Fiberglass pool with a leak

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L

Living overseas

0
Aug 29, 2018
6
Everyone knows this is nowhere
Hi guys,

New to the forum and pools in general, so I welcome your input.

I have a chance to purchase a fiberglass pool, but its leaks water especially in the overflow area between the hot tub and pool. See link to pool here. Crystal Palace Pools Blog: Deluxe Unicorn ~ Midwest Fiberglass Pools, Charlotte NC Its call the Deluxe Unicorn (Which is my favorite name ever)

The history is that the pool was used as a display model resting on its side for about 8 years; it was installed but leaked about a gallon/day of water and also the tile peeled off it. The manufacture would not warranty the leak and they gave the owner a new pool. Now I have a chance to buy it for $1500 delivered.

I spoke with the original installer today. He said I would need to flip the pool over and paint the underside with two coats of epoxy paint and it would be good to go. He said they do this with commercial pools all the time. Not sure about the flipping over part though. He is willing to reinstall the pool for me, but I am buying it from the dirt excavator who pulled the pool back out for "free" and he is reselling it to me to recover the cost.

I am torn now. I was not aware it was leaking; I was originally told it was just the tile issue was the reason the pool was replaced. I spent all day tracking down the original order number, talked to the manufacturer, and installer and got this news today. I am pretty certain the current owner will flip the pool for me at his shop and let me apply the epoxy then deliver it or have it flipped at my house so I can epoxy it there. My concern is will this thing keep leaking or should I run?

To be honest, I cant afford the pool for my two kids unless I get a deal like this. I plan to set it and deck all around it instead of concrete it in. I am in sandy soil near the coast. Not sure what other details I should be stating or asking the pool guy.

Any insight is appreciated.

Cheers,
LO
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I am not sure about the process of sealing the underside.

I will point out that you will lose WAY more than 1 gallon of water per day just due to evaporation add to that splashout from use and you will lose a lot more.
Not sure that really helps as there is no way to know if the leak is structural and will get worse and worse ... I mean I had a leak from a valve on my equipment pad that was way more the 1 gallon per day that took me months to bother fixing.
 
I'm sorry but this sounds like a disaster in the making. Just because it has been sitting on its side and you want to install it in decking, I don't think this is going to be enough to support a pool full of water, and I think other problems will appear in short order, be it leaks or outright structural cracks.

I'd step away. Intex sells some decent above ground pools if you want something for your kids.

Maddie :flower:
 
Well, fiberglass is not that hard to repair. If it's leaking then you have a leak in the gel coat as well as the fiberglass. The gelcoat needs to be repaired from the front while the fiberglass can be repaired from behind. The gel coat would be a waterproofing element as wellas a cosmetic element. I've never repaired a fiberglass pool but I've repaired many a fiberglass kayak in my youth (before they invented tupperware boats)!

However, the problem with this "opportunity" is the risk that the pool has other structural issues that may not be apparent until you've thrown thousands if dollars into site prep, plumbing, etc.

"You pays your money.................."
 
Hi guys,

Lots of good feedback. I am going to go down this road as far as I can to see if its worth it. We live in a boating community; I have good friends with fiberglass skills, so that aspect does not overly concern me. Its finding the leaks without an install and ensuring its water proof before a permanent install.

I did plan to back fill it all the way to the rim so it would be fully supported, but not concrete it in. Not planning to "free stand it". It will be fully supported and back filled inside a cocoon of sand and gravel bottom. Just the top will be decked instead of concrete.

I am wondering if I can fill it with water at least to check for leaks prior to install? I agree that both inside gel coat and outside fibergalss may need repaired so that is why I am very cautious about what this dude is telling me about how to fix it.

Arghh.
 
Living overseas said:
I spoke with the original installer today. He said I would need to flip the pool over and paint the underside with two coats of epoxy paint and it would be good to go.
Click to expand...

Cannot see how two coats of epoxy paint is a valid long term repair method for a fibreglass pool leak....:scratch:
 
Here is a pic of the pool


Living overseas said:
Hi guys,

Lots of good feedback. I am going to go down this road as far as I can to see if its worth it. We live in a boating community; I have good friends with fiberglass skills, so that aspect does not overly concern me. Its finding the leaks without an install and ensuring its water proof before a permanent install.

I did plan to back fill it all the way to the rim so it would be fully supported, but not concrete it in. Not planning to "free stand it". It will be fully supported and back filled inside a cocoon of sand and gravel bottom. Just the top will be decked instead of concrete.

I am wondering if I can fill it with water at least to check for leaks prior to install? I agree that both inside gel coat and outside fibergalss may need repaired so that is why I am very cautious about what this dude is telling me about how to fix it.

Arghh.
Click to expand...
 

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That looks really really old. I would get some acetone and wipe down the gelcoat and see if the look improves. It appears that the gelcoat might really have deteriorated. The suggestion of painting epoxy on the bottom is BS. That will never hold. You cannot fill the whole pool (it'll bow and crack) but you can fill the hot tub. To be honest if it were me I would Zaw zaw off the hot tub as neatly as possible, fiberglass over the hot tub overflow and gelcoat it. You can get a blue tint gelcoat pretty cheap. Then just go with the pool. A hot tub add a lot of expense and complication to the operation. Before installing I would remove the returns and skimmer and get new ones and install them per spec and schedule 40 the skimmer and returns. The returns and skimmer are cheap on the web as well. Because of there truly is a leak it is probably in a return or in the piping.
 
Just met with a very knowledgeable fiberglass guy who repairs lots of pools - at the pool and we walked it over very thoroughly. He said the structure, gel coat, etc. are all definitely fine; aside from one patch that he will fix. The leaks he thinks 100% were from the plumbing. Everything has about 2 inches thick of clear silicone; we took a razor and cut into the silicone and the fitting slipped right off. Nothing other than silicone in place that we can tell.

He recommended a good cleaning with Clorox Bleach, then a muriatic acid wash, light wet sand with 320 grit, and then a coating of clear coat specifically designed for pools. Said it will look brand new at that point. And that I am getting a deal on the pool. Said it would be in his front yard if he had the chance.

I am cautiously optimistic at this point.
 
Dad cut spa away and don't skimp on the gelcoat. U need underwater stuff alot of it is for boats and labeled for such. I would 2 coat it and get rid of the tile altogether. I've never seen one pulled nicely they usually yank them out w an excavator so be careful of stressed areas not meant to be removed and reinstalled but it's possible. I'd get larger skimmer and return fittings and cut bigger holes and install all new. Btw silicone is used on the backside of all fiberglass fittings to seal them read up on glass it's a whole nother animal. If u have any ground water near the coast u want a hydrostatic valve in the shell
 

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