Leak where the tile meets the skimmer

[bbshopplf]

35k gallon, inground pool, in northwest PA; built in 1992

The 6"x6" tile runs into the skimmer area and adjacent to the plastic skimmer box. The seam between the tile and skimmer box had degraded years ago, and it'd been repaired with some sort of putty/epoxy. One of those repairs recently fell off (the right side, in the photo below), and the water level drops quickly to below that level (and then stops dropping) unless I add water every other day (which I've stopped doing). The rate of loss is significantly higher than typical evaporation, the rate of which I've developed a strong sense over the years. This new rate of water loss is definitely from the patch falling off.

It's been awhile since I've done a repair like this, so I'm checking in to see if there are any new solutions (or perhaps we shouldn't have used the putty/epoxy that we tried last time).

Is there a "best practice" for sealing b/t the tile and skimmer box?

 

[Bperry]

Best would be to remove the grout around each of those tiles and the joint and repack some epoxy grout in there. Lower the waterline first though.

The underwater epoxy seems more for emergency repairs under water. The grout is much more durable.

 

[GutsnGlory]

35k gallon, inground pool, in northwest PA; built in 1992

The 6"x6" tile runs into the skimmer area and adjacent to the plastic skimmer box. The seam between the tile and skimmer box had degraded years ago, and it'd been repaired with some sort of putty/epoxy. One of those repairs recently fell off (the right side, in the photo below), and the water level drops quickly to below that level (and then stops dropping) unless I add water every other day (which I've stopped doing). The rate of loss is significantly higher than typical evaporation, the rate of which I've developed a strong sense over the years. This new rate of water loss is definitely from the patch falling off.

It's been awhile since I've done a repair like this, so I'm checking in to see if there are any new solutions (or perhaps we shouldn't have used the putty/epoxy that we tried last time).

Is there a "best practice" for sealing b/t the tile and skimmer box?

View attachment 604039

I had a leak like that. I had to use food coloring and a syringe type thing to squirt the food color until i found the leak. The leak will suck the color where the leak is. Then I used the A+B epoxy putty and it sealed it up.

 

[ajw22]

Lower the water below the skimmer, clean off all the old patches and grout, and fill the area with grout.

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair is our above water mixture. Grout repair products and tile grout repair.

e-zpatch.com

 

[bbshopplf]

I appreciate all the responses here, very much. I went with the A+B epoxy grout, sealed up a few other cracks while I was at it, and I'm giving it a few days to cure before topping up the pool (the tube says "24 hours", but I'm in no rush).

Even when first applied, the aesthetic alone was way better than that putty we'd used years ago. Here's to hoping I applied it properly and well enough.

Again, thank you all.