New Construction in Austin, TX

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bmoreswim said:
With a skimmer not being under pressure, would that have come under the scope of a pressure test anyway?

Though I guess if they plug the pipe at the skimmer it would be. Unless the skimmer box was leaking as suggested above.
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You nailed it.
Talked to PB this morning and asked him if the pressure test was done, and if so why did we have this issue.
He said they pressure tested the pipes as required, and all was good.
The crack was at the skimmer itself and that wasn't part of the test. We just happened to be the lucky one to get defective skimmer. He told me we're the first in his projects that has this.

Seriously, how could we be this lucky?!?!?
I don't know any better to ask anymore questions either......another big sigh.
 
Sorry to hear about this. Your pool is beautiful though. Just think of this as a learning experience and move on. You seem to have my kind of luck with these things so I know it's frustrating. But look at the bright side, its almost over. :)
 
Thanks Glock.

Update: the new skimmer replacement is in, but still not turned on and water level is still kelp below the tile. And they said it was inspected before going in. I felt like....'what?!? This is it?!?' - there is nothing else they could do to assure this will not happen again?

Pool school is also today. We didn't get to go out and check the pool until the plumber was gone.
Once the pool school guy started the walk through, I noticed the moist soil trail is still there, but it is not from the skimmer line. It comes from the deck step which is dry.

First the pool school guy thought the water was from the skimmer leak,but i pointed out that the area where the skimmer had a leak is much drier, and that this trail is uphill from the skimmer crime scene.

Hubby tried to calm me down and said it could be from plumbers using the water right there to wash things. But I argued that the trail is too precise and matches the buried pipes.
At this point I'm too pessimistic to be honest. We've run out of lucky charms on this pool.


Please look at this and see what you think.

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On top of that, we were told the spa light has water in it. And that's why it stops working.we would have to call in to their service dept for a replacement.

This was during pool school...I tried not to be rude but at that point I rolled my eyes and just asked the pool school guy from the builder 'are you serious? You guys or your sub installed this and it now has water in it and they can't come back to correct it?' Going thru service dept will take another week or 2. :(

Then we stumbled upon that trail, which further agitated me. Not a good day to be a pool school guy for us.
 
Readyforapool said:
Keep on them - we are going on a year since they started on mine - still having issues...take lots of photos - send them to the PB everyday, don't let up until you are satisfied.
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I'd like to hear more from your experience on this. My PB has a separation between construction and services/warranty.Now that we are technically done, they've asked us to start utilizing the service dept for some issues like lighting. The turn time for service call is a week.
But this leak has a tendency to be a saga and I'm keeping PB superintendent on the hook. Not sure how long this will last.
 
chiefwej said:
That's odd, when my pool was built the inspector required a pressure test to hold pressure for several days before he would sign off on the plumbing. I would think Austin would have at least as strict pool codes.
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Yep the city of Austin is stickler if you remember my fun with the inspectors. However, they never looked at my water lines, only the gas lines. My PB tested that on his own and it was a 3 day test making sure water pressure held. One of the required test the city did was with the gas. They required the plumber to pressureize the lines to 3x normal pressure and the inspector watched it for 5-10 minutes for any drop in pressure.
 

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Readyforapool said:
Keep on them - ...take lots of photos - send them to the PB everyday, don't let up until you are satisfied.
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Another great idea for a TFP offshoot group....first there was sharing dirt and trees and NOW, it's everyone pitching in to email and send photos to the PB's that won't fix issues - to make sure that the person with the problem initially can take a few days off, go on vacation etc. I'm still working on the concept of a mediation group made up of TFP forum members.

It is just not right that all these things can be happening - I love this pool! On a lighter note, are the dogs swimming? - Karen
 
Tfbgtx said:
On top of that, we were told the spa light has water in it. And that's why it stops working.we would have to call in to their service dept for a replacement.
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I had 2 led lights end up with water in them my first month with the pool. What we found out was when they installed them, they actually screwed them in to tightly and broke the seal in the light. They used less force on the third one and it has been fine. Basically they were breaking them when they installed them origiginally and it didn't take long for enough water to get into them to make them go screwy.

- - - Updated - - -

Tfbgtx said:
I'd like to hear more from your experience on this. My PB has a separation between construction and services/warranty.Now that we are technically done, they've asked us to start utilizing the service dept for some issues like lighting. The turn time for service call is a week.
But this leak has a tendency to be a saga and I'm keeping PB superintendent on the hook. Not sure how long this will last.
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I had a formal punch list that they had to complete before I made my last payment and got turned over to service. I would guess that was almost two months after the water was put in the pool. Stick to your guns....Once they get their last payment and you get turned over to "Service" you will see them a lot less. There is no money in it for them for service and they will always prioritize the money making builds and contracts.
 
RangerBob said:
It is just not right that all these things can be happening - I love this pool! On a lighter note, are the dogs swimming? - Karen
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Hi Karen - yes they did once last weekend. We didn't know if we were supposed to,but I'm glad we did. They had a blast swimming with tennis balls :bounce:

Sadly the pool is a mess this week with the fix and chemical issue (almost had to shock it). Just dropped 6lbs of baking soda and 1.5 pint of acid....brrrrrr

Update on the new potential leak:
PB came out on his day off to investigate. I guess the picture I sent got him concerned as well.
He agreed the new trail is strange and needs to be looked at. Was told the plumber did not bury any pipes there, but given what we see, this warranted a shovel coming out.
He dug around a while and couldn't see anything but the low voltage line - no pipes let alone the leak. I insisted the water level has gone down from yesterday and it must be getting out somewhere, and that trail is too wet for any run off from the deck.
PB then pulled out the pencil, marked the water level in the pool,then drove off to Lowes to get a bucket to to the 'bucket test'.
We will not be able to use the pool until this bucket test is over (24hrs) and until the coping is repaired.
 
Oh I'm so sorry to hear you guys are having problems. Its all our greatest fear I think. But on the plus side, it does look great and they do seem to be working to rectify the issues, so try not to let it stress you out too much (and I'm a fine one to talk about that by the way!). Here's hoping you pass the bucket test...
 
Glad to hear the PB has initiative (bucket-test). It certainly looks strange from the pics, but another thing to consider is the new run-off pattern. It's just a thought but it may be related to all the new concrete; it's possible the water is pooling underground and with your combination of rock & mud it may be the culprit for a weird pattern. How was the bucket-test?
 
So leak appears to be fixed. Bucket test confirmed, and it has been almost a week and no loss of water. So I think we are good with that issue.

PB made us go through the service dept. to get the spa light fixed, so that is taking a much longer time than it should. Email request replied saying we would know more in 2 days, and after two days they said they could schedule something in 5 days. This is after telling the PB about it almost 2 weeks ago... Ugh.

Next issue... There is a pretty significant issue with the plaster on one of the steps. Or am I jaut making this a big deal? Any advice on the bottom step here... It has a deformation on the end (the one above it is normal, just a shadow).

imagejpg2_zps1c5c63e5.jpg
 
Well I'm glad you got the biggest issue resolved! What a relief. And that really stinks about having to go through their service department to fix the spa light that was JUST put in. Crazy.

I can't really see what you are talking about with the plaster on the step? I can't tell what is the contortion from the surface of the water and what isn't.
 
Glad its fixed. Would you be willing to post a pic of the repaired area? I am curious how they handled that. As for the step, annoying yes but I think a "fix" would be vulnerable or maybe look worse than the original glob. I would leave that alone.
 

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