We bought this house a year ago and it has a "vintage" Anthony Pools inground pool. Like most things in this house, it is still circa 1962 originality except where things needed replaced. It was a rental for years before we bought it so everything was done cheaply via handyman, including the replacement of the original skimmer. A few months ago we removed the pool decking to replace it and discovered that the skimmer had literally separated from the side of the pool (1/4 inch gap all around). It is the type with 2 holes in the bottom, one to go to the pump and the other comes up from the pool main drain and you use a disk to change the flow skimmer/drain or both. So we had it repaired and put back on buy a local pool repair guy (not a company). He did a good job. Yesterday we finished other things we needed to do (replace original non operational light, electric lines, etc) did an acid wash and started filling her up.
And then, water started gushing out from under the skimmer once the water reached that level. It's not up to the skimmer yet, but up to the level that would be underneath. Upon researching we have discovered a pretty back crack in the main drain pipe just under where it connects to the skimmer. It is an original copper line and the crack is about 1/2 inch under where it joins the pvc to go into the bottom of the skimmer. We have stopped filling the pool and are trying to figure out what to do. Is there a way to patch or repair this without removing the skimmer? Something DIY would be best as we have already sunk WAAAAAY over our budget for getting this pool ready for summer and we still have to have the deck poured (it's still just dirt from when we removed it). Thank you for advice/suggestions.
And then, water started gushing out from under the skimmer once the water reached that level. It's not up to the skimmer yet, but up to the level that would be underneath. Upon researching we have discovered a pretty back crack in the main drain pipe just under where it connects to the skimmer. It is an original copper line and the crack is about 1/2 inch under where it joins the pvc to go into the bottom of the skimmer. We have stopped filling the pool and are trying to figure out what to do. Is there a way to patch or repair this without removing the skimmer? Something DIY would be best as we have already sunk WAAAAAY over our budget for getting this pool ready for summer and we still have to have the deck poured (it's still just dirt from when we removed it). Thank you for advice/suggestions.