I'd first like to say even though I have just created an account, I've been lurking these forums for the last two or three months and the wealth of knowledge, from both the guides and members. on here is absolutely incredible. A family member of mine is in the very late stages of a pool build and while I was only initially helping them with anything related to technology as they just are not very good with that kind of thing. This forum helped me advise them to push the pool builder to have an intellicenter installed instead of the easytouch w/ screenlogic that was going to be put in along with having them oversize the SWG by one size as the one that was planned to be put in was only barely going to cover the pool. Unfortunately if I had found this forum earlier, I may have been able to help them avoid the current nightmare that is being encountered.
These questions should've come much earlier in the project but unfortunately I was not well enough informed at that point to help the ask the right questions. The first question that I have has to do with the design of the main drain. I've read a bit on the design of the two main drains and the Virginia Graeme Baker act but am a little unsure if that act applies to private pools. The standard pictures of the main drains that I have seen and the wording of that act leads me to believe that the standard procedure for the connection of the two main drains for them to connect together through a tee fitting with a single line of pvc leading from the tee to the pump. The way that the two main drains were ran in my family members pool were a little different. It was one piece of PVC piping ran into the pool with the closer of the two drains teeing off of the single pipe with the second drain just connecting to the end of the pipe. I'm not a pool professional and do not know a ton about plumbing so this may not be an issue but it's a little concerning seeing it done this way and not being able to find any pictures of a pools main drain being done like this. The drains mainly feed the water to a pump for two rock waterfalls but when they are not running will feel to the main pump with the strainers to the filter.
The second issue and question which is the only reason I now know about the design of the drains is that when the gunite shell was being shot a massive rainstorm came in and caused some of the shell to run and said concrete ended up in the main drains. They attempted to cover it with plastic when the rain started but did not know rain was coming and were unable to do so. If the gunite subcontractor wouldn't have had issues with their compressor that day along with a few other complications that they caused themselves, it would've been finished before the storm came. The gunite company ended up coming a few weeks later to fix/finish the shell and the plumber who ran the initial plumbing and the main drains came to put acid into the drains to help clear them out. I guess they then just never actually checked that this cleared out all of the concrete so while the visible part of the drain is clear of concrete the pipes below them still have plenty of concrete in them and the pool had now already been plastered and has ~40,000 gallons of water in it. A different contractor involved with the job who hooked up the equipment at the pad but did not do the plumbing in the shell told me that contractor who did the plumbing in the shell did not put pugs in any of the piping and had they done that the concrete would not have been able to enter the pipes. Currently the plumber who installed the PVC in the shell has been working to get the concrete out of the piping by running piping from outside the pool into the drains at the bottom, letting it sit, and then through a combination of using the pump to pull and then a motor he connects to the pump to push through the drain to try and break up and free the concrete. I have bought a cheapish borescope myself to peak into the elbow of the main drain to see what progress has been made and while some of the concrete is definitely gone, it seems like a lot still remains. On top of that, when they are pushing air from the pump to the main drains, air is only leaving through the first drain and no air whatsoever comes out of the second drain in the line. I imagine that this is due to the way they ran the drains and what cause me to ask about the design of them. When the pool was filled this concrete blockage lead to the waterfalls barely trickling out and while this method of using muriatic acid is leaving me with a lot of concerns.
This leaves me wondering the following:
1. Is repeatedly pouring muriatic acid into the drains the proper way they should be handling this and will they actually be able to clear our all of the concrete.
2. Will any concrete left just lead to drain blockages of both/one of the drains and potentially cause an unsafe situation due to the fact that it could lead to only one drain running instead of the two.
3. What potential damage can be caused from concentrated amounts of muriatic acid sitting in the pipes for long periods and then being flushed through the pipes, valves, and pool equipment. (one of the two screws on the farther out drain is now completely rusted from what I imagine to be extended contact with the acid)
4. What potential damage can be cause to the pipes, valves, and pool equipment from both the small and large pieces of concrete making it's way though the system (the first of the two waterfalls that the water goes to first now has a valve that feels like it is filled with grit when turned)
Sorry that this ended up being such a long post and thank you very much for any comments or insight!
These questions should've come much earlier in the project but unfortunately I was not well enough informed at that point to help the ask the right questions. The first question that I have has to do with the design of the main drain. I've read a bit on the design of the two main drains and the Virginia Graeme Baker act but am a little unsure if that act applies to private pools. The standard pictures of the main drains that I have seen and the wording of that act leads me to believe that the standard procedure for the connection of the two main drains for them to connect together through a tee fitting with a single line of pvc leading from the tee to the pump. The way that the two main drains were ran in my family members pool were a little different. It was one piece of PVC piping ran into the pool with the closer of the two drains teeing off of the single pipe with the second drain just connecting to the end of the pipe. I'm not a pool professional and do not know a ton about plumbing so this may not be an issue but it's a little concerning seeing it done this way and not being able to find any pictures of a pools main drain being done like this. The drains mainly feed the water to a pump for two rock waterfalls but when they are not running will feel to the main pump with the strainers to the filter.
The second issue and question which is the only reason I now know about the design of the drains is that when the gunite shell was being shot a massive rainstorm came in and caused some of the shell to run and said concrete ended up in the main drains. They attempted to cover it with plastic when the rain started but did not know rain was coming and were unable to do so. If the gunite subcontractor wouldn't have had issues with their compressor that day along with a few other complications that they caused themselves, it would've been finished before the storm came. The gunite company ended up coming a few weeks later to fix/finish the shell and the plumber who ran the initial plumbing and the main drains came to put acid into the drains to help clear them out. I guess they then just never actually checked that this cleared out all of the concrete so while the visible part of the drain is clear of concrete the pipes below them still have plenty of concrete in them and the pool had now already been plastered and has ~40,000 gallons of water in it. A different contractor involved with the job who hooked up the equipment at the pad but did not do the plumbing in the shell told me that contractor who did the plumbing in the shell did not put pugs in any of the piping and had they done that the concrete would not have been able to enter the pipes. Currently the plumber who installed the PVC in the shell has been working to get the concrete out of the piping by running piping from outside the pool into the drains at the bottom, letting it sit, and then through a combination of using the pump to pull and then a motor he connects to the pump to push through the drain to try and break up and free the concrete. I have bought a cheapish borescope myself to peak into the elbow of the main drain to see what progress has been made and while some of the concrete is definitely gone, it seems like a lot still remains. On top of that, when they are pushing air from the pump to the main drains, air is only leaving through the first drain and no air whatsoever comes out of the second drain in the line. I imagine that this is due to the way they ran the drains and what cause me to ask about the design of them. When the pool was filled this concrete blockage lead to the waterfalls barely trickling out and while this method of using muriatic acid is leaving me with a lot of concerns.
This leaves me wondering the following:
1. Is repeatedly pouring muriatic acid into the drains the proper way they should be handling this and will they actually be able to clear our all of the concrete.
2. Will any concrete left just lead to drain blockages of both/one of the drains and potentially cause an unsafe situation due to the fact that it could lead to only one drain running instead of the two.
3. What potential damage can be caused from concentrated amounts of muriatic acid sitting in the pipes for long periods and then being flushed through the pipes, valves, and pool equipment. (one of the two screws on the farther out drain is now completely rusted from what I imagine to be extended contact with the acid)
4. What potential damage can be cause to the pipes, valves, and pool equipment from both the small and large pieces of concrete making it's way though the system (the first of the two waterfalls that the water goes to first now has a valve that feels like it is filled with grit when turned)
Sorry that this ended up being such a long post and thank you very much for any comments or insight!
