Cracks and Leak in Brand New Pool

[pool2013]

Hello,

Sorry to be joining with a 1st post problem but hoping for some initial guidance on how to handle my situation. Had a new concrete pool put in with a 3m stucco finish. The pool project was pretty much a disaster of issues but we were happy with the completed product and have been using it about 2 months. Last week a leak developed and we have traced it to a crack running down the corner where the pool meets the spa (waterfall) wall. The floor of the pool below that area is getting green discoloration like algae with black spots that won't really scrub off and reappears within a day of being cleaned. This has me thinking that water is leaking down between the concrete and the finish.

Pool contractor's handyman was out today and is planing to come back with epoxy tomorrow as a temp fix. pool is losing about 2" per day right now. My question is what should I do next? I'm not a rush out and call in the lawyers kind of guy but I don't really trust the contractor to give an objective assessment and don't want a crap repair. Should I have another contractor or angineer to come out before allowing any work? Has anyone been through this?

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

1. Algae is your fault, or at least, your responsibility. Getting a Taylor K2006 and reading the Best Guess page (linked in my blue signature box) will get you started on understanding that statement.

2. More urgently: a 2" per day leak is a serious, and probably hard to fix, problem. You need to act immediately, to preserve your legal rights. If you postpone till next spring you'll allow your builder to move things outside the typical 1 year warranty, and you'll be well and truly victimized. Do all these things, ASAP:
(a) your builder may not have deliberately, or even negligently, caused this problem. Do NOT presume that he did.
(b) BUT, do seriously and politely maintain that it is HIS problem, not yours, even if it is an unavoidable accident.
(c) TAKE GOOD PHOTOGRAPHS, NOW.
(d) Do the bucket test, 2x to verify ACTUAL leakage => http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?11252
(e) contact a lawyer, and have them evaluate your contract and legal situation. You NEED to know what you have to do, to avoid losing your rights.
(f) Do NOT accept epoxy as anything but a temporary patch. Repairing 2" per day leak on a new pool may be a VERY serious and expensive job.
(g) Get a K2006 ASAP. Correct and log your chemistry as quickly as possible. Questionable chemistry is commonly blamed for construction problems.

Good luck!

[PoolDoc]

Sorry, forgot one:

(h) Hire the best local builder or repair contractor you can find, and have THEM evaluate the problem.

and one more . . .

(i) Don't assume that your builder is TRYING to rip you off (so be polite), but don't assume that he's NOT trying to rip you off either (so be insistent on preserving your rights).

[Marin]

Ben makes good points, all of which you need to follow.

This is not your problem to solve, it's the builder's. If it's truly 2"/day, I wouldn't accept patchwork repair.

About the algae under the waterfall, I see this more often than you'd expect under natural rock waterfalls. My assumption is that the water is pulling a contaminant from the rocks or from between the rocks and depositing whatever's necessary to get the algae going. We did a job earlier this year with the same issue. They'd let the algae sit long enough that the plaster was seriously pitted and rough in that exact area. Everywhere else was pristine. Rather than replaster an entire pool over 10% that was bad, we were able to grind it smooth with a diamond wheel. All that said, I don't know what the fix would be to prevent it from happening again, other than to stop using the waterfall (route my clients took).
Another thing, leaks are sometimes not in the obvious location. That crack is suspicious, but it very well could be a return pipe that some worker forgot to glue (happens).
Good luck & keep us up to date. Share some pictures if you would please.

[pool2013]

Very much appreciate the feedback and guidance! Interesting about the algae. The water temp has jumped a lot in recent weeks which could help explain why it just started as we have had 0 algae issues until around now. I am able to get the algae off with a mask some pressure water from the hose and a lot of underwater elbow grease scrubbing. I'm going to try shocking the pool to see if that keeps it from coming back within the day.

To the bigger leak issue, not sure if I am posting pics correctly but below is an attempt. You can see the crack running down just left of the corner. The pool contractor did a dye test and confirmed the leak was in this location and that is it pretty severe. They are contacting the concrete company and are supposed to get back to me this week.

The pool contractor did the start up and maintained the pool until early June. I've been dilligent with it since then and have kept weekly records including a late June water sample analysis from Leslie pool. Going to get another one from them today and will get the test kit you recommend. (I have been using the one that came with the pool until now) The PH has been running at the high end of the range but I hear that is normal for new pool with a salt system. I've been careful about adding acid diluted in a bucket as per the instructions. Can't imagine any chemistry issue would casue a pool to fail in 8 weeks but to your point, want to have all bases covered just in case.

Again, I really aprpeciate the help and will keep you posted on how it goes.

[PoolDoc]

pix fixed.