Water leak and causes?

[dscut]

My pool is having water leaking issue since we purchased the house in Spring. It is getting worse as time goes by and I have tried to replace the gasket for multivalve to save water from draining down through the valve. It appears to have nothing to do with the leak. I am planning to drain the pool to work several maintenance including patch several plaster spots and fix missing tiles. Is there any good way to locate the leak? What might be most likely places for water to leak?

another related question is for the missing tiles - I am planning to use either stone or something similar to replace missing tiles on the jacuzzi, is it a normal practice or will it look ugly? what might be the best replacement for the whole top tiles for Jacuzzi?

Thanks and I always appreciate all your help!

Dave

 

[Patrick_B]

There is no clear cut answer for this as the potential for leaks is too varied. It is usually a process of elimination and best to get some expert help unless you can nail it down to something fairly obvious. Sorry to be vague and of no help, but leaks are not easy by a long shot. Others will weigh in with more.

 

[duraleigh]

How much water does your pool lose daily?

 

[dscut]

I guess the water leaks on daily basis is around 1/6-1/7 of the intake of the skimmer. and my pool is 25k gallon.

 

[linen]

I guess the water leaks on daily basis is around 1/6-1/7 of the intake of the skimmer. and my pool is 25k gallon.

So that sounds like about 1" per day? If yes, then that definitely sounds like a leak. What pool surface do you have (plaster, vinyl, or fiberglass)? You may want to let the level continue to drop at least until it is a ways below the skimmer and any wall returns to see if those are culprits.

 

[dscut]

I have to stop the pump as the water now is near the bottom of skimmer intake and the pump is running without water. It is a plaster based pool surface. Not sure what might be the best way to do some self-diagnostics before getting some professionals to help.

 

[Patrick_B]

Get it below the intakes and let's see if you leak then. If it still does, you can then see if it is worse when the pump is on or off. Leaks are a bit of a puzzle sometimes based on what I've seen here.

 

[hoosierrun]

If you can go a couple of days without running the pump, let the water fall to the point that it doesn't drop anymore. I f it drops right to the bottom of the skimmer, suspect the skimmer or plumbing below it. Put a rubber plug in the skimmer outlet(s) to block the plumbing below. A lot of leaks end up around the skimmer on old pools. Check for cracks and seal suspicious looking seams with pool putty. You can also seal around your outlets in the pool with pool putty.

Remember that your pool will only drain to the water table if the leak is further down, and be careful not to pump out your pool much below the waterline. That could cause it to crack or raise up.

 

[Patrick_B]

dscut, it would be helpful to know where you are. Do you have a high water table?

 

[dscut]

Great suggestions - I have stopped the pump yesterday and it looks like the water is not dropping without running the pump. Now the water is close to the low end of the skimmer outlet (probably around 2mm above the low end). What is water table? Sorry but I have no idea about it - I may need to take that into consideration when draining the pool sometime in the next two weeks. I am in the Woodlands, TX 77382.

Another issue that may relate to what's happening, but I am not sure. I have some standing water (limited amount) in my lawn to the left side of the pool. It happened last time when I forgot to turn off my sprinkler and I thought it relates to the sprinkler control but have not yet have the time to check it out. If the water leaks from the pool, I assume the water will find it way to the drainage but not necessarily stay on the ground. Am I right?

 

[Patrick_B]

Maybe, but you could have a plumbing leak from the pool, hence the suggestion for leaving the pump off at some point to see. Also, there is a lot of clay in some places down there and that would help hold water as well.

 

[scoop302]

Sorry to hear about your leak. I had one and it drove me crazy to find it. It is amazing the knowledge you gain when you encounter something like this. The first things to do are eliminate the obvious, pool light, return jets, etc. Use a dye syringe to see if there are leaks around these. pool off, try to keep water still, syringe comes with a long pull out extension. You can get on at a pool store. My leak was at the skimmer. I couldn't tell by syringe, but pool would lose water and then stop when level was below inlet to skimmer. I paid a leak guy $100 to confirm. He said that skimmer is set in concrete after it is set in place when pool is constructed. Mine was not, just set on sand and gravel, so as the leak got worse, this washed away. I figured it was worth it to pay an expert as cutting into the deck seemed expensive if I was wrong. This is a $850 to $1000 job from 2 leak guys in my area. The guy that looked at mine said that he sees this a lot, it is easy for the PB to get away with and is cheaper and faster. The downside is it comes back to haunt the owner and is expensive to fix. If you can still not find the leak, you are now getting into pressure checking the system and you need to get someone who does this all the time to do. Ask your pool store who they use. Good luck.