Trouble in paradise

[pool_in_bali]

so, as you can see, we’ve had problems for a while and finding a decent pool repair man in Bali is not easy. First assessment was done about a month before pandemic, two companies came out, tested with die, buckets, and tried to determine where leak was. No die was being drawn, they never clogged the main drain so I assume they didn’t think that’s where the leak was. Instead they sealed up 3 return valves with plastic caps and silicone. After the next day or two, they decided to permanently close off those outlets and reroute the outlet water to the other side of the pool. Never the less, that didn’t work.. the virus came, and the wife and I Decided not to let them come back. Since then, I have grouted and used cement to fill in large gaps around the edge of the pool, and today I just clogged the main drain and left a bucket of water. We don’t care what the pool looks like at this point because eventually we will remodel the house and the pool will be resurfaced with something. But we want the leak stopped for now. I’m waiting to see what happens in the next 24hrs. Question 1- can the water seep through the tile? I did an overkill with the grout although the tiles were installed without spacers. Some gaps, narrow and wide so on the spaces too thin I layered heavy grout and even cement mixed with damdex. (Recommended by last repair guy). 2. What is normally under a pool like this, plastic, some kind of coating? The first time I drained the pool, it seamed as though all the water that was leaking was coming out in a gap where the wall meets with the bottom. I used cement and damdex there. I grouted 3/4 of the pool before It rained. Still leaked. Drained it again , the one spot that had water coming out was stopped but there were a couple places where it seemed like water was coming up through the tile. After finishing grout and sealing everything, there was still a leak. Over night , looks to be an inch. That’s when I clogged the main drain and started a second bucket test. We are in tropics, 100% humidity, and it’s about to be rainy season. Super hot and sun beats on the pool. 3.If it’s the main drain, should we seal it? If we do, how do we circulate the water without pump and filter? 4.Can we resurface the whole pool with cement with sealer? And is there a paint, dye, or stain to color the cement? We have no idea when this pandemic will end here, until then, wife wants zero visitors. Especially since there is no way to the pool other than coming through the house. I hope this thread gives everyone an idea what our situation is and we gratefully Await and welcome any solutions or advice.

 

[Dirk]

I'm no expert on this topic, but until one shows up, I can give you some thoughts. It sounds to me like you have multiple tile/grout/sealing issues. If that's the case, it's possible you'll never get them all sealed up. If you're confident you'll be remodeling the pool, which would mean ripping out all that tile and installing a proper pool finish, your best bet might be to just paint the pool with an epoxy paint. That would be a temporary fix, but maybe that's all you need. It might last a few years. It'd look great. Seal up all the leaks. And probably wouldn't be too bad in terms of what you'll have to haul through the house to do the job. The surface would have to be prepped and primed, but that shouldn't be to much work.

Let's see if any of our experts thinks that's a good idea, or has a better one...

By the way, welcome to TFP! Glad you found us.

 

[Dirk]

By the way, is your pool equipment below the water's surface? If so, are you sure there are no leaks inside that well?

 

[JJ_Tex]

I'm not an expert either, but it seems like you may have a plumbing issue as well as leaking in the shell.

1. For the plumbing, can you pressure test the lines to find the leaks? You mentioned clogging the main drain. Do you have skimmers or other suction?

2. For the shell, that looks like lots of opportunities for leaks. Tiled pools are not that common in the US, but liner pools are. Could you put a liner over the tile to ensure you have a watertight structure?

 

[pool_in_bali]

I'm no expert on this topic, but until one shows up, I can give you some thoughts. It sounds to me like you have multiple tile/grout/sealing issues. If that's the case, it's possible you'll never get them all sealed up. If you're confident you'll be remodeling the pool, which would mean ripping out all that tile and installing a proper pool finish, your best bet might be to just paint the pool with an epoxy paint. That would be a temporary fix, but maybe that's all you need. It might last a few years. It'd look great. Seal up all the leaks. And probably wouldn't be too bad in terms of what you'll have to haul through the house to do the job. The surface would have to be prepped and primed, but that shouldn't be to much work.

Let's see if any of our experts thinks that's a good idea, or has a better one...

By the way, welcome to TFP! Glad you found us.

Yes, we’ve considered the epoxy paint as a temporary fix. Can you recommend any brands that I can try to find similar in Indonesia?

 

[pool_in_bali]

I'm not an expert either, but it seems like you may have a plumbing issue as well as leaking in the shell.

1. For the plumbing, can you pressure test the lines to find the leaks? You mentioned clogging the main drain. Do you have skimmers or other suction?

2. For the shell, that looks like lots of opportunities for leaks. Tiled pools are not that common in the US, but liner pools are. Could you put a liner over the tile to ensure you have a watertight structure?

Yes we have a skimmer , main drain, and two outlets. Although the water level is only a foot and a half at the moment so the pluming is cut off at the moment to see if it’s tile. I’m trying to eliminate but, I agree there most likely is are some plumbing issues somewhere. We’ve had a a couple good earthquakes since 2018 too. I don’t know how to pressure test without equipment unless there’s some type of MacGyver alternate ? I like the idea of coating the bottom with plastic too. What do you think about epoxy paint? And how would you clean the pool if you had to plug the main drain?

 

[pool_in_bali]

By the way, is your pool equipment below the water's surface? If so, are you sure there are no leaks inside that well?

When the pump is on , yes water does leak a bit. But it remained dry without pump on.

 

[Dirk]

Yes, we’ve considered the epoxy paint as a temporary fix. Can you recommend any brands that I can try to find similar in Indonesia?

