SCARY water leak out the side wall of my in-ground pool

[Desmond.TFP]

Just found my in-ground pool is leaking water out a (lowered) side wall. We built the pool about 12 years ago. Panic has set in, I suspect this could be, or could become, a major problem. Below are some pics annotated and my guess about the cause and leak route. I think cracks in my coping grout have allowed water in, over time that has damaged the underlying gunnite & caused cracks in the PebbleTec near a skimmer, water gets out through there.

Please ask me for any needed info & give me any advice about:

• likely cause (pls. see my best guess and pictures)
• options to fix? Repair coping grout? Seal PebbleTec cracks? Other? Can cracks in PebbleTec be patched above water line? Below? Can PebbleTec repair be color matched reasonably well?
• how urgently does it need to be fixed
• should I DIY or call a pro?
• anything else!

Birds-eye of the problem end of the pool showing skimmer, grout cracks, and stairs to lowered side wall with leak. Please ignore the blue plug below skimmer.

Some cracks in the (hard) grout between coping stones are pretty bad and have worsened over time. The coping perimeter where it joins the deck has a more flexible (and whiter) filler, most of which seems crack-free.

The PebbleTec has cracked near the skimmer. Could this be from damage from the back due to water infiltration through grout cracks? The PebbleTec crack appears mostly a bit above the normal pool water level, but some is also a bit below.

The water leak is visible at the lowered wall by the stairs.


Much of the wall and floor deck near the stairs was wet a week ago when the pool water level was too high, all the way to the top. Lost maybe 1-2" over the past week, so not currently losing a ton of water a day, but WORRIED!

Thank you for any and all advice!!
-- Desmond

 

[ajw22]

Cracks on the coping mortar do not cause problems with the gunite or plaster.

The horizontal crack by the skimmer is concerning. Show us more pics of that area both looking at the pool wall and at the deck and coping in that area.

You need to correlate for us where all the pics you are showing fits together around the pool.

The cracks under the coping stones or between them are repaired by getting a mason to lift off the stones, chip out the old mortar, and reseat the stones in new mortar. Those are problems with the coping above the bond beam of the pool.

You may have some problems with your expansion joint causing the plaster cracks. Read Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

 

[Dirk]

The "flexible filler" is indeed flexible, and is supposed to be. That is your expansion joint. Your pool and deck are constructed of several types of materials, which can expand and contract at different rates. The expansion joint allows the various materials to do so without causing stress on the materials.

The rest of the issues you describe I'll leave to those that know more about it than I do. Good luck.

 

[Bperry]

Just found my in-ground pool is leaking water out a (lowered) side wall. We built the pool about 12 years ago. Panic has set in, I suspect this could be, or could become, a major problem. Below are some pics annotated and my guess about the cause and leak route. I think cracks in my coping grout have allowed water in, over time that has damaged the underlying gunnite & caused cracks in the PebbleTec near a skimmer, water gets out through there.

Please ask me for any needed info & give me any advice about:

• likely cause (pls. see my best guess and pictures)
• options to fix? Repair coping grout? Seal PebbleTec cracks? Other? Can cracks in PebbleTec be patched above water line? Below? Can PebbleTec repair be color matched reasonably well?
• how urgently does it need to be fixed
• should I DIY or call a pro?
• anything else!

Birds-eye of the problem end of the pool showing skimmer, grout cracks, and stairs to lowered side wall with leak. Please ignore the blue plug below skimmer.
View attachment 541894
Some cracks in the (hard) grout between coping stones are pretty bad and have worsened over time. The coping perimeter where it joins the deck has a more flexible (and whiter) filler, most of which seems crack-free.
View attachment 541895
The PebbleTec has cracked near the skimmer. Could this be from damage from the back due to water infiltration through grout cracks? The PebbleTec crack appears mostly a bit above the normal pool water level, but some is also a bit below.
View attachment 541896
The water leak is visible at the lowered wall by the stairs.
View attachment 541898

Much of the wall and floor deck near the stairs was wet a week ago when the pool water level was too high, all the way to the top. Lost maybe 1-2" over the past week, so not currently losing a ton of water a day, but WORRIED!

Thank you for any and all advice!!
-- Desmond

The pool should NEVER be allowed to get overfilled. Lots of times the skimmer body under the lid may not be sealed and so excess water can leak in through any cracks or gaps it finds and then soaks into the underlying soil, which can cause settling or erosion. ( I can show you pictures of the bad stuff that can happen because of that…$$,$$$).

The crack in the pebble surface is the most concerning and may be the cause of the leak as well. It needs to be fixed ASAP, but only after having someone come out and determine why it cracked.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

In picture number 2, what is at the end of the deck work to the right?

 

[Desmond.TFP]

Thanks, all ! Below fills in some more info for @ajw22 and @AQUA~HOLICS

Whole pool context, problem area is on the right.


3 increasing details on the PebbleTec crack:

The 2nd one seems to show the main crack top starting aligned at the coping crack:

The 3rd one shows crack is almost entirely above normal water line:


Now for the skimmer and deck around it, there is a long hairline crack in the SunDek from skimmer:

Zoom into that SunDek crack:

Next post will show inside of skimmer (I seem to have run up against a limit , wonder if that needs some sealing too as @Bperry pointed out.

