New DIY IG Pool Build Pittsburgh PA

[ajw22]

You may want to brace the walls with some 2x4's over the winter.

We have been having mild winters with little snow pack but you never know when weather revert back.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Where the tanning ledge bubblers penetrate the steel walls, I surrounded all sides with thick plastic to make sure the jagged cuts don't rupture the lines. Crude, but it will be buried.



Got the tanning ledge backfilled and tamped. I tamped about every 10" or so. Seems solid.



Gas line for the pool / generator / fire pit. 1.5" probably overkill, but I found it locally with the risers cheap on FB marketplace.

I spoke to our inspector today to get clarity about what utilities I can put in a single trench and minimum space requirements. I'm going to rent a trencher this Friday to trench for the utilities. I put in the PA 1Call to mark underground utilities and the response from the gas company is laughable.




When I did my sprinkler system in my front yard I dug up my fiber optic line twice. Their markings weren't even remotely close to where the line was actually buried.

 

[Newdude]

Poly lines or fiber optics (glass) don't tone. Sometimes the utility ran a tracer wire that would tone, sometimes they mark 'per the print'.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Rented the trencher last weekend for gas + electric + ethernet + water.



I got really lucky and almost hit the fios line. Markings from the PA 1 call were not remotely close.





Did the last little run to the house by hand. I actually used a pressure washer. I was nervous a shovel would accidentally hit a wire.



The last run I ran into two different sets of wires that surely looked like power wires. I used my non contact voltage detector and none of them rang out. Who knows.

Next up is install the conduit and pull the wires through. I'm getting there!

 

[TKpoolOH]

Glad the weather is cooperating for you!

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Glad the weather is cooperating for you!

No complaints here! Although getting home from work and it being pitch black isnt helping, but it is what it is.

 

[Newdude]

But think of all those beautiful sunsets at lunch.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Installed the conduit for power over the weekend.

It was a bit of a challenge to have the hole drilled for the conduit (that I drilled from the inside) match up with my thin trench outside, but thankfully everything lined up.

 

[dereksanders]

If I may ask, whereabouts in the Pgh area? I know you’re outside of the city. I used to live in the city and in the Fox Chapel area.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

I live in Washington County. About 30 mins south of Pittsburgh.

 

[dereksanders]

Nice country down that way.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Back at it this spring. Unfortunately I ran out of time and didnt get everything finished. Left with quite a mess with all the rain and snow.



Ok first issue that I ran into and would like some feedback on how you would assess.

After I got everything drained out of my temporary sump pit at the bottom on the pool I noted the main drains looking like THIS:

For context, before the winter freeze I plugged the main drain ports at the bottom of the pool with rubber plugs and filled the line with antifreeze.

On the main drain thats leaking (somewhere), I did try and retape and seal the secondary port (it came with a pvc plug). Filled it again last light and still leaking.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Chipped out the concrete carefully to do the dye/leak test. Didnt have any red food coloring so I had to use beet juice. It will be 24 hours soon, I'll go down and check results shortly.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Well Crud, 24 hour leak test. I know for a fact that I filled up the main drain two times this week and it was empty within 12 hours. (1 was pre tightening the secondary drain line plug, 1 was after teflon taping and tightening the main drain secondary plug). After adding the red dye its lost 0 water. Any ideas?

I pressure tested the main drain last fall, so I know it was fine last year.

What I think I'm going to do is put a gasket on both main drains and put a blind flange on each of them and fill entire main drain system with water and pressure test again. When I did the initial pressure test, I didnt really pressure test the main drain itself, I had the line where the drain threaded into plugged with a rubber plug.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Pulled off the main drain and confirmed it and the threaded-> socket fitting to connect the main drain to the 2.5" piping is cracked. I must have tightened the rubber plug too tight when I was winterizing the main drain.

 

[PoolStored]

OOF!!!

 

[Skelly_GSR]

Got the new main drain installed. While I was down there I figured I would thoroughly inspect the other main drain. Oof

 

[PoolStored]

OOF!!!

 

[Newdude]

Welp. If it helps any, now is the time to be finding this. A million times over, now is the time.

 

[Skelly_GSR]

At first I was slightly annoyed that you could not purchase a single main drain (I understand why), however the second one came in handy once I realized the other one was cracked.

Both installed.