Well, it’s a good thing I never got the pump running after all. You know, if I’m going to be a bright side kind of person....
I had the local pool company (that I got my chlorine from) out at my house today to close the pool. They also measured for a mesh safety cover. While they were blowing out the lines, they noticed the liner bulging out in the deep end, about 3 feet from another return. As it turns out, the “return” was actually another Polaris port, and the return was actually covered by both the liner AND the foam.
This pool co and the employees know my PB, and they said initially that he does good work, and they work with him by providing water deliveries, parts, chemicals, etc. They didn’t want to “step on his toes” by taking me on as a client until he stood us up the last time. Today, when the guys discovered the concealed return, they seemed disgusted, surprised, and a little concerned. My husband, on the other hand is MAD.
They wanted to walk away, I could tell, and have me call the PB to fix his mistake (there was risk they’d tear my liner, since it was cold today.) However, I think they knew that he’d leave me hanging. They didn’t come out and say so, but they sort of insinuated that this was a “rookie” mistake, and one that had the potential to be really bad. I can understand their reluctance (you break it you buy it.) I was really grateful for their excellent customer service and professionalism (they could have smack-talked but they didn’t.)
The guys performed what appeared to me to be pool “surgery.” They used a heat gun CAREFULLY to warm up the vinyl to make it more pliable, then gently peeled the liner back, lined it with cardboard to protect it while cutting the foam, then carefully cut out the return, inserted a gasket (I think?), put the liner back, cut out the return, and put a new frame around it. They checked it for leaks, and then sealed it up like the others.
The guys warned me that the PB may have misidentified which port was a return vs Polaris when he (the PB) pressure tested the lines, and not tested the return. He said he thought it seemed ok. He said if all the others were ok, it wasn’t likely that one wasn’t also. He told me not to worry about it or the small amount of water that got between the poly and the foam bc it would just seep through the vermiculite. He said to just be thankful and relieved they found it, and that I had a busted pump.
So, now I have a “closed” (yet still cover less) pool and winterized lines, and a leftover Polaris port I can use in the future if I choose, but still no pump, no filter, no patio, and no transformer for my pool lights (PB has yet to get that to me).
Oh, and I learned why the two ports on my stairs are different than my returns. Because they *aren’t* returns after all...they are some kind of “spa-like” feature that you can add air to by opening a valve at the top of the steps to create pressure and simulate the jets in a jacuzzi. I just need to get the special attachments that go into the ports. Excellent!
And! When they blew out the lines we found my slide supply buried in the soon to be patio. We dug it out, they winterized it for me, and I can now have my patio poured around it.
The two sets of random pipes coming out of the ground...still no idea. Lol. We have all winter to think about it I guess.
I got nothing....................Just glad you found these guys that stepped up and helped you out.
) or, at all given my complete ignorance to pool plumbing/mechanicals.
