Replaster job has turned into a nightmare - Please Help

[Dirk]

Well, I thought of a metal detector, but the thing is full of rebar, so not sure how well that would work, even if the heads did have metal, which is not a guarantee. If he did find the manifold, it might be useful, maybe to rule things out? Or suggest there's more heads to find? The fact that there could be either more or less heads than the manifold really is a gut punch.

If he's down to the gunite, which isn't actually waterproof, and forced water under pressure down the manifold, (after capping the ends he knows of), I wonder if any water would seep or bubble up through the gunite, enough to make a wet spot...

I had a septic system explored via camera. Any small enough to travel through PVC? Though not sure what that would reveal.

Trained mouse?

Miniature RC car with M-80 attached: find and excavate head compartments in one go?

Or maybe there's a material that could be applied under the plaster that would block rust or other staining? Like how a coat of Zinsser Primer is used to block a stain on wood from showing though the finish paint?

I got nuthin'... sorry...

 

[Arizonarob]

Well, I thought of a metal detector, but the thing is full of rebar, so not sure how well that would work, even if the heads did have metal, which is not a guarantee. If he did find the manifold, it might be useful, maybe to rule things out? Or suggest there's more heads to find? The fact that there could be either more or less heads than the manifold really is a gut punch.

If he's down to the gunite, which isn't actually waterproof, and forced water under pressure down the manifold, (after capping the ends he knows of), I wonder if any water would seep or bubble up through the gunite, enough to make a wet spot...

I had a septic system explored via camera. Any small enough to travel through PVC? Though not sure what that would reveal.

Trained mouse?

Miniature RC car with M-80 attached: find and excavate head compartments in one go?

Or maybe there's a material that could be applied under the plaster that would block rust or other staining? Like how a coat of Zinsser Primer is used to block a stain on wood from showing though the finish paint?

I got nuthin'... sorry...

No wait, you might be on to something.
What if they sent a snake from the manifold and followed it with a metal detector, or something of that nature??

 

[Dodger]

No wait, you might be on to something.
What if they sent a snake from the manifold and followed it with a metal detector, or something of that nature??

How well can a snake navigate multiple tees it may encounter...? Plus, the metal detector only works if they left pop-ups in rather than capping, AND if the pop-ups are spring-loaded types.

The original picture looks like capped lines where the pop-ups would be, but do we know if those were found that way or capped after the current demo? If the pop-up was left in, that would allow water to seep through... and into the gunite, maybe causing staining from underneath. This would require water getting into the pipes from where the manifold was, or some kind of underground leak into the plumbing. Heck, that could have happened with leaky caps. So now I am back to Dirk's (I think) suggestion to find the original manifold position and make sure it was plugged off properly.

 

[Arizonarob]

How well can a snake navigate multiple tees it may encounter...? Plus, the metal detector only works if they left pop-ups in rather than capping, AND if the pop-ups are spring-loaded types.

The original picture looks like capped lines where the pop-ups would be, but do we know if those were found that way or capped after the current demo? If the pop-up was left in, that would allow water to seep through... and into the gunite, maybe causing staining from underneath. This would require water getting into the pipes from where the manifold was, or some kind of underground leak into the plumbing. Heck, that could have happened with leaky caps. So now I am back to Dirk's (I think) suggestion to find the original manifold position and make sure it was plugged off properly.

There must be something out there that can be sent into a pipe and navigated around bends, but can also be traced from the surface? I know plumbers use something like that to trace out plumbing in concrete slabs. Just don’t know what it’s called.

 

[Dirk]

No wait, you might be on to something.
What if they sent a snake from the manifold and followed it with a metal detector, or something of that nature??

I thought of snaking, but could that negotiate a 1.5" or 2" elbow? Maybe a lot of them in a single line? And are there metal detectors that can distinguish between a snake, or something attached to it, and the rebar?

If the OP really wants to pursue this, I think it might mean some sort of imaging. Whether that's a metal detector or something else. How do those 811 guys find what they're looking for?

 

[Arizonarob]

How do those 811 guys find what they're looking for?

They run a wire along with the utility pipe when they are installing it. I watched them do it when they were replacing all the NG lines in my old neighborhood.

 

[Dodger]

Looking at OP's pictures again, if it were me, I'd cut off the head of all the expose/abandoned in-floor pipes and inspect to make sure it isn't just gunite clogging up a leaky pop-up. You could snake from there before you recap and at least count the number of tees off each one.

Does the presence of a hydrostatic valve (current or past) suggest that groundwater is a good suspect for water leaking into the floor system pipes? Perhaps you already discussed that in this thread.

 

[RANDY M]

Thanks to everyone for your help. At this point we're going to patch all holes with hydro-cement. I do believe the stains are from the rusted rebar caused by a poor patch job and/or the wrong patch material. Also not enough gunite in some areas. One stain area had only rusted rebar, no abandoned head.
I do have ground water. It's still coming out of one of the holes in the deep end.
Contractor will patch on the 30th and re-plaster next day.
If stains come back or appear in other areas maybe I'll plant a garden instead in 5-10 years. Now onto a new thread for what type of variable speed motor/pump to replace single speed.
Thanks again. This really is a great site with a lot of knowledgeable and helpful people.

 

[tstex]

Randy,

Glad you worked it out - post back after the plaster job

For pump info, you would be best served to start a new thread in that section, ok...good luck

here you go:

Pumps, Filters, and Plumbing

 

[Dirk]

It'll be a pool again, in time for summer! Coolio!!

This site is full of info and tips to care for your new plaster, and how to do a proper new-plaster startup. And my personal favorite: the meter trick! (A method to use your house's water meter to measure the exact(ish) volume of your pool, when you're filling an empty pool.) Give a shout if you want details on any or all of that...