Skimmer - settling problem??

[poolboy10001]

I noticed the other day that in the bottom of my skimmer where the pvc pipe goes out the bottom that it is cracked about halfway around. When I run my fingers around the opening I can feel the pipe is pushing up through the bottom of the skimmer. The bottom of the skimmer bulges up around the opening. I am guessing that this has to do with settling of the concrete deck?? Is the concrete pushing the skimmer down and the pipe has nowhere to go?? I do know that the lines go straight down from the skimmer and are laying on the concrete footer. the only other possibility is that the footer is moving up, but I doubt that as everything else is still square - wall, etc.

The pool was built in 2008 and is a vinyl 16x32 pool. What can I do besides cut the concrete out and dig it up?? It will be leaking soon, i am sure. HELP!!

 

[X-PertPool]

It's not uncommon to see this, something has moved, more likely the decking has settled and the plumbing is staying put. Yes you could dig it up and fix it but a repair with plast-aid would most likely be permanent for most cases and will cost less than $20 to fix.

 

[poolboy10001]

Thanks for the idea. Never heard of Plast-aid but I will look into it. I assume I will need to pull down the water level and get the skimmer dry? Should I wait and see if the plumbing pushes through into the bottom of the skimmer and causes a leak or is there any structural benefit to adding the Plast aid and trying to reinforce where it has started cracking? It is not leaking yet.

Thanks again!

 

[X-PertPool]

Many pools just stay cracked like that and don't even leak. The plast-aid can be applied dry or underwater. What I would do is get the skimmer dry and shop vac the cracks so they are free of water. then mix the plast-aid and apply it while the plast-aid is still in a somewhat liquid state to ensure it gets deep into the cracks. This way freezing water/ice won't further expand the cracks. Remember to put a plug into the hole of the skimmer to shield the skimmer threads from any excess plast-aid.
http://www.amazon.com/Plast-aid-Repair- ... =plast-aid

 

[poolboy10001]

I pulled the collar out of the top and I think what is happening is that the concrete is pushing down on the skimmer. I am curious - if I take a small grinder and remove 1/4 inch of the concrete right where it meets the skimmer, would that allow the skimmer body to move up slightly and correct this issue?? I doubt the concrete will move anymore than it already has. Pic is attached of the view into the skimmer.

The pic is looking down into the skimmer, pool is to the left in the pic. So I would grind out around the top of the skimmer. That will pretty much be the bottom of the concrete so then the skimmer could slightly move back up?? Or at least not have any pressure on it. Then when I put the trim collar back in, the mess would be covered.

Ideas?? Opinions?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Grinding the decking away from the skimmer lip might work, but most inground skimmers are fully encased in concrete so it might not move back up once you've ground the concrete away. It's probably worth a try though.