxy on behind them as well as around the main drains, pictures attached. Also attached a picture of what the pool looks like now and the skimmer. The skimmer there is water in it to where my finger is and does all of the skimmer look normal?

 

[rooneyalyssa]

The pictures aren't very clear.

What is supposed to be the "side suction"? Is this a suction port for a suction vacuum cleaner? Or is it a wall suction for a pump?

Also, where is that water puddle on the floor in relation to your main drain? Does the main drain have a hydrostatic relief valve? What is the ground water saturation like in your area?

If you have ground water surrounding your pool you need to open up the hydrostatic valve to let the ground water pressure equalize with the pool or else you risk floating that pool out of the ground like a boat in water because that's exactly what it is. Pools can only be safely drained when there is little or no ground water in the area around the pool.

Hi,

The side suction or maybe its called pump is on the side wall , the images is in my first post. The puddle on the ground is not in the main drain its just on an area of pebble next to it, is it normally to have spot on the pool floor that do no get totally dry? Texas soil is not the best very clay like. There is no water surrounding the pool though. Not sure where the hydrostatic valve is.

 

[aussieta]

as jim said best way is to let pool leak down to its level
and then see if it settles at the skimmer
or the lights
or lower will be main drain?hydrostatic valve
also just try leaving pump off and see if that makes a difference

 

[JJ_Tex]

We did drain the pool down until there was no more water left.

What Jim is saying is to fill the pool back up and do not add any more water and see where it stops going down. If the leak stops when the water gets below the skimmer, then that is you culprit. If it stops when it hits the light or a return, then that is your problem, and if it drans all the way down then it could be the drain.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alyssa,

Just so that we are all on the same page...

When a pool is full of water and you suspect a leak, one way to troubleshoot the problem is to turn off the pump and just let the pool sit. What often happens is that the water in the pool will quickly drop until it is just below where the leak is. In the case of a bad light niche, the water would stop just below the light.

Is that what you did, or did you just completely drain the pool in the hopes of finding the leak?

I still would like to see pics of your equipment pad so that I have an idea of the equipment you have and what other troubleshooting options we might have.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alyssa,

What is this a pic of???



It appears to have both input/output pipes capped off.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I believe the plug circled in RED needs to be removed and the YELLOW plug is the hydrostatic plug. If the yellow plug is not properly sealed then it will leak. It doesn’t look sealed to me. Simply tightening the plug into the opening without tape or sealant will cause a leak. The RED plug looks like it connects the drain in this picture to the other drain. Both drains should have their side plugs removed or else the pump will pull on a dead headed pipe.

Please confirm that the main drains are properly plumbed and configured.

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Alyssa,

What is this a pic of???

View attachment 466780

It appears to have both input/output pipes capped off.

Thanks,

Jim R.

my husband just capped those, those were not like that before

 

[rooneyalyssa]

I believe the plug circled in RED needs to be removed and the YELLOW plug is the hydrostatic plug. If the yellow plug is not properly sealed then it will leak. It doesn’t look sealed to me. Simply tightening the plug into the opening without tape or sealant will cause a leak. The RED plug looks like it connects the drain in this picture to the other drain. Both drains should have their side plugs removed or else the pump will pull on a dead headed pipe.

Please confirm that the main drains are properly plumbed and configured.
View attachment 466779

the red will be removed of course. The yellow plug we will try to tighten more but there is tape on there teflon

 

[kimkats]

I know your heart is breaking and your brain is on overload trying to figure this out. Do as the above posters have suggested and fill the pool back up and let the water show you/us where the leak is. We may be able to help you figure this all out with the pics asked for as well.

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Alyssa,

Just so that we are all on the same page...

When a pool is full of water and you suspect a leak, one way to troubleshoot the problem is to turn off the pump and just let the pool sit. What often happens is that the water in the pool will quickly drop until it is just below where the leak is. In the case of a bad light niche, the water would stop just below the light.

Is that what you did, or did you just completely drain the pool in the hopes of finding the leak?

I still would like to see pics of your equipment pad so that I have an idea of the equipment you have and what other troubleshooting options we might have.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Oh got it! we drained it, but that is a good idea we might have to try that for next time. here is a images of the equipment. Also the image of the random puddle in one area of the pool, does this look concerning? even have we vacuum the puddle it will form again 10 minutes late what can this mean , i attached image again. We do not see a crack at all visibly. Do random wet spot on the pebble that dont dry concerning or a sign of something? i put a image of the pool

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Also, if you have any pictures of the pool shell during the construction process, that would be helpful. We'd like to see what the plumbing looked like when the rebar cage was in place prior to the shotcrete/gunite shell formation.

This is the only image I have for this , not exactly sure what stage this was at.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alyssa,

When you have high ground water it is not all that unusual for some of it to sweep into the pool.

Did you notice this before they plastered the Pool?

In theory, when the pool is full the water pressure on both side of the shell are equal, so no water moves in or out.

I really don't think that is what is causing your pool to lose 1.5" per day.

I see you have a DE filter with a push/pull backwash valve. I am not say this is where you leak is, but it is another place to test. If the backwash valve is leaking, it can let water go out the backwash line. I suspect your backwash line is connected to the sewer, so you would never notice the leak. Just one more thing to check.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Alyssa,

The pic during your build sure does not show much of a high water table. I suspect it is due to all the rain we have had lately. It also appears you are on the lower side of the hill.

In your pic of the drain with the two plugs... If you vacuum out all the water does in fill back up with water on its own?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Alyssa,

When you have high ground water it is not all that unusual for some of it to sweep into the pool.

Did you notice this before they plastered the Pool?

In theory, when the pool is full the water pressure on both side of the shell are equal, so no water moves in or out.

I really don't think that is what is causing your pool to lose 1.5" per day.

I see you have a DE filter with a push/pull backwash valve. I am not say this is where you leak is, but it is another place to test. If the backwash valve is leaking, it can let water go out the backwash line. I suspect your backwash line is connected to the sewer, so you would never notice the leak. Just one more thing to check.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi,

Thank you,

my husband did notice this water there before the plaster, he think from rain though.

also i dont think it would be the backwash valvue as the pool leaks when the pump/filter is not on.

 

[rooneyalyssa]

Alyssa,

The pic during your build sure does not show much of a high water table. I suspect it is due to all the rain we have had lately. It also appears you are on the lower side of the hill.

In your pic of the drain with the two plugs... If you vacuum out all the water does in fill back up with water on its own?

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi,

yes, and since its plugged no, the only water going in there is the water from the puddle that accumulating next to it that dripping in it as i posted a image of in my first post.