Pool Leak After Plaster New Build

[ajw22]

Smaller diameter pipe is the hydrostatic pipe which is causing the leak. Larger diameter pipe is the suction line.

If one of the pipes is a suction pipe then you are not VGBA compliant and a MAJOR safety hazard in a 3.5’ depth pool.

Safety Drains VGBA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mknauss]

There must be another main drain port for VGBA -- no way an inspector in California would have missed that.

 

[aaronc1976]

I passed inspection and there is another drain port with a separate cover tied together that is not shown in the picture. I promise I am VGBA compliant.

 

[aaronc1976]

The main question is can I use say Mr. Sticky's glue and put a female adapter on the hydrostatic pipe and thread in either a plug or hydrostatic relief valve to avoid draining pool and chipping away plaster

 

[JoyfulNoise]

As I have thought about this, all that can be said is you can do whatever you think is reasonable to attach a plug or valve but it's anyone's guess if it will work or not. Standard pool plumbing normally uses main drain sumps - larger plastic bodies with all the proper pipe fittings and flanges on them to ensure that the gunite makes a good watertight seal once the plaster is applied. What you have there are standard smooth walled PVC pipes without any flanges making intrusions through the gunite shell ... there's simply no way to know over the long haul if that configuration will remain leak-free. It's simply not how pool plumbing is done. So I guess the best that can be said is - give it a try and see if it works and, if the leak can't be resolved, then you might have to think about filling those pipes and that area with hydraulic cement and abandoning the main drains. The other option is to install proper main drain sumps but that will require cutting into the shell and redoing it in that area. Plenty of old non-VGBA pools have had extra main drains installed after the fact, but that costs a lot of money and many pool owners simply opt to abandon the main drain instead of wasting the money on a renovation.

Hope it works out for ya.

 

[aaronc1976]

As I have thought about this, all that can be said is you can do whatever you think is reasonable to attach a plug or valve but it's anyone's guess if it will work or not. Standard pool plumbing normally uses main drain sumps - larger plastic bodies with all the proper pipe fittings and flanges on them to ensure that the gunite makes a good watertight seal once the plaster is applied. What you have there are standard smooth walled PVC pipes without any flanges making intrusions through the gunite shell ... there's simply no way to know over the long haul if that configuration will remain leak-free. It's simply not how pool plumbing is done. So I guess the best that can be said is - give it a try and see if it works and, if the leak can't be resolved, then you might have to think about filling those pipes and that area with hydraulic cement and abandoning the main drains. The other option is to install proper main drain sumps but that will require cutting into the shell and redoing it in that area. Plenty of old non-VGBA pools have had extra main drains installed after the fact, but that costs a lot of money and many pool owners simply opt to abandon the main drain instead of wasting the money on a renovation.

Hope it works out for ya.

Thank you.

 

[aaronc1976]

Th

So Plaster Company is acknowledging they made a mistake by cutting that pipe flush with the floor and is willing to complete the repair for no charge. Thank goodness!