Help! Need to redirect plumbing out of basement and reroute to outside

[BrendaK]

We bought our house with a 20x40 inground pool that hasn't been opened in 5 years. It's a complete frog pond. The filter and pump are plumbed into the basement of our house and we need to get those pipes rerouted outside to prevent any possibilities of it flooding the basement (it happened to the previous homeowner) I think I have figured out what the lines are inside and I have dug outside the basement wall and unearthed each of them. I'm not sure which suction line is the skimmer and I'm assuming the other is the main drain but I can't see the bottom of the pool to locate it. The skimmer is plugged. There is one jet on the side that is plugged. I found another possible jet hole on the shallow end of the pool that seemed much lower than the other jet and from what I could feel through the industrial strength rubber gloves I wore it felt different than the known jet. Whether this is a vacuum line- I don't know.
My question is this- I can either leave the plugs in the skimmer and jets (assuming that 2nd one has a plug) or I can drain it to just below those areas to prevent water draining when we cut the lines outside of the house. But what do I do about the main drain line? How will we be able to reroute this line without water pouring out of the tubing when we cut the existing line and try to attach new pvc to the outside of the house?
Is this something we should attempt or hire someone? We need a new pump and filter and that is going to eat up a good portion of our reserved pool funds so I'd like to do as much as I can myself. The shut off calves are on the inside section of pipes unfortunately.
Also- in this situation how do I determine which line is the main drain vs skimmer coming into the pump?

 

[tmobileguy]

What about instead of trying to do all the work of moving the pipes out, just build a pan underneath your plumbing with some kind of condensate pump or some type of pump that will just pump the water out if you spring a leak? You could even hook it into your waste line since it is already set up for you....

 

[440dodge440]

Does the main drain appear to be routed through the skimmer? Many are built that way, so you could just plug the port in the skimmer if so....

 

[BrendaK]

What about instead of trying to do all the work of moving the pipes out, just build a pan underneath your plumbing with some kind of condensate pump or some type of pump that will just pump the water out if you spring a leak? You could even hook it into your waste line since it is already set up for you....

Unfortunately it's just too risky to keep the equipment inside the house. The damage the previous 'leak' caused was almost $20,000 and we can't risk an insurance company denying a claim since one was already placed for this reason. There is a dump pump connected in that room (that is what the black hose is laying diagonally behind the multi port. We even though about cutting the lines inside and running them through a mini window in that room but was told it would create too many problems especially when it comes time to winter use and blowing the pipes out with too many elbows in the design. Thank you for the suggestion though, I am open to hearing anything

 

[BrendaK]

Does the main drain appear to be routed through the skimmer? Many are built that way, so you could just plug the port in the skimmer if so....

I think I could only feel one drain hole in the skimmer when I cleaned the muck out of it. If it is routed through the skimmer would it still be a separate pipe coming into the house as the two pipes with the shut off valves are the two that I can't determine which is what. I know one is the skimmer but not sure if it's the one on the left or right. Then I guess if the main is connected to filter could that second line in be that second 'jet' I saw which could be a vacuum port? I'm guessing if the main drain does connect to the filter it does so below the basket which I don't have access to because of the cement patio.

 

[VikingPoolMan]

This problem would be difficult to give help without actually being there because there's not enough information in that picture to understand your system completely (and it may get confusing explaining over a forum).

That said, if you can't plug every line at the pool (for whatever reason) and you are worried about water coming out of the pipes when you cut them, here is an option (I've done it many times).... if you cut a pipe outside and water starts flowing out, simply plug the pipe (to stop the water flow), then glue a ball valve over the pipe (while the pipe is still plugged and dry, of course).... let the glue cure for a bit then remove the plug... then close the ball valve and you can work without worrying about water.

I did a similar trick here (not exactly - I used a coupling, not a ball valve, because I was only a 1/2 inch under the water line)... but you can see what I am talking about (just imagine using a ball valve instead of the coupling)... *I used a threaded rod with two nuts and two big washers that sandwiched a rag between it (then pushed it into the pipe to stop the water). Here's the link: Pool Pump and Filter Installation - YouTube ...you can fast-forward to 2:00 ... then watch to 3:10. *before you cut the pipe, please make certain your plug works and your are comfortable with the idea. Hope this helps!

 

[BrendaK]

Thank you!! This sounds like a very possible solution! To complicate things even more, the pipes outside are under our porch with military crawl access only. I dug the pipes out 2' down and 4' across to get to them- all with a gardening hand shovel haha!! So my goal is going to be to dig them out to as close to the pool side as possible before making the cuts. Then my husband, who is 6'1, could have better access to help me.
This forum has been the most helpful, friendly site. I am so thankful I came across this group online!!! Thank you everyone for being awesome!!! ������