The big pool leak of 2016

I noticed the pool was losing water faster than just the normal evaporation rate. I was also getting a lot of air and sand in the pump skimmer when pulling water just from the main drains. So, something was wrong, I definitely had a leak. I let the water leak down past the skimmer and the return jets to eliminate the skimmer and jets as a possible cause. The water kept dropping, so I naturally thought it was the main drains since that was the only thing under water now. Well, mysteriously the water stopped leaking about 3′ from the normal level. It would rain and go up a few inches, then drop to that same level. So what is so magical about this level on the pool??? I really needed to look at the plumbing at that level, I found a video I shot of the pool being lowered into place and I could see the plumbing on the main drains, exactly where the water was stopping was where the drain pipe turns and goes to the pump. I had a theory that for some reason the 90 degree elbow at that point must be cracked. I decided to begin the dig to prove or disprove my theory. This pipe should be right in front of the diving board near the pool wall, yes under the concrete. As I started to dig I discovered something terrifying, 80% of the dirt and sand under the concrete has dropped about 6 inches, not much is holding up this massive slab of concrete. But, on the other hand since the dirt is not holding up the concrete where I am going to dig I should be safe, right? Digging was easy, it was 90% sand. I was slowly tunneling like a mole to where I thought the pipe was located. The sand was getting very moist and then I see the pipe, the elbow was cracked! Unfortunately I was so excited that my theory was correct and paying too much attention to the crack in the pipe I did not notice my tunnel was filling full of water. The sand under me was turning to quicksand and the walls were starting to crumble. I backed out as fast as I could and drained another few inches of water out of the pool. That ended my dig for the day, I had to let all that water soak into the sand.

After I drained a few more inches of water out of the pool and the sand had soaked up the water it was time to cut out the bad pipe. I soon discovered the issue, the Rhesus monkeys that installed the pool laid the return jet pipe on top of the main drain pipe. The sand shifted down and moved the return pipe down a few inches, just enough to put pressure on the drain pipe and snap the elbow. Cutting the old pipe out took some effort since it was under pressure with the other pipe sitting on top, I had to make several small cuts; it was really biting my saw. After removing the old pipe gluing the first pipe in place was a little tricky. The wind was blowing moving the water in the pool, every time the “wave” hit the deep end it would increase pressure on the main drains and push a little water out of the pipe I was trying to glue. I do use Christy’s PVC glue, and it works well with wet pipes, it is really good stuff. http://tchristy.com/ You can see the Christy’s on the new pipe, it is blue. Christy’s can be purchased at Home Depot. I let the glue cure for a few days, yes I know a few hours would have been fine, but I was just paranoid at this point. I then turned on the pool pump and prayed for no leaks. I laid in the tunnel for about 15 minutes checking for leaks, everything was good!

Now that the plumbing issue has been solved, on to part two of this saga. The magical floating concrete slab. The slab was only being held up on the sides, no dirt or sand in the middle. As I was packing dirt and sand back in the tunnel I was trying my best to pack it in tight all the way to the concrete ceiling, but I just felt like that was not enough. So, I build a concrete pillar to hold the middle up. I first built a 2′ x 2′ base 5″ thick for the pillar to rest on. The sand was packing very well, I could not even press the wood frame into the sand; good sign. I let the base cure for 3 days then set the tube in place and poured the pillar. I used a total of 480 lbs of fiber reinforced concrete, for the base and pillar. I am still filling the hole with dirt as of this writing, looks like I am going to run out of dirt; funny how that works. I will write an update if something crazy happens during the burial of the pillar. So good to see the pool full again.

Update: The hole is filled. I purchased a few pieces of sod to cover the dirt. Just waiting for grass to grow now.

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