Leak in skimmer piping

[Poconos]

J,
You about covered it all about working with PVC. Nice thing is the stuff is cheap and you can practice with little expense. I've also been able to salvage used ball valves by cutting flush with the ball valve and using a drum sander chucked in a drill press to remove the inside pipe. If you used the purple primer, that shows when you get close as you're sanding so you slow down so you don't cut into the ball valve material. I'm inherently cheap and don't like to chuck perfectly good $$ ball valves.
Al

[Watermom]

I'm inherently cheap and don't like to chuck perfectly good $$ ball valves.
Al

Ya think? ????

[waldreps]

So how do you know if pvc fittings are schedule 40 or not? I look at the store and don't see any markings on them. Do I have to get them from a pool store or does Home Depot or someone have them?

Stacy

[Poconos]

You're right and someone please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not a plumber. Just looked at some generic Home Depot ones in my basement and no markings. I believe sched-40 refers to the pressure rating which is determined by the thickness of the pipe or valve body and the depth the mating pipe seats for a good pressure joint. Sched-40 pipes seat about 1.25". The ball valves have about the same seating depth. I've also always seen only one variety at a HD or Lowes. There are better, more expensive valves available but I've never used them.
Hope this helps.
Al

[waldreps]

Boy, concrete is tough...lol! I rented a saw to cut it and it worked great. It cut through it like butter. I cut the whole area into four smaller pieces and thought I would be able to use a pry bar and get the pieces out of there. No dice! Just bought a big sledge hammer and will start pounding away as soon as I find the time. I was hoping to avoid having to do that. Oh, well. I'll get some much needed exercise!

Stacy