Got a call from the pool care company today and they're saying that my pool (in the house back in TX that I haven't sold yet) is losing ~3" of water a day (!!). That sounds like a HUGE amount of water to me - water should be everywhere, right?

So... my options are to fix it or remove the pool.

Does insurance cover stuff like this; repairs, that is? Neighbor claims their yard was wet last summer, though they never said anything to me about it before we moved. But if that's the case, then it's not because it froze up or anything. Even if it wasn't leaking last summer, there's a "freeze guard"system on the pump that runs it continously anytime the temp is below 40*F so it shouldn't have frozed over the winter.

Anyone had a pool removed? How much does something like that cost? I've had several comments that the backyard is too small and the pool and deck takes up 80% or so of the back yard. So, if it's only a little more to remove vs repair, I might consider that, too.

I'm just in the data collection stage right now; I'm not even sure the pool is leaking as bad as the guy says it is. My real estate agent hasn't said a word about it to me and this is a new pool company I just hired.

Any of you guys in the DFW area do pool work? Thanks for any info you can offer.

Edit: It's an in ground concrete/gunnite pool. I am going to look into repairs, obviously, but the pool guy replaced the leaking filter manifold aready, so he's been working on the pump system. I'm assuming - yes, I know - that since he's telling me about this leak, it's not in the pump system that he's been cleaning and repairing over the past week and a half. So, I'm going with the working theory that it's an underground leak rather than a pump system.

 

Could it be simply a leak in the pump plumbing? When the pump runs, it leaks water from a lose filter clamp, bad o-ring, or leaky fitting some place?
Depending upon the kind of pool it is (In ground concrete, in ground vinyl, in ground fiber glass, above ground...) will determine the cost to repair/removal if the pool itself has a leak.
You may want to investigate the source of the leak first.

Rich.

 

Three inches a day- I've seen it before. Leaks underground or in a pump some place... Usually it's not hard to find the leak. (Walk around until you sink or see where the ducks are coming in for a landing...) Then again, being it's in Texas who knows how much is evaporating.


Regular home owner insurance shouldn't cover it. If you just had the pool put in or just bought the house than it should be covered under warranty. Otherwise you need to get it fixed, especially if you are renting or such. Otherwise just drain the sucker and turn it into a fallout shelter.


And DO NOT sell the house if the pool is bad unless the buyer knows of the problem IN INK. You will get sued for selling a faulty pool.

 

There's no warranty on either since we bought the house 2 1/2 years ago and the pool was already there.

Reading my policy, it looks like damage to the pool structures is covered unless caused by freezing. I haven't called them yet and won't until I know there's a claim to be made. Then I'll get their answer to the question. That and the demolition are the last resorts, of course, but I like to have my ducks in a row for if/when I need to act.

And don't worry, I'm a pretty honest guy. I have no intentions of selling the house without repairing or making full disclosure (which would include an allowance) of the problem.

 

If theres no noticable cracks in the gunite I vote for an underground plumbing leak. If the leak is before the pump you should see soil in your filter. I don't know about where you live but around here we have a guy that does sonic leak detection with sophisticated listening devices and other techno-gadgets. The guy is really accurate. He's found several slab leaks for me and saved me alot of time. He even found a leaky sprinkler valve for me one time that was UNDER an oak tree. Someone decided to plant an oak tree near their sprinkler valve 35 years ago.This guy can tell you exactly the location of the leak including the depth below ground and he charges $350. Keep in mind that swimming pools lose water everyday just by evaporation. Maybe the leak that he fixed on the filter unit was your only problem. Have you done a pressure check on the pump lines??

 

Or you can get a dowser to do it for $200.00.

"Techo-gadgets my eye. I got a bent stick!"

 

I am not a pool repairman but I used to fix a vinyl liner pool that belonged to a friend of mine every once in a while. I would put on the scuba gear and swim around with a small squeeze bottle with colored water in it. I would just squirt a little colored water near any suspicious spots and watch what happened. Anytime I found a real leak the colored water would disappear very quickly. Try the same trick near your outlets, drain and skimmer with the pump turned off. If you have an underground leak it should draw the colored water into the pipe where the leak is located. If nothing else, you will at least have an idea where to start.

 

From my experience as a pool manager for a few local pools, I have frequent problems with the gaskets in the 5 and 6 way Vari-Flow valves that control the filter. The gaskets will start to go bad (usually early in the season after sitting dry) and will cause water to flow out of the filter flush line. Depending on where this line goes (Sanitary, which it should, or onto the ground, which is actually illegal, but we wont go there) you may have people finding water in their yard.
A bad gasket usually costs around $10 to replace and has caused me to loose anywhere between 4 inches/day in a 40000 gallon pool to the entire volume in a 5000 gallon wading pool in less than a day.

Cheap fix if it is the problem. I have some other thoughts on possible problems if that doesnt solve it, so PM me if you would like.

 

i also do pools, am a certified pool operator, two things, like everyone has said, check for leaks, the valve is a good place to start, the gaskets can get chewed up easy. the other is evaporation, depending on the humidity, or lack of it, i have seen pools drop inches overnight. i wouldnt go tearing the pool out just yet

 

OK, here's an update on what the pool guy told me. He's had the pump apart and off for a few days to replace the manifold inside the filter housing. In that time, the pool has dropped in water level. He says 3", but I'm still a bit skeptical about that amount, but who knows?

From what I've been told, the temps in the DFW area haven't been high enough to cause that much evaporation, so that's not it.

Right now, he says the level's dropped to below the skimmer level, so I guess we wait and see if it drops more (leak in actual pool shell or main drain line) or if it stops (leak in the skimmers or skimmer lines). I guess that'll determine the next step.

Thanks for all the help so far and I might take you up on the PM offer, durasmack. Kind of sucks not being there to actually see for myself how much water is going, where the yard is wet and what else is going on.