So sad, a leak in my just finished pool ...???

My 6'2" son had half his body under the deck ... still haven't hit the pipes yet. I opened one of the returns closest to get some water in the pipes to see if he could trace the leak and found a sliver of cracked pipe and a small chunk of gunite. Grrr.

The deck sub called and said to hammer out the 4'x5' section of deck and then replace it woud be $800. More than I thought, but he said it was only materials and labor, no profit?

I'm not sure just how much dirt we can remove from under this chunk of concrete before we'll be endangering someone's life. :(

Valerie, you are on the right track, you've found the pipe AND the cracked section. Keep excavating around the pipe to determine the extent of the damage (letting a little water into the pipe was a very good idea) As long as you keep the excavation down to ~2' wide, you shouldn't have to worry about the deck comming down on you (or your son). It seems to me that you are on the edge of solving this problem yourself (though, whoever is responsible for the broken line in the first place should be doing the work). Please keep us informed as to the progress

- Waste

Val, We had to go about 5 feet under the deck/steps and it wasn't a problem. I vote that you keep digging (especially since I'm not doing the digging).

You can hire a leak detection company to pinpoint the leak; that might save you some effort. They'll use sound detection equipment and seem to be generally well regarded. Look up American leak detection in your local phone book (they're a franchise type outfit and about the only game in town as I understand it).

Here's a picture of our tunnel:
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1140.../126307946.jpg

the pool light conduit and the return pipe. Got at least a nice 4" crack in the pipe.

So I guess the battle begins. I KNOW the owner of this company is just going to go ballistic on me when I call him to get him to cover this. Trouble is, I want MY plumber and MY decking sub to fix this. I don't think that's unreasonable, right?

Any advice on how to handle this when I call in the a.m. would be appreciated.

Val

Hi, Val,

In 27 years of business, I ended up coming back to these two ideas when I had to resolve a sticky issue (and try to keep the lawyers out):

1. Put yourself on the other side of the argument. Listen to your words from the opponent's side. Are you asking for something reasonable?:)

2. Financial leverage is always the King in any negotiation...do you have any?:) :)


Dave S.

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Originally Posted by ValAZ

the pool light conduit and the return pipe. Got at least a nice 4" crack in the pipe.

So I guess the battle begins. I KNOW the owner of this company is just going to go ballistic on me when I call him to get him to cover this. Trouble is, I want MY plumber and MY decking sub to fix this. I don't think that's unreasonable, right?

Any advice on how to handle this when I call in the a.m. would be appreciated.

Val

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How did shotcrete rebar get between the conduit and the return? Seem odd if the rebar was (or should have been) there first. Oh well s#$t happens. I had a pipe leak near the completion on my pool when my clean up crew drove their tractor over the pipes. Luckily is was not under a deck. My plumber fixed it no charge. It was an easy fix and I could have done it myself.

If I were you, see if your plumber will take care of it no charge. If not, fix it yourself. Work a deal with your deck sub and tell him you will use him for a later project on your home or reccomend him to neighbors and tell him to do the job for a much more reasonable amount. I only paid $4.50 a square foot for my deck with acrylic topping. Good luck. You still made out big time as owner/builder. I know I did.

1. No financial pull on this one. Shotcrete sub had been paid in full for months.

2. The piece of rebar is from the form they put around the edge of the pool when they shot it. AND .... they cut the caps off the pipes! This is the thing that is just killing me. Why would they have done that? I tried calling them just to get an answer to that, and they couldn't give me an answer. All the pics I seen from other pools on the web have the pipes capped and under pressure right up until the interior is put in. Only thing I can think of is that they were trying to cover their mistake and hope the owner/builder wouldn't know.

I definately can't fix this myself - the return pipe is up against the shotcrete wall on one side and has the electrical conduit on the other. I'll have my plumber come back in.

The thing is, after sitting and looking at it, which is easy to do because I am so sad about all of this that I DO just SIT and look at it ....= ( I do think the shotcrete guys banged it in there when putting in their forms, cause it is wedged in there good, however ... if someone wanted to get it out, like maybe a deck sub so the top couple of inches wouldn't be in the concrete and tried prying it back and forth - I can see how that would crack the pipe. But had the pipes been under pressure, the water would have leaked and I'd have seen it - which leads me back to the shotcrete guys and *why* did they cut my caps off? If I could get a good answer from them, I'd chalk it up to live and learn and let it go ... which I guess it sounds like I'll end up doing.

Waaaaahhhh!

How do I fix this? The plumber "can't get out till next Wednesday, maybe Friday" - and after going out and chipping away at the gunite near the pipes, I think I might be able to do this. Trouble is, I'm not sure what's the best fix. Using couplings and just putting in a new section? The workspace is tight, I might be able to do that....

any ideas?

Val

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ValAZ

How do I fix this? The plumber "can't get out till next Wednesday, maybe Friday" - and after going out and chipping away at the gunite near the pipes, I think I might be able to do this. Trouble is, I'm not sure what's the best fix. Using couplings and just putting in a new section? The workspace is tight, I might be able to do that....

any ideas?

Val

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Cut out the bad section with a hacksaw. Two couplings and straight piece in the middle. That is all there is to it. I don't know if you got my PM but I would be willing to have a look and give you a hand if you want. Send me an e-mail if interested. steverwrx@hotmail.com owner/builder in Phoenix

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stever13

Cut out the bad section with a hacksaw. Two couplings and straight piece in the middle. That is all there is to it. I don't know if you got my PM but I would be willing to have a look and give you a hand if you want. Send me an e-mail if interested. steverwrx@hotmail.com owner/builder in Phoenix

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I know that 2 couplings and a peice of pipe could fix it, but... how would you get the pipe into the second coupling? When dealing with a 'fixed' ridged pipe, you don't have the room for the 1&1/4" slip fitting. 'No hub couplings' -A/K/A Fernco's- would work, but I usually use 4 90's, do you have a better way? ( If you could tell me it, it would be a real help) - Thanx