crack repair question

[PoolCleanerMom]

We're in the process of having our pool resurfaced including repair of a crack (which was leaking) near the skimmer:

Initially the contractor said they would inject epoxy in the crack, but now they're saying they'll fill it with hydraulic cement and put a plastic mesh membrane over it and then more concrete. Any experience/opinions on which method is more durable?

 

[solarboy]

You could do both. The crack could be so small that they can't get epoxy in there, in which case the solution they suggest is fine. It's near the top of the pool so water pressure is low. I wouldn't worry.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I'd say the hydraulic cement and mesh is the best fix for that. Plain epoxy would probably spall out after a time.

 

[PoolCleanerMom]

the drain, it's plain, is mainly quite a pain?

Background: we're in the process of leak repair and resurfacing of a 1960's era rectangular IGP. Leak detection co. found highest readings from the crack in the pool wall near the skimmer and behind the skimmer in the line leading from the skimmer to the pump (they rec'd replacing skimmer since the leak couldn't be repaired without damaging the skimmer - and since it's the original one, we figured it was due for replacement anyway). Pool has one skimmer, one external vacuum port in the pool wall about a yard to the left of the skimmer, one return, and a main drain that didn't appear to be working as far as we could tell. Our best old-pool-archaeologist guess is that this stuck valve in the pool deck was once the thing that controlled how much flow was coming from main drain, vacuum port, or skimmer:

Enter pool contractor - they remove the old fiberglass (pool is concrete/plaster, previous homeowner had it fiberglassed probably about 15 years ago), split out main drain (project mgr. says they *should* have pressure tested prior to doing this but don't know if they did), prepped pool surface up to applying bond coat, and then when they were about to install the new skimmer they found the system wouldn't hold pressure. This is what it looks like now:

Project mgr. and sales guy confer with their plumbing guy and their conclusion was that the best course of action would be to void the main drain and core drill the pool wall under the skimmer to install two equalizer lines and a new suction line to the filter pump. Our concerns/questions are as follows:

- worried that adding more holes under skimmer would further weaken an area that already has one crack

- how advantageous is it to have a separate suction line under the skimmer versus just connecting the suction cleaner through the skimmer?

- anyone with experience with 1960's vintage copper pipes want to weigh in on the likelihood that the main drain line is shot? Would it be worthwhile to cut the concrete around where the pipe from the main drain comes up to the valve to check the condition of the pipe? Having struggled with mediocre circulation and recurring algae in dead zones of the pool for prior seasons, it'd be nice if we could have the main drain operational again.

thanks for any input!

 

[JasonLion]

Main drains in particular and copper pipes in general tend to have problems. It is hardly surprising that yours is having problems. Restoring the main drain is likely to be very expensive.

It is best keep any new holes through the wall away from the crack, but they don't need to be very far away. Five or six inches away should be enough.

Having a separate suction port for a suction side robot is really nice, certainly not required, but nice.

 

[PoolCleanerMom]

Thanks - that's helpful info to know!

 

[PoolCleanerMom]

OK - one more question while we're waiting for work to resume on our pool (combination of rain and emailing back and forth with the contractor about things like where they'll be putting the new suction line). We got about a foot of water in the deep end over the past few weeks and now that the weather is warming back up again we're finding mosquito larvae there. We're using a submersible pump to drain some of the water out now but have a couple q's - the pool surface is currently still the bond coat - if we added chlorine to any standing water in the pool, would it adversely affect the bond coat (or, how much chlorine can we add without adversely affecting the bond coat?) thanks!