Cracks / Leaks at Skimmer

[thephatp]

Our deck has moved and cracked more than I expected. I noticed a few months back that there was a crack in the side wall near my skimmer, and I can clearly tell it's leaking now. Note that this happened prior to the freeze here in Texas a couple of weeks ago, so it's unrelated to that.

While it aesthetically bothers me, I can deal with it, and I can clean it up sometime soon.

What I'm curious about is whether this is something I should be worried about?

 

[Texas Splash]

So is it just the surrounding shelf that shifted, opened-up some cracks letting water seep-in and evaporate, hence the calcium staining? Or do you believe the skimmer itself is also compromised?

 

[thephatp]

So is it just the surrounding shelf that shifted, opened-up some cracks letting water seep-in and evaporate, hence the calcium staining? Or do you believe the skimmer itself is also compromised?

As far as I can tell, the skimmer doesn't seem compromised. I do not see any cracks in the skimmer, and the leak seems very slow (not usually puddling, like seen in the pic).

 

[Texas Splash]

Since your pool was built in 2018, I suspect you're way past any warranty. You can ask the builder or concrete sub, but I suspect it's over. My concern is that the calcium staining would seem to be indicative of pool water and not just rain water from above that may have seeped into the cracks. So I would look very carefully in the skimmer and also out around the weir/faceplate for any evidence of cracks. Maybe take some food coloring with the pump off and do a careful dye/leak test. I hope I'm wrong, but the calcium staining just gives me an uneasy feeling.

 

[Texas Splash]

This was my personal method previously.

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[thephatp]

Yes, past my warranty, and I think the builder may be out of business now.

I agree, it seems like pool water to me. I was hoping maybe it was related to the coping crack and water splashing up there when I have my water features own (creates quite a wake in the pool).

That said, if indeed it's a crack somewhere, what are the risks of not having it fixed?

I've been burned before (not on my pool, but with other things) where I've had someone "fix" something that was more superficial than a real problem, only to create new/bigger problems and wish I'd just left it alone (like my wood flooring in my house).

 

[thephatp]

Thanks for sharing the trick to test for the leak. I'll try that out.

 

[Texas Splash]

That said, if indeed it's a crack somewhere, what are the risks of not having it fixed?

If it's just seeping directly out through those cracks, it's more cosmetic right now. Efflorescence is seen quite often (water seeping outwards), but they don't always present themselves directly at the cracks so obviously like you have there. Also, it's possible any water is gathering around that entire elevated structure. So my concern would how much is it leaking in that entire area. If pool water is seeping more than just directly outwards, my concern would be what it's doing to the surrounding area behind the stone over time. Really hard to know for sure. I don't think it's earth-shattering at the moment, but I would pursue it as time and water temps permit.

 

[thephatp]

I don't have a syringe, but I tried the test by putting drops in areas where I thought it might be leaking, and I didn't see it seep anywhere.

I was starting to think maybe it was only near the top, where the coping is touching the skimmer box. However, the water level isn't close to the top right now, and I haven't been running the water features enough to create water movement to make a difference there. The area is damp, though not "standing water" wet. Thus, the leak must be small, but it must be somewhere below the water line, or I would expect it would be dry right now.

I was reading a separate article yesterday about the white near a spillover, which is where I first read about efflorescence. I can say with about 99% certainty that they did not waterproof anything around the skimmer, FWIW.

I'll get a syringe soon and try to do more testing (hopefully without having to get into the water right now).

Thanks for the advice, and I'll post here again when I have more info, and with more days of watching my water level how damp the area remains.