No, I don't have any experience with painting a pool. But lots of members here have. I used the TFP search box to find this old article. Do a search yourself and see what comes up.

Best/Worst Pool Paint

Hey All, I am about to embark on an I/G paint job (cement bottom w/fiberglass walls) and looking at all the different brands of paint. I like the ease & cost savings of the no-prime epoxies such as the Ramuc EP Hi-Build Epoxy but am I risking adhesion failure by not priming? Anybody have a...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Dirk]

And how would you clean the pool if you had to plug the main drain?

You can attach an automated or manual pool vac to the suction port in the skimmer.

 

[Dirk]

If you have multiple leaks in multiple systems (some in the tile, some in the plumbing, wherever), that is hard to troubleshoot all at once. Start with what you know is leaking and fix that. Then move on to the next issue. Once you get one leak (or set of leaks) fixed, the next one will be easier to spot.

 

[pool_in_bali]

If you have multiple leaks in multiple systems (some in the tile, some in the plumbing, wherever), that is hard to troubleshoot all at once. Start with what you know is leaking and fix that. Then move on to the next issue. Once you get one leak (or set of leaks) fixed, the next one will be easier to spot.

Lol, yes this has been my never ending strategy. The water hasn’t moved at all since I plugged main drain this morning. I’ll post an update by morning. Which is evening for you guys. Thanks for all the responses .

 

[pool_in_bali]

Besides painting , what about laying tile or stone over existing tile ? Is that more trouble in the future?
I figure a good epoxy paint might last as long as 4 years in tropics ?

 

[Dirk]

I'm gonna say that laying tile on top of leaking tile, if that's even possible, would be a lot more work, a lot more expense, and more likely to leak, than a good coat of the right kind of paint (after first prep'ing the existing surface correctly). The base layer you'd set the new tile in would not likely adhere correctly to the old tile. If you're thinking that second layer of tile will be your final fix, instead of the remodel you hinted at, then definitely don't leave the old tile. Rip that out and do the new finish correctly.

I couldn't say how long paint will last. I've heard here not to expect many years, more like a few years.

 

[pool_in_bali]

So, since I plugged the main drain , the water continued to leak but slower. So, I think my next project will be epoxy paint, but I cannot find any threads on painting a tiled pool. Any more suggestions?

 

[Dirk]

You'll need to do some research to come up with paint brands that might work for your situation. Then you should call the manufacturer(s), tell them what you're trying to do, and ask them for advice how best to do it. If they balk at the idea of paining tile, then you might have to move on to the next one. If you can't get a manufacturer to confirm their product will work on finished tile, underwater no less, then you should think twice about trying it. On the other hand, if you get one that claims it'll work, then they should be able to give you detailed instructions about surface prep and application.

 

[pool_in_bali]

You can attach an automated or manual pool vac to the suction port in the skimmer.

I 5ink I will try this, we can keep the main drain plugged correct?

 

[Dirk]

Yes. My main drain never worked, and I eventually had it removed when I resurfaced the pool. My circulation is fine. If you plug yours up, or get rid of it all together, that could affect your circulation. So keep an eye on if for now, while it's just a temporary bypass. If your pool stays clean and the water stays clear, then keeping it plugged up, or removing it, will be OK. If on the other hand you start to have circulation issues, like algae forming in corners, or warm and cold areas forming in the water, then maybe the drain needs to be restored.

Depending on how your drain is plumbed, a vac attached to the skimmer while the drain is open might not work. So you need to understand how your drain plumbing is connected.

 

[pool_in_bali]

Yes. My main drain never worked, and I eventually had it removed when I resurfaced the pool. My circulation is fine. If you plug yours up, or get rid of it all together, that could affect your circulation. So keep an eye on if for now, while it's just a temporary bypass. If your pool stays clean and the water stays clear, then keeping it plugged up, or removing it, will be OK. If on the other hand you start to have circulation issues, like algae forming in corners, or warm and cold areas forming in the water, then maybe the drain needs to be restored.

Depending on how your drain is plumbed, a vac attached to the skimmer while the drain is open might not work. So you need to understand how your drain plumbing is connected.

Not sure what happened to my earlier response to this, so sorry if it shows twice. So, usually I have the main drain slightly open when using the vacuum to clean the bottom. I attach the hose at the skimmer, I don’t think I’ve ever tried closing the main drains valve all the way shut yet, so we will see. Between the sun, rain, and constant humidity similar to Florida’s weather, our pool needs lots of attention. I normally clean the walls regularly even with the main drain on to keep the walls clear of green algae. We just replaced the sand in our Hayward, but still requires work. One day , I’d like to replace the filter , tile , and create a whole new system similar to my brothers pool shaped as Jimmy pages double neck guitar in Palm Springs CA. He had a charcoal filtered system, he bragged how he could drink the water. Anyways wish me luck. If any of you are in Bali let me know.
Thanks again

 

[Dirk]

If you're getting algae regularly that's possibly a circulation problem but much more likely a chemistry problem. A proper FC level, consistently maintained, should keep algae away indefinitely. Having to scrub off algae regularly should not be necessary. Though brushing your pool regularly is part of good pool maintenance.

Anyway, if you have independent control over the flow through the drain, then you should be able to find a good combination of pump speed (if it's variable) and valve and vacuum adjustments to get a suction-side vacuum to work well for you. Alternately, a robot cleaner works independently of pumps and skimmer and filter, and does a great job of both vacuuming and brushing, including climbing walls all the way up to the water line. So there are a couple of options for your pool cleaning that should save you a lot of work.