LED Bubbler install issue

[Ryan9867]

I’ve been a long time lurker, really appreciate all the resources on the site. I’ve been under contract for a new pool for 20 months, including 8 months of construction. There have been so many self inflicted issues by the builder.

Here is the latest. The LED bubblers installed on the sun shelf stick up about 4 inches. After a quick look in the owners manual, the caps should have been installed under plaster not after plaster. I’m not crazy here right?

You’ll also notice some white splotching on my plaster too, which the builder claims is normal…is that normal? It is on every surface of my pool. Doesn’t seem right to me. Builder said he would open a warranty claim with the mfg.

what kind of repair am I looking at to fix the bubblers? Seems like carve out a deeper hole and replaster? How big of an area should I ask them to replaster? Any long term issues with this?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Yes, your bubbler should be flush with the pool floor. I am not sure it can be fixed now.

What manufacture and model bubbler is it?

The white spotting is typical mottling that we see in many plaster jobs.

White Spotting of New Plaster Pools

The problem of plaster spotting has been an ongoing puzzle and controversy in the swimming pool industry for over three decades. The generally round, smooth-yet-unsightly white soft spots in new plaster pools have long been a source of contention among pool plasterers, and pool chemical service...

www.troublefreepool.com

Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Some newly plastered pools (including quartz and pebble finishes) may develop either color fading, white soft spotting (also incorrectly called "spot etching" by some plasterers), white streaking (in colored plaster), calcium nodules, gray mottling discoloration (of white plaster), spalling...

www.troublefreepool.com

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Digging a deeper hole and adding plaster will not correct the problem due to the plumbing that’s attached to the fixture (See attached photos).
Adding 4” of plaster to the sun shelf is one way to address the problem but has problems of its own if not done correctly.

 

[Ryan9867]

Ah, so that’s where this issue started then, the plumbing for these was set too high.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Yes and it happens quite often when the plumber is not properly informed of the finished elevation, it could have also been corrected at time of Shotcrete if the foreman was involved at time of application.

Ah, so that’s where this issue started then, the plumbing for these was set too high.

 

[PCR]

Here's a similar repair, although only lowered by two inches. The description says they cut out some of the pipe to lower it to then attach the new bubblers. (It's not the best or clearest video of the exact fix, but it shows generally what they did.)

I have these same bubblers, and my pool builder screwed up their installation too, although in a different way. The correct way to install them is described in the manual that comes with them, and I could easily see what they did wrong in a few minutes of looking at the manual. Why some pool builders don't read instructions before proceeding with installing things they may not be familiar with is inexplicable :-( Good luck - I hope you can get it fixed properly and not by adding four inches of plaster to your shelf.