Fixing supposed suction leak

[bob22]

Air has been seen in the filter window as well as coming out of supply ports in pool.
A well-respected leak detection company came out and after 2 hours of investigation said that there is a leak in a line under this section of pool decking om the marked area. He heard strongest leak sound (a gurgling) at the arrow:

Two quotes to repair have been in the $2200 to ~$3000 range for:
cutting open the concrete, excavation 2-3' deep, and line repair(s).

I've cut open concrete, know how to dig in dirt, and have cut/glued PVC. Is this a more complicated operation that I shouldn't try?
Is there any concern about cutting the decking too wide will somehow compromise the pool structure (concrete/plaster pool)? This area indicated is about 3' at most.

Any comments/suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[cowboycasey]

Could we get a bigger picture?

It looks like it is on the outside of the pool bond beam... so you would only cut the deck and not the bond beam/coping.. If you do it right you can use the cuts as crack relief in the concrete and install the same piece of concrete right back in place.. Use deck-o-seal or Sikaflex 1A in the cracks to hold the block afterwards...

Might cost 100 dollars in a concrete saw rental and some PVC pipe

I would backfill when done with #57 or 3/4 clean gravel so there will be no issue with the area settling after the fix... I would also use some sand around the pipes to protect them from the rock

 

[Oly]

I would want to do this myself as well. Which direction does the pipe run? I assume this is a suction side line. Where does the line meet the pool wall / water.

 

[bob22]

Thanks for the responses!
"It looks like it is on the outside of the pool bond beam... so you would only cut the deck and not the bond beam/coping.. If you do it right you can use the cuts as crack relief in the concrete and install the same piece of concrete right back in place.. Use deck-o-seal or Sikaflex 1A in the cracks to hold the block afterwards..."
Agreed.
"Which direction does the pipe run? I assume this is a suction side line. Where does the line meet the pool wall / water."
The detection guy said it is a Carlton pool and they run all the lines alongside and then down under and up (or something like that). Anyhow, he was cautiously optimistic that the leak was in a suction line running alongside the pool before diving down to join other pipes (or is at the top of a pipe coming from below).
I'm not near pool (my daughter's place); I'll try later to get a better one than this one.
Leak location is to the left side where the orange diving ring is on the coping; right before steps set into the coping.
This is from the leak guy's visit.

 

[bob22]

This is a wider view of the side of pool where the leak is supposed to be; just this side of the bend in the coping by the inset stairs:

and the other shot showing the leak marked: