@DesertSloth,
As
@Arizonarob suggested, if you could post a few photos, that would really help any of the folks that may want to dive in and see if we can give you some pointers.
That being said, I have experienced a bit of what you are proposing. I completely re-plumbed and renovated my pool equipment pad towards the end of last summer (
Re-Plumbing the Pool Equipment Pad). I can tell you that is a big CHORE to be sure. Fortunately, my equipment pad was staying in about the same location. I did go below grade however and cut back all of the pipes because I was completely changing the plumbing layout, but I did not have to "cut back" too far. Here is an example.
1. Is this something that is do-able? Sure.
2. Is it a major task? Absolutely!
You will need to dig down maybe anywhere between 8-15 inches. I think the tricky part will be the brass conduit for the pool light. I had to extend my brass conduit and so I found a guy here in the local area that specializes in pool electrical and he stated that he does a lot of pool light termination moves. If you are in fact moving the light termination. You can most likely plan on purchasing a new light. You cannot splice the wires unless in an APPROVED junction Box.
If and when you commit to this task, PM me and I will pass over his name. He extended and bent the light conduit and ran it up in to my new load center. He did a real good job at a reasonable price. Since I had my new LED light on site when he came over, he even pulled in the wiring for me.
As far as the plumbing goes, I would recommend that you dig down at the pad and then start digging back until you are at a point with all of the suction, return, water feature lines etc. that you can make the turn to go to your new location.
Be careful digging. I treated some of my plumbing like I was digging around an archeological treasure
. I already had enough work ahead of me and did not want to create any additional problems.
Looking at your signature, I don't see a Spa, if so, that will help minimize the number of pipes that you are dealing with.
You will need to lower your water level. I had to go down to just below the level of the return jets in the pool to avoid a major flood.
Here are just a few guidelines.
1. You will need to soften up that "Caliche". Now would be a good time, since our soil is soaked from the latest rains. HOWEVER, Caliche, when wet is difficult to deal with. It's like wet sticky clay. It will stick to everything and makes a shovel full of dirt very heavy. It's a catch 22. You can't hardly dig it with manual tools when dry, and hard to work with when wet.
2. Time of the year for this project is important. You don't want to have your pool "static" for too long when it needs to be running the most (i.e. the warmer months). My pool was down for about two weeks I think. During that time, I super-chlorinated and stirred the water around a couple of times a day with the brush.
3. Here are some tips concerning re-plumbing that I posted in the above referenced post from last year.
(a) TAKE YOUR TIME!
(b) Plan, plan and plan some more.
(c) Measure and fit and then measure and fit again before ever cutting and especially before gluing. Don’t “swag” or "guestimate" any measurement. Each fitting opening should be measured for exact fit and then double checked.
(d) Use shims to get the exact “level” measurement.
(e) Use a quality torpedo and carpenter’s level constantly to ensure level and plumb (I think this is so important (see photos) to achieve a good final result in the plumbing layout.
(f) Cut the pipe using a “chop saw” for the cleanest and straightest cuts.
(g) I used several in-line unions so that I could “modularize” the installation. It also makes fitting and eventual painting of the pipes much easier as well.
(h) I opted to paint the pipes using a roller instead of using spray paint. I think it allowed for a cleaner looking result and with
NO overspray. I rolled two coats. I masked off all valves, unions etc. which also gave a cleaner result.
That's about all I got on this for now I guess. Best of luck and if you do decide to "jump-in", please let us know how it is going and if you have more specific questions.
r.
