Greetings,
My wife and I have a approx 12'x24' fiberglass pool, that was installed about 15 yrs ago. For some time now, I have been suspicious that there could be a leak in the plumbing (doubt it is in the pool itself) because I am losing more water than I think should be the case due to evaporation alone. We have a pool cover, so that I presume should minimize evaporation, but there is a tear in the cover and water seeps up thru that and evaporates; we will be replacing that cover very shortly, and I will assess the evaporation issue more at that time, when I know that no water is escaping thru a rip.
The pool is next to a hill, and there are no suspicious damp spots anywhere in the vicinity that I have observed. Eventually I will call a leak detection service, but was wondering if anyone can give me a rough idea of what to expect? Do they look through the pipes with some kind of camera-scope? How can they tell if there is a slight leak at a pipe join (I would imagine most leaks would be nearly invisible unless you see roots coming through)? Most importantly, how do they repair a leak? Do they have to jackhammer and dig down to the pipes, or do they have some magic way of introducing some epoxy coating into the pipes (Like "Fix-a-Flat" stops slow leaks in car tires)?
I would imagine the costs of jackhammering and digging would be so astronomical, that we might just choose to live with a slow leak in perpetuity, but we'll more carefully address that question as it arises.
Anyway, thanks in advance for letting me know how slow plumbing leaks (if we indeed have one) are generally identified and repaired!
Otherchuck
My wife and I have a approx 12'x24' fiberglass pool, that was installed about 15 yrs ago. For some time now, I have been suspicious that there could be a leak in the plumbing (doubt it is in the pool itself) because I am losing more water than I think should be the case due to evaporation alone. We have a pool cover, so that I presume should minimize evaporation, but there is a tear in the cover and water seeps up thru that and evaporates; we will be replacing that cover very shortly, and I will assess the evaporation issue more at that time, when I know that no water is escaping thru a rip.
The pool is next to a hill, and there are no suspicious damp spots anywhere in the vicinity that I have observed. Eventually I will call a leak detection service, but was wondering if anyone can give me a rough idea of what to expect? Do they look through the pipes with some kind of camera-scope? How can they tell if there is a slight leak at a pipe join (I would imagine most leaks would be nearly invisible unless you see roots coming through)? Most importantly, how do they repair a leak? Do they have to jackhammer and dig down to the pipes, or do they have some magic way of introducing some epoxy coating into the pipes (Like "Fix-a-Flat" stops slow leaks in car tires)?
I would imagine the costs of jackhammering and digging would be so astronomical, that we might just choose to live with a slow leak in perpetuity, but we'll more carefully address that question as it arises.
Anyway, thanks in advance for letting me know how slow plumbing leaks (if we indeed have one) are generally identified and repaired!
Otherchuck
