Owner Builder SLC - Slow and steady progress

[Foxer]

Plumbing is done, and I went to do a pressure test and it's not holding pressure. It's basically my worst fears come to pass! I tightened up all the threaded joints, and was hoping that would be what it was, but I'm still losing pressure very quickly. Only takes a few minutes to go from 15psi to 0. This is going to be a pain to try and find the leak - any suggestions would be helpful. I'm going to start spraying all the joints with soapy water, and I'm seriously considering adding some valves on each line to at least isolate it down.

Here's what I made to do the pressure test:

 

[ajw22]

Divide and conquer.

Split the plumbing in half and pressurize each section. Hopefully one half is fine and one half leaks. Do it again with the leak section until you narrow down the area.

 

[Foxer]

That's a good idea @ajw22 . I'll start down that path.

 

[stevo777]

Hello from St George, wrapping up a project soon! Not an owner build here; I hope your build goes smoothly! Your project looks great!

My PB thought he had a leak at the pre-gunite pressure check as well - turned out to be a plug in the main drain, which of course goes away when the pressure testing is done. But perhaps something to check.

 

[almostakeeper]

Set your air compressor output at 15 to 20 pounds, get it far away from the pool on plenty of hose and let it run while you spray and or listen for the leak.

 

[Foxer]

Before I went all scorched earth and started cutting all the pipe I decided to test the valve and make sure that wasn't leaking. Cut a little piece of pipe, and so far it's holding the pressure. So I guess that's good an bad news. It would have been nice to have that be the issue, but at least I can slowly start to eliminate each piece. I guess the next step is to start cutting the pipe to narrow down different sections.

Everyone's suggestions have been good. We'll see how much I can narrow it down today. Unfortunately the weather took a cold turn, so it's now in the mid-30's vs mid-50's like last week.



Edit: Looks like the leak is in one of the skimmers or main drain. The bubblers and returns are all holding pressure. Going to double check all the treaded connections, but I don’t think that’s it. We’ll see.

 

[Foxer]

I am a complete idiot I found the leak - turns out when you don't glue a joint there's not a very tight seal! On one of the skimmer runs I had a piece about 18" long right before a corner. I guess when I was gluing everything together I dry fit that, then forgot about it. Unfortunately, I also covered some of the pipes in sand to cushion them a little, so I didn't notice it. I should have uncovered it sooner, but as soon as I did I could hear the air coming out. I honestly hadn't even considered the possibility that I didn't glue one of the joints.

The one good thing about this is that I'm confident in my gluing now. I was starting to question everything! Lesson learned I guess: Don't cover anything until you've pressure tested!

Here's the previously unglued joint:

 

[hosseisemi]

It happens and further justifies why a pressure test is so important. Just curious, are you only installing 1 skimmer?

 

[Foxer]

@hosseisemi, no, I’ve got 2 skimmers. Totally agree - doing a pressure test is a good idea, even if you don’t have to have it inspected.

 

[Foxer]

Finally passed the inspection after a couple issues with rebar that had to be fixed. Gunite is scheduled for tomorrow (3/18).

The gunite guy is recommending that I heat the pool the night before they shoot, and then for several days after, although he admitted that temperatures would be right on the line. We'll be into the mid to low 30's for the next few nights, warming up into high 40's during the day. I've read all the threads I could find about shooting gunite in cold temperatures, and ultimately I think I'll at least warm it after they shoot. One thing I'd never heard was warming it up the night before. Is that standard practice? Is that going to matter much? We've had some rain/snow recently, so the ground is a little wet and I've been losing some dirt - would warming it up cause any issues with a cave-in?

 

[wireform]

And how would you warm a gunnite shell exactly?

 

[Foxer]

@wireform - What he said was to put a diesel heater in the bottom and cover the top with some reinforced plastic or tarp draped over some rope. That should keep it at least above 40 degrees.

 

[Foxer]

It took me all night to re-level the forms, take out the dirt that had fallen in and get all ready for gunite tomorrow! Days like today make me wish I’d hired a pool builder to handle it!

In any case, I’m all ready and it’ll feel good to finally get the gunite in. That seems like a big step. Then I can take a break for a day or two

I ended up borrowing a heater from a friend and covered it with a giant tarp. It is quite a bit warmer in there than it is outside. Not sure how much it’ll actually help, but I don’t see how it can hurt at this point.

 

[Foxer]

Here’s a few pictures of completed rebar.

 

[kimkats]

My back hurt just reading about removing the dirt and resetting the forms. THEN having to make the "tent" for the heater...............Here is hoping it does help some...........can't hurt that is for sure.

SO it is TOMORROW!!! Are they there yet??? LOL

Kim

 

[Foxer]

My back hurt just reading about removing the dirt and resetting the forms. THEN having to make the "tent" for the heater...............Here is hoping it does help some...........can't hurt that is for sure.

SO it is TOMORROW!!! Are they there yet??? LOL

Kim

Yes, they are here getting set yo, should be starting any minute!

My back is definitely feeling it this morning

 

[Foxer]

Gunite going in



Edit: Here's another one. Making progress!

 

[kimkats]

It is time for your set of links! The first set is all about what to do and ask about to get a great plaster job. The second set is all about how to care for your pool after you get the plaster.

Plaster links:
Ten Guidelines for Quality Pool Plaster Best one of all
All Plaster Finishes Should Last 20 Years
Not All Color Pigments are Good for Pools How to pick a good color for plaster.
A Plastering 'Watch List' | Professional Watershaping | Watershapes
Trouble Free Pool
Trouble Free Pool

Pool care links:
Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule
Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
Trouble Free Pool
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Now is also a good time to ask what test kit your PB will be providing so we can fill in any holes.

Kim

 

[Foxer]

Unfortunately they didn't finish the gunite today . Ended up essentially being an issue with the cement trucks. The first one was late, so that delayed things, then at one point there were 3 at the same time. They finished all the walls, all we've got left is the floor, and the top of the bond beam/cover box in the deep end. They'll be back Monday to finish. From reading a few other posts, and the construction best practices it sounds like cold joints isn't going to be an issue. Just a bummer to not finish today!

Here's where it ended up:

 

[kimkats]

ahhhhhhh man and it was so close!!!

What are your temps going to be during the heat of the day? You might need to really water what is there to slow down it's curing.