Skimmer Faceplate

[Texas Splash]

My skimmer is 10+ years old and the plastic is getting brittle, so I have to be extra careful when trying to remove it, but knowing where those tabs are might help someone else from breaking their faceplate by pulling from the wrong area.

Whenever I have to remove the faceplate from the skimmer, it takes me forever because I forget exactly where it's attached to the skimmer opening. This time I decided to show a couple pics of my skimmer as a reference. I believe my skimmer is a Waterway, but others may be similar. There are two tabs that face inward at the top and bottom of the skimmer faceplate. Those tabs slip into small rectangular grooves at the top and bottom (underneath) of the skimmer frame opening.

Look closely and you should see four tiny tabs facing inward, two from the top and two from the bottom of the faceplate.

The corresponding holes for the tabs, partially covered by the new silicone I just applied, are highlighted by the square areas shown. That is where the top tabs go. The bottom holes are directly underneath.

 

[Texas Splash]

I should note that when I first tried to remove the faceplate a couple years ago, those four tabs were stuck in the silicone from when the pool was first installed. The techs slapped the faceplate on right after the silicone was applied, so that can make removal a bit challenging. Be patient when trying to remove the faceplate to avoid breaking it.