How bad is my friend screwed.... DWV pvc fittings used.

[Killer95Stang]

Friend of mine is having a pool rebuilt where they are adding a gunnite spa. Pool builder used 2" or maybe bigger DWV pvc drain elbows for the pressure side of the spa, which is already encased in gunnite. He found this out after the fact and has made him replace all the elbows that weren't encased in concrete. Is he screwed? Purple primer and the grey high strength pvc glue was supposedly used. I haven't seen his build in person, just been going back and forth over text.

 

[PoolGate]

There isn't enough pressure in pool plumbing to worry about I think he's fine. Sloppy though he should seek some sort of compensation.

 

[mas985]

Are you sure they were not schedule 40 DWV (dual use) which is fine?

If is the standard DWV that can be problematic but if it is encased in concrete, it probably isn't a big deal. The biggest issue with standard DWV is the glues joints are shorter and not as strong as schedule 40 so you have to be careful putting any stress on the joints and water hammer can be an issue since standard DWV is made mostly for gravity drain applications.

 

[Killer95Stang]

Are you sure they were not schedule 40 DWV (dual use) which is fine?

If is the standard DWV that can be problematic but if it is encased in concrete, it probably isn't a big deal. The biggest issue with standard DWV is the glues joints are shorter and not as strong as schedule 40 so you have to be careful putting any stress on the joints and water hammer can be an issue since standard DWV is made mostly for gravity drain applications.

This is a picture of the fittings that were used...

 

[mas985]

Those are the standard DWV not schedule 40. The joints are just not as strong but as long as there are no large impact events, it should be ok.

 

[Killer95Stang]

Thanks... I'm not sure which way he is going to go, but if it can save him from breaking up the shell of the new pool/ spa section, I'm sure he will be relieved.

He bought this house in Riverside CA with a fiberglass pool. His area is normally pretty dry. Since the pool needed a ton of work and was already empty when he bought the house, he didn't do anything with it. Well, when we got the big rains last year, the pool shell lifted out of the ground. So he is rebuilding everything this year, with a new gunnite shell, doing it OB, because he doesn't have the money for a big name company. I guess the plumber he picked tried to cut corners.

 

[ajw22]

Only time will tell if the DWV fittings become a problem.

If the spa is not plastered or tiled and just raw gunite I would consider jack hammering the walls open and changing the fittings. Unless he is planning on being in the house for only a few years and willing to pass the buried problem to future owners.