Hi guys. I'm still new to the whole pool ownership but here's the story. We bought a house in Massachusetts last year which had a gunite inground pool. The people that lived here the past 20 yrs never had any issues as far as I know. We had a local pool company, which got good reviews and reputable, come to open and close the pool the first year. When they opened it the following year we started noticing that we were losing water. We realized within the first two weeks of opening the pool that there was a crack in the skimmer line. When the technician came to pressurize the line he said it couldn't hold any pressure at all. When I spoke with the owner and brought up the fact that I believe that they must have closed the pool incorrectly or did not blow the lines out properly of course he started giving me excuses telling me that the skimmer lines must have been old and that these flexible pipes should not have been used underground. Anyway, I guess what I'm asking is how can I prove whether or not this happened due to ice damage from improper closure of the pool or something else. Thank you guys in advance
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,798
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Welcome to TFP. 
To answer your basic question about liability, I think it would be very difficult to determine. You would need exact procedures used the year(s) before you moved in, to include any specific chemicals that may have been used like RV anitfreeze, etc. If the lines are 20+ years old, it could've been just their time. Even though the techs who did the job for you last fall were supposed to have good reviews, unless you know what to look for, even they may have dropped the ball on something in the skimmer area (i.e. Gizmo, expanding materials, antifreeze, etc). So hard to tell at this point. That's a shame for sure.
You mentioned flex lines. Is that how the pool is plumbed today? Flex (spa-type) lines? What type of decking do you have around the skimmer? Is it accommodating enough for DIY access, or does it look like an equipment ($$$) nightmare to get to the pipe/skimmer outlet?
To answer your basic question about liability, I think it would be very difficult to determine. You would need exact procedures used the year(s) before you moved in, to include any specific chemicals that may have been used like RV anitfreeze, etc. If the lines are 20+ years old, it could've been just their time. Even though the techs who did the job for you last fall were supposed to have good reviews, unless you know what to look for, even they may have dropped the ball on something in the skimmer area (i.e. Gizmo, expanding materials, antifreeze, etc). So hard to tell at this point. That's a shame for sure.You mentioned flex lines. Is that how the pool is plumbed today? Flex (spa-type) lines? What type of decking do you have around the skimmer? Is it accommodating enough for DIY access, or does it look like an equipment ($$$) nightmare to get to the pipe/skimmer outlet?