Vinyl Pool Restoration

[jordangregory]

I am thinking about redoing the underground pipes in my outdoor pool. I have been having a small suction side air leak.
My pool was built in 1960, so it is getting up there in years. The liner was redone in 2006 along with a new filter and pool light. The electric to the pool was redone in 2009. I think a few years back a few underground leaks were fixed as well where air was getting in on the suction side and water was leaking a bit on the only pool water return (jet that pushes water into the pool).
I am wondering what the underground steel frame is like as well. Do those go bad?? Do they rust out?
Also, if I redo the pipes, I am assuming I will just dig a trentch, lay down PVC pipe, and cut off the old black poly.
There is only about a 2 - 3 foot curtain of concrete around my pool so my hope is that I only have to dig up concrete in the small section in front of the returns and jets to attach the new pipe.
I am also wondering about the concrete around my pool. It seems to have dropped 1 - 2 inches in certain spots near the pool edge. The old owner put concrete patch on the area where the concrete curtain lines up with the pool edge. Not sure why, perhaps to stop water from going down in that area.
My question is, should I try to renevate myself or just fill in the pool. I am not sure if once I redo the pipes that all problems will be solved and nothing else catasrophic will happen.

 

[Heckpools]

With only 2-3ft of concrete you should be able to tunnel under it to get to the returns on the pool wall. Im replacing a skimmer line on tuesday and plan to do just that. I personally would Run new pvc from the pool walls and continue with new plumbing & valves above ground as well at the pump and filter. Might as well do it all at once ya know? Im not big on cutting out concrete if i dont have to. Ill take some pics of the skimmer line im doing and post them next week.

Is the concrete that dropped a few inches near the line you think is leaking? Water can be washing away the dirt from under the concrete causing it to drop down.

Its hard to say either, "go ahead you can fix it" or "fill it in!" with out knowing you and your skill levels. Its not very difficult to replace plumbing lines. Just take your time and remember dont get frustrated if you run into an issue. Plenty of people here willing to offer help along the way.

TAKE PICS OF YOUR POOL AND POST THEM HERE ASAP. It will make it much easier for us to help ya

 

[jordangregory]

Here is a picture of the pool. It has that 2-3 foot curtain as, grass on one side and easily removable bricks on the other.

http://www.twolveswaterpolo.com/images/pool/1.JPG

 

[waste]

Thanks for the pic

The skimmer has already been worked on once, probably the 90* at the bottom failed.

For the most part, black poly doesn't fail, it's usually the connections between the sections, or the clamps. You can pressure test the line to be sure that the pipe is good, once you replace the leaking fitting.

I'm not a big fan of black poly (because of the fittings/ clamp failure) but it is certainly sturdy

If you want to replumb the lines with PVC (sch 40 ) we can 'walk' you through how to do it

I'd prefer you to keep the pool and will assist you in the decisions and 'how to's' on doing so

 

[jordangregory]

Thanks for the advice.
I am still seeing a tiny bit of bubbles coming into my skimmer basket just before the pump and when I turn the pump off for a few hours, it loses it's prime.
As I understand it, this means there is an air leak somewhere.
Can I get away with this problem for a while? Maybe just do something if things get worse?
I am the type that wants the problem fixed no matter what.
My problem is that I can't seem to find where the leak is.
If it is underground, how can I find it without paying someone big money to find it for me?