Request advice - repair piping under concrete walkway

[flap152]

Hi there. First post. Love the content and tone of posts I read so far.

I'm looking for hints in repairing a leak in piping under the cement walkway, next to the entry stairs to my inground vinyl lined pool. I know it's there beacause I hear a gurgling sound. Those pipes were not used until last week, when I added a solar heater. What I'm looking for is probably not advice for the piping itself, but on how to get there as easily as possible and not breaking anything.

The walkway is already slightly sloped down towards the exterior, but that's the case all around the pool, as a result of poor water and slope management in the yard itself: Not adding soil to the lawn for 25 years, allowing the lawn be lower than the concrete slab, while most neighbours have slightly higher yards. I have fixed the lawn level that in other areas around the pool and have had to "insert" earth under the slab in other areas. I just mean that I expect some void underneath there and the slope is not solely caused by the leak, because those pipes were not used until recently.

The slab is about 4 inches thick, in "sections" of about 6 feet, in the sense every second one of the lines used to properly manage the inevitable cracks have been used. The width of the slab at that point is about 30 inches. I do not think there is any "gravel" left between the concrete and the soil.


How deep should I expect to dig to be able to work underneath there? Will I need to put supports underneath the slab where I work. What should I watchout for?

Thanks

 

[Bama Rambler]

Welcome to TFP

Not being smart but you'll have to dig out a place big enough to find the leak and be able to get in there and fix it. The size of the dig all depends on where the leak is and how large (and long armed) you are. It'd take a big ole hole for me.

Again, depending on how big a hole you have to dig and where it is in relation to the cracks will determine whether you need to support the slab.

Since the slab is only 30" wide and 6' long I'd consider cutting the piece out and temporarily removing it while I fixed the plumbing. Once done you could replace it and seal the joints. That way you could insure adequate backfill and compaction under the section.

 

[flap152]

Thanks for the reply. Yes there are general tips, but I had not considered moving the slab. That's the kind of advice I'm looking for. I'm rather handy, but mostly have experience with indoor stuf (wood, plaster, electricity, plumbing, etc.)

I will check how cleanly the slab could be separated. I think this slab is against the molded plastic stairs, not involved with the edge of the pool wall and liner. I know next to nothing about the construction of this pool since it was there when I bought the house. I mean, besides the general principle of metal walls with anchors for the liner, and a concrete slab laid around it. I don't even know what is under the liner in the bottom of the pool: concrete, fibreglass and/or steel? another topic I for research...