Refilling An Inground Concrete Pool
by Lisa
There are small cracks and we plan on redoing the whole thing. Is it necessary to fill it up and test for a leak before we have it redone? My husband wants to fill it and do a bucket test, if there is a leak, find the source, then drain and work done. To me that seems like a waste of water since we are doing the concrete over anyway. Can't you do a bucket test to see if there is any pipe leaks after the concrete is complete. If this was your pool how would you handle it? Thanks for the question Lisa This is an opinion question, so I'll give my opinion. There's really no way to know if you have a leak other than by doing a series of tests. It's obvious from the question that your husband is familiar with those. That being said, to repair any leaks the pool would need to be drained and the repairs made. If you're going to have a qualified tech come in to replaster an empty pool, the cracks should be taken care of. They should take the time to sand them down, seal them, then do a good plaster job. Many times leaks don't happen through the plaster or gunite, it's a suction side plumbing leak. I have personally seen many pools that have sat empty for a few years and replasted. I have never seen one leak due to poor workmanship. I look at it like having scratches on a car that has no paint on it. I wouldn't paint the car to see the scratches, then strip the paint off, repair the scratches, then repaint again. You're going to sand the entire car down, reprime, and repaint anyway, so why do it twice? Again, this is just my opinion, so you can take for what it's worth. The final decision is yours. To post a reply, or if you have a similar question, you can see your post on the Q&A page in the "Draining A Swimming Pool" category. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Check back to this post for answers. Hope this helps and have a great Summer. Robert |
