I've been in state of remodel for my pool due to a leak that started back in January. I will update this thread with a bunch of progress photos and learning as it's been quite a roller coaster adventure!
Currently 86 days into it. From drain to replastering, back to drain for to repair, and now day 7 post refill it seems I'm still dealing with a problem.
At present, I'm stuck with a leak that niche that I observed after we filled the pool post plaster. It didn't show up immediately (it took about a week for the exposed dirt to show it). When I reported it, the pool builder didn't think it was a leak because it wasn't that wet. I dug down 2 inches and got mud. They came out and trenched, and it turns out the leak was coming from a cut rigid conduit from the original niche. They plugged that up, leak persisted, did wet patch with 2 part pool putty epoxy, but the leak was worse. So then they had me drain the pool halfway so they could service. Inside they discovered a plastic niche inserted into the stainless steel niche. They siliconed the power cable entry (and the ground) and then applied 4 layers of wet cement on the back of the niche. I refilled the pool and began chemical start up (again).
About 2 days in post refill I noticed the cement getting wet in three different points. I tracked this for a couple of days (taking photos) and the wetness in those spots never went away. This part of the pool is exposed to full sun for about 3/4 of the day, and we've had some intense heat and clear skies. While the cement would show some drying after such days, late afternoon and onwards the wet spot would grow again. There's also a lot of efflorescence build up occurring in these spots.
Pool builder had me do a bucket test. I didn't observe any significant loss (most generous estimate is maybe 1/8" but more likely 1/16" loss in 24 hours). He tells me I did it wrong and to do another bucket test (on the 2nd step) for 3 days. I try to get more information since he tells me I didn't do it right, get disconnected. When he gets back to me a couple of hours later, pool builder tells me he will be back tomorrow to put some more cement on the niche and to do some more trenching under the niche.
We had a water tight pool post leak repair before the job - no water loss. We did leak detection during the remodeling (I paid extra for it) and all pipes were pressure seal tight. Pool builder on the call tried to suggest that I had this problem from before and how was I able to prove it (I said I have metered usage on the water bills to show it).
I've tried not to second guess his work, and being a nice guy, I suggested patching and then resolving with a more permanent fix. His idea is that this is the permanent fix, but it seems primed to fail well before the term of my fresh plaster job.
Would love to hear your thoughts, and for anyone in the trade, your opinions. My family is filled with tradesmen so I always try to give benefit of doubt towards the builder first.
My thought is to replace the niche with a stainless steel unit. If the plaster must be chipped out and cannot be matched, I would have them re-plaster (it's brand new!). Our discussions have centered around that this should have been caught when they did the work on the light area (which I paid 1.5K for), and I did catch the builder yelling at his foreman for not doing this right. I didn't even know what a niche was until this issue emerged. I paid for new skimmer, auto filler, and split channel drain - expectation would have been this as well. New renovation, new everything. I paid a lot for everything else!
Currently 86 days into it. From drain to replastering, back to drain for to repair, and now day 7 post refill it seems I'm still dealing with a problem.
At present, I'm stuck with a leak that niche that I observed after we filled the pool post plaster. It didn't show up immediately (it took about a week for the exposed dirt to show it). When I reported it, the pool builder didn't think it was a leak because it wasn't that wet. I dug down 2 inches and got mud. They came out and trenched, and it turns out the leak was coming from a cut rigid conduit from the original niche. They plugged that up, leak persisted, did wet patch with 2 part pool putty epoxy, but the leak was worse. So then they had me drain the pool halfway so they could service. Inside they discovered a plastic niche inserted into the stainless steel niche. They siliconed the power cable entry (and the ground) and then applied 4 layers of wet cement on the back of the niche. I refilled the pool and began chemical start up (again).
About 2 days in post refill I noticed the cement getting wet in three different points. I tracked this for a couple of days (taking photos) and the wetness in those spots never went away. This part of the pool is exposed to full sun for about 3/4 of the day, and we've had some intense heat and clear skies. While the cement would show some drying after such days, late afternoon and onwards the wet spot would grow again. There's also a lot of efflorescence build up occurring in these spots.
Pool builder had me do a bucket test. I didn't observe any significant loss (most generous estimate is maybe 1/8" but more likely 1/16" loss in 24 hours). He tells me I did it wrong and to do another bucket test (on the 2nd step) for 3 days. I try to get more information since he tells me I didn't do it right, get disconnected. When he gets back to me a couple of hours later, pool builder tells me he will be back tomorrow to put some more cement on the niche and to do some more trenching under the niche.
We had a water tight pool post leak repair before the job - no water loss. We did leak detection during the remodeling (I paid extra for it) and all pipes were pressure seal tight. Pool builder on the call tried to suggest that I had this problem from before and how was I able to prove it (I said I have metered usage on the water bills to show it).
I've tried not to second guess his work, and being a nice guy, I suggested patching and then resolving with a more permanent fix. His idea is that this is the permanent fix, but it seems primed to fail well before the term of my fresh plaster job.
Would love to hear your thoughts, and for anyone in the trade, your opinions. My family is filled with tradesmen so I always try to give benefit of doubt towards the builder first.
My thought is to replace the niche with a stainless steel unit. If the plaster must be chipped out and cannot be matched, I would have them re-plaster (it's brand new!). Our discussions have centered around that this should have been caught when they did the work on the light area (which I paid 1.5K for), and I did catch the builder yelling at his foreman for not doing this right. I didn't even know what a niche was until this issue emerged. I paid for new skimmer, auto filler, and split channel drain - expectation would have been this as well. New renovation, new everything. I paid a lot for everything else!
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