Pool won't stop weeping, can't plaster

[kmom]

We have now been waiting over a month for plaster, but we cannot because the pool will not stop weeping. They have drilled a few weep holes in the walls, but we are still weeping. I am in North Texas, so the rains that we've had (and more coming next week) keep making the weeping worse.

We are supposed to get NPT Quartzscapes, and PB said they cannot plaster it until the weeping stops. They did say that Stonescapes is not a sensitive to the weeping, however I am not a fan of the pebble finish and would prefer something with a smoother finish.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Perhaps other products that aren't as sensitive to the weeping? Or ideas to help it dry faster. At this rate it feels like we are never going to finish our pool. ?

 

[pooldv]

Yeah, that is a bummer. This black clay soil really holds moisture. We are soggy over here on the east side too. It will be worth the wait. Still too cold to swim anyway.

 

[Gear30]

Hello Kmom,

Did you ever get your plaster in? We are just south of you near Burleson and we have been waiting since last November when we got that 10" gullywasher around Thanksgiving. I'm convinced this thing will never dry out. If they did plaster it already, was it completely dry or still weeping a bit? Our plaster guy says he will do it if we want, but he would rather we keep waiting... It looks like we have hot dry days ahead, so ill keep working on my patience.

 

[kmom]

Nope. 73 days and counting since the first day they came to plaster. We are still weeping.

You've been waiting since November?!? Yikes, and I thought mine was taking forever.

It looks like today is the last rainy day in the 15 day forecast. I just need a good stretch of hot and dry weather to hopefully get this thing to dry out. I hope yours dries out too. I feel your pain.

 

[martinkennedy]

Did the anyone talk about waterproofing the inside of the pool shell to stop the weeping?

 

[kmom]

Did the anyone talk about waterproofing the inside of the pool shell to stop the weeping?

There was talk of using some sort of clear sealer on it, but I don't have a product name. They came last Monday to supposedly seal it, but honestly it looked exactly the same as before. I wasn't able to catch them while they were here to verify if they actually sealed it or not, but they did fill the weeping holes with the hydrolic cement (I'm no expert, but this seems to have been done prematurely). They were supposed to come Friday to "seal" it again, but never showed up. We've had a bunch of rain this weekend, so we seem to be right back to square one with the amount of water seeping through the walls, only now we don't have the weep holes anymore to help with the drainage. I'm trying to keep it pumped as dry as I can, and hoping that this next week of hot weather will help us out.


Has anyone had experience with waterproofing the gunite before plaster?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Water proofing the inside of the shell, in my option, is more than worthless. They did it to my pool about 4 times in a row and it made absolutely no difference..

So, I feel your pain. My pool also looked the same as yours this time last year. That did all the "tricks" that they said would make it possible to plaster, but none of them worked. Finally, after screwing with it for several months, they had to remove the decking on two side of the pool where the water was weeping the most. Once the decking was out they dug a two foot wide, 5 foot deep trench on both side and filled it with gravel. Then they had to did a 8 foot deep hole in the corner and added a heavy plastic culvert pipe on end. At the bottom of the pipe I now have a sump pump that cycles on and off 24/7 to remove the ground water. Apparently there is an underground stream, whose flow was interrupted when the pool was installed.

Once they did that and reinstalled the decking, the weeping stopped and the pool was plastered. Not sure you have the same problem, but when the drilled through the gunite to "relieve" the pressure, the water shot into the pool like drilling into the side of a boat.



The good news was the PB kept at it until it was fixed, but I suspect he never had one as bad as mine. The funny part was it did not really flood when the hole was just dirt, but it did make the bottom of the hole a little muddy.

Good luck,

Jim R.

 

[allinspector]

It would seem like a more direct solution to dig down around the pool and pump the ground water out

 

[kmom]

Water proofing the inside of the shell, in my option, is more than worthless. They did it to my pool about 4 times in a row and it made absolutely no difference..

So, I feel your pain. My pool also looked the same as yours this time last year. That did all the "tricks" that they said would make it possible to plaster, but none of them worked. Finally, after screwing with it for several months, they had to remove the decking on two side of the pool where the water was weeping the most. Once the decking was out they dug a two foot wide, 5 foot deep trench on both side and filled it with gravel. Then they had to did a 8 foot deep hole in the corner and added a heavy plastic culvert pipe on end. At the bottom of the pipe I now have a sump pump that cycles on and off 24/7 to remove the ground water. Apparently there is an underground stream, whose flow was interrupted when the pool was installed.

Once they did that and reinstalled the decking, the weeping stopped and the pool was plastered. Not sure you have the same problem, but when the drilled through the gunite to "relieve" the pressure, the water shot into the pool like drilling into the side of a boat.

View attachment 50147

The good news was the PB kept at it until it was fixed, but I suspect he never had one as bad as mine. The funny part was it did not really flood when the hole was just dirt, but it did make the bottom of the hole a little muddy.

Good luck,

Jim R.

Wow, that sounds involved! I'm glad they were able to find a solution for you! I'm not sure my PB is motivated to go to such lengths. ? Would you please PM me the name of your PB? Perhaps they would be willing to come and give me a second opinion? Or would it be strange if I told my PB that your PB has dealt with this before and maybe they could offer some advice on how to remedy this? I'm getting the impression from my PB that they don't have much/any experience with pools weeping as bad as mine. I'm not sure if that sort of collaboration is done in this industry.

Part of my problem is that a major part of the weeping is underneath the spa. I have serious concerns removing any dirt beneath it and then creating a situation where the dirt is not totally compacted and providing the necessary support for the structure and will one day lead to it cracking. PB does offer a lifetime warranty, but I really don't want to go through the headache of needing the warranty.