Are my leaks repairable?

[Maaron]

Hello... first season in our home that came with a six year old above ground pool (liner about 2 years old). In the fall when we moved in there was a slow drip leak coming from the return connection. We planned to fix that now in the spring. We just uncovered our pool this week and started topping off the water. Once the water started flowing into the skimmer, we have a new leak coming from the skimmer housing. The water level is (was) only about an inch over the lip into the skimmer. The locations of both leaks look like they may have been repaired before. Two pool professionals I spoke with didn't think the leaks were repairable (based on photos/videos I showed them). One said to remove all of the existing caulking would require replacing the whole pool, as the metal pool wall would be compromised. This is not an option as we just spent a pretty penny having a new deck custom built around this pool, that we assumed had plenty of life left. Perhaps the skimmer housing got bumped in the construction process or the leak is a result of the unusual cold snap we had in December (Chatt, TN). I'm attaching photos marking the areas where it's dripping. I realize the water could be coming from a different area to these spots, but for now I know this is where the drips end up.

Any thoughts on these leaks? Should we just recaulk these areas? If so, what would be the best product to use? Thank you so much!!

 

[Bperry]

The fact that there’s caulk there means it was leaking before. Caulking won’t fix leaks like that, the seal needs to be made on the other side of the liner.

 

[Mdragger88]

What you have there is a mess of bandaids. Caulk is not a solution for a leaky skimmer or return. Luckily it doesn’t look like the wall is rusted. It is repairable.
You need to lower the water level right below those openings & replace the return assembly & the skimmer gaskets.
The return fitting comes with everything, fittings & gaskets-

Hydrotools Swimline Return Fitting | Our latest videos showcases above ground return fittings as well as tools to maintain and winterize them. Hydrotools Parts | By E-Z Test Pool Supplies | Facebook

Our latest videos showcases above ground return fittings as well as tools to maintain and winterize them. Hydrotools Parts

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I would cut the pvc off below the 90 & replace that too- carefully scrape ALL the silicone & caulk off. Now is a good time to add unions if you want them.
If you scratch the wall paint be sure to repaint it with rustoleum.
For the skimmer it’s just the gaskets. Hopefully you have just enough room between the skimmer & the deck to get the outside of the butterfly gasket on Without pinching it. Some skimmers use a white butterfly gasket only or two white gaskets - this should sandwich the wall & the liner. (They are the bread , the wall & liner are your meat & cheese).
Some also come with a cork gasket which is to be placed inbetween the liner & the wall.
If there’s rust around the skimmer you may need to do a repair & add a patch panel like this

 

[Maaron]

The fact that there’s caulk there means it was leaking before. Caulking won’t fix leaks like that, the seal needs to be made on the other side of the liner.

The water side of the liner or between the liner and pool wall? How would I fix that seal?

 

[Maaron]

What you have there is a mess of bandaids. Caulk is not a solution for a leaky skimmer or return. Luckily it doesn’t look like the wall is rusted. It is repairable.
You need to lower the water level right below those openings & replace the return assembly & the skimmer gaskets.
The return fitting comes with everything, fittings & gaskets-

Hydrotools Swimline Return Fitting | Our latest videos showcases above ground return fittings as well as tools to maintain and winterize them. Hydrotools Parts | By E-Z Test Pool Supplies | Facebook

Our latest videos showcases above ground return fittings as well as tools to maintain and winterize them. Hydrotools Parts

fb.watch

I would cut the pvc off below the 90 & replace that too- carefully scrape ALL the silicone & caulk off. Now is a good time to add unions if you want them.
If you scratch the wall paint be sure to repaint it with rustoleum.
For the skimmer it’s just the gaskets. Hopefully you have just enough room between the skimmer & the deck to get the outside of the butterfly gasket on Without pinching it. Some skimmers use a white butterfly gasket only or two white gaskets - this should sandwich the wall & the liner. (They are the bread , the wall & liner are your meat & cheese).
Some also come with a cork gasket which is to be placed inbetween the liner & the wall.
If there’s rust around the skimmer you may need to do a repair & add a patch panel like this

Thank you so much! So you think we can do this ourselves? We're pretty handy but new at this. Another repair guy is 2 weeks out so we'd be willing to give it a shot if you think it's manageable.

 

[Mdragger88]

I feel that I could do it- your confidence level may be different though. It looks like you may need to remove some deck boards to give yourself some room to work. Not sure where your deck is in relation to your top rails (over/under/beside) so take that into consideration before beginning incase you need to patch the skimmer area since it entails that you remove some toprails. Watch some videos to get a feel for what is involved. Beware- some YouTube videos show the installation of the skimmer gasket wrong so be sure you orientate them as I mentioned & confirm you buy the correct gaskets for your skimmer.