Thank you for all the help!

 

[Desmond.TFP]

The inside of that skimmer. Is there a way to re-seal properly around that inner compartment? Could it be worthwhile to do so?

 

[ajw22]

It looks to me like the crack leading to the skimmer, the crack from the skimmer down through the coping and to the plaster, and some of the other coping cracks have the root cause being a shifting of the soil, deck, and probably the wall of your stairs behind it.

That is confirmed by the movement that you can see around the skimmer.

We have seen many cracked pools and unstable soil around Austin. Especially pools built on a slope with retaining walls.

Do you have pictures of that area during construction?

I think you are going to need to pull up the deck from around the skimmer, coping, and pull off the plaster along the horizontal crack. You need to see if that horizontal crack goes through the bond beam. And you want to open up the deck and follow any cracks to where water is leaking behind the wall. You really cannot tell know how big or small the problem is until you open up the problem area.

This has been a slow developing problem over 12 years unless some environmental conditions around that wall changed recently.

This is all repairable. You first need to get to the root cause of the instability in that area and how to reinforce it, then rebuild it.

 

[ajw22]

In addition to @AQUA~HOLICS who is on this thread let's get @MAPR-Austin if he is around (although he is from Kansas City, not Austin).

 

[ajw22]

Pool is cracking/leaking due to deteriorating retaining walls. What to do?

Hoping this forum can come up with ideas (I've run out of them). Bought my house (Central Texas) in May 2021. That summer, I noticed couple small cracks forming in the pool (but nothing was leaking). I reach out to the previous owner, and turns out he did some pool stabilization in 2020. So I...

www.troublefreepool.com

Our newly constructed gunite pool has shifted!

We had a new in-ground/gunite pool installed in July 2022. (The depth is 3.5', 5', 3.5' with attached spa, approx 15,500 gallons, chlorine). Last month, December 2022, we noticed some concerning issues developing with our pool, and contacted our pool contractor right away. The water level has...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Dirk]

Before you go hiring anyone to go all "exploratory" on your pool, the first step is to contact the original builder. Have you? Many pool builders offer a lifetime warranty on the shell. Did yours? Do you have any documentation of that? Is the builder still in business?

My point is, if TX is anything like CA, you have to first give the original contractor, the servicer of the warranty, the first crack at this (no pun intended). If others step all over the job before the builder does, that could give him a legitimate out of his warranty and any liability.

Warranties are first and foremost sales tools, to establish consumer confidence in the provider. The warranty provider counts on the consumer to forget all about the warranty if there's a problem years later. Start there. Figure out if you're covered, then see if you can track him down and get him out to your site for a consultation. And if he's still around and blows you off, that's not necessarily the end of it.

12 years is probably too long, but even without a warranty some states hold contractors liable for defects in workmanship for many years. I collected on such a statute, a couple grand at the 9.9 year mark. Check on your options before you start writing checks (pun intended)!

 

[Dirk]

While I agree with Allen that looking for the leak is a good approach, you wouldn't necessary start by taking your deck, coping and plaster apart. And this is well after you've exhausted the warranty hunt I advised above, of course.

You can do some leak detection yourself, or hire a specialist to hunt down the leak. You wouldn't want to dismantle all that concrete only to later discover that you have a cracked pipe behind a return, or elsewhere underground, that had nothing to do with the cracks you've described. Another scenario is misreading the problem. You might find that the shell is indeed cracked, but neglect to discover it was a leaking return that started the whole failure, only after you've buttoned up all the new plaster and decking and trench work! Etc.

If you want to try some detection yourself, we'll give you some tips. Or if you'd prefer to hire a pro, you can find them online. That's step two after the warranty step.

 

[Desmond.TFP]

Thank you @Dirk and @ajw22

The original pool builder is no longer in business so no warranty options. I don't think we have pictures of construction time. Makes sense to try to diagnose a bit further before starting to open up the deck. Can explore more root-cause things after that.

I'd like some pointers on doing leak detection myself, preferably without scuba gear. I've seen the dye trails from syringes technique before, but am likely not equipped to do all the plugging & pressurizing stuff (which I think tests the plumbing and may not be needed here). If my basic testing -- with help from you wonderful folk here! -- gets too much for me I will call local pros.

Please also advice on what to do (even as an interim measure) if I do positively ID some leakage through pebbleTec crack. Would that be pool-putty of some sort?

Lastly, pointers to any good source to buy needed supplies for this unplanned adventure, please.

 

[Dirk]

The simplest test is the bucket test. That determines if the leak is real, or just evaporation. You're probably past that, but it's easy to do if you care to.

Here's an article about leaks:

Water Leaks - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

And one about leak detection (the bucket test insructions are on this page):

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

Not sure if this is mentioned in the above articles, and there is some risk too it, so be sure you understand the risks thoroughly before you even think about doing it, as there is always some risk letting water out of your pool. A very simple test is to just turn off your fill water, stop filling your pool. Let it leak. Where the pool level stops going lower is where your leak is. Now there could also be leaks above that level, but this will identify the lowest leak, at least. Or rather narrow it down. The leak would be somewhere on the perimeter of the water level.

If you try that, and the water stops draining at the lowest point of the crack in the pebble, that would tell you a lot. It would mean your plumbing is probably OK: not a leaking return, or main drain, or buried pipe, etc.

You can seal off your plumbing for a while and see what happens. You'd turn off the pump, and plug up all the "holes" in your pool: any suction ports (like your skimmer) and any returns. There are a few ways to do that, depending on your fittings. Let that sit for a few days. If the leak stops, you've got a plumbing leak. If it keeps leaking, the leak is in the plaster or the shell.

That'll keep ya busy for a while...

I don't know all the detection tricks. Those are the few that come to mind. Others here can fill in more. But you've got a place to start now.

 

[Bperry]

The simplest test is the bucket test. That determines if the leak is real, or just evaporation. You're probably past that, but it's easy to do if you care to.

Here's an article about leaks:

Water Leaks - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

And one about leak detection (the bucket test insructions are on this page):

Leak Detection

A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.

www.troublefreepool.com

Not sure if this is mentioned in the above articles, and there is some risk too it, so be sure you understand the risks thoroughly before you even think about doing it, as there is always some risk letting water out of your pool. A very simple test is to just turn off your fill water, stop filling your pool. Let it leak. Where the pool level stops going lower is where your leak is. Now there could also be leaks above that level, but this will identify the lowest leak, at least. Or rather narrow it down. The leak would be somewhere on the perimeter of the water level.

If you try that, and the water stops draining at the lowest point of the crack in the pebble, that would tell you a lot. It would mean your plumbing is probably OK: not a leaking return, or main drain, or buried pipe, etc.

You can seal off your plumbing for a while and see what happens. You'd turn off the pump, and plug up all the "holes" in your pool: any suction ports (like your skimmer) and any returns. There are a few ways to do that, depending on your fittings. Let that sit for a few days. If the leak stops, you've got a plumbing leak. If it keeps leaking, the leak is in the plaster or the shell.

That'll keep ya busy for a while...

I don't know all the detection tricks. Those are the few that come to mind. Others here can fill in more. But you've got a place to start now.

The leak is real if there’s water leaking out of the back of the wall. It’s very likely the crack is just above the normal water level because all the water above that level leaked out and it can’t get any higher.

 

[Dirk]

The leak is real if there’s water leaking out of the back of the wall.

Of course that's the likely scenario (it's what I meant by "You're probably past that, but it's easy to do..."), but it's technically not a given. I only offered that test to be thorough. Troubleshooting can be made even more challenging by making assumptions. You start with the most obvious, or the simplest, or the easiest troubleshooting step, and then you progress. Eliminating possibilities, however unlikely, is important, and can save a lot of wasted effort.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

With all water leaks in swimming pools finding its origin is all ways the first step.

Likely cause……unknown until the effective area is exposed, ground movement applying pressures on the deck and bond beam may be one of the causes. Settlement between the pool shell and surrounding deck may also be a cause for the break in between the coping.

Options to fix…….removal of decking and plaster (that was never intended to be used above the water line) in effective area to also follow the path of the water leak and to expose condition of the bond beam.
A cracked bond beam would be the most serious condition to the pool failure, this can only be determined from exposing the current cracks and the areas around them.

The water leaking on the backside of the pool near the steps could be from traveling on top of the bond beam and below the deck work from the pool being over filled.

Urgency…….this is your call completely. Any type of water loss in a swimming pool structure should have importance.

DIY…….all depends on your knowledge and ability in regards to the serverity of your findings.

 

[Bperry]

The inside of that skimmer. Is there a way to re-seal properly around that inner compartment? Could it be worthwhile to do so?
View attachment 541976

You don’t want to really seal inside of that skimmer. The deck portion needs to be able to move independently from the lower portion. You could seal it with flexible mastic, but you really just need to keep the water level below that joint.

 

[Desmond.TFP]

So I waited for several days and the wall leak has almost stopped, water level is still ok. So at least part of initial problem could have been just overfilling the pool. PebbleTec crack is above water line and will still be dealt with in due course.

There is a very slight wall leak still, no longer starting at beam level but a few feet lower, and I noticed that the pool light is at about that level and appears partly unseated (pic below). Does that look like a candidate for the small remaining leak? The leak is likely too small for leak-detector to show ink trail.

 

[Bperry]

So I waited for several days and the wall leak has almost stopped, water level is still ok. So at least part of initial problem could have been just overfilling the pool. PebbleTec crack is above water line and will still be dealt with in due course.

There is a very slight wall leak still, no longer starting at beam level but a few feet lower, and I noticed that the pool light is at about that level and appears partly unseated (pic below). Does that look like a candidate for the small remaining leak? The leak is likely too small for leak-detector to show ink trail.
View attachment 543324

It’s possible. You have ink getting pulled into that light?