leaking pools advice needed

bazzy p


Joined: 08/04/2008
Posts: 2


Message Posted:
09/06/2008 18:43

has any of the board members had any problems with their pools e.g. leaks.We seem to have a substantial leak the builder does not want to know, we are going to have tests done by an independent company to locate the problem can anyone offer advice does the builder have a duty to remedy this problem e. g. a guarantee all advice would be gratefully accepted.

brian24001


Joined: 23/03/2008
Posts: 282


Message Posted:
09/06/2008 19:28

just sent you email

ive@karsiyaka


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 99


Message Posted:
09/06/2008 20:13

Hi Bazzy,



I to have had problems with my pool leaking but lucky enough I held a retention until all snagging works were complete and I had the pool filled prior to handing over the last payment hopefully all will be OK now. I think it is quiet a common problem pools leaking but what the developers like to do is sign you up for them to carry out pool maintenance and if the pool is leaking they just top it up at your expense but if you do not use your developer to maintain your pool it will invalidate your guarantee for your pump etc you will have to way up which option you fill happier with Regards IVE.

ive@karsiyaka


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 99


Message Posted:
09/06/2008 20:19

SORRY FEEL HAPPIER WITH

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 180


Message Posted:
10/06/2008 06:46

The largets part of our business is pool repairs.

We know why pools here leak and we know how to repair them.

If we can be of assistance please contact us for a free, no obligation quote.



Vaughan

Octopus Pools

Girne

0392 816 0688

Pools



Joined: 22/04/2008
Posts: 111


Message Posted:
10/06/2008 08:06

We repair pools using the liner system.

No more leaks at all with 10 years guarantee.



Please visit our site:

www.desjoyaux.com

www.acarthavuz.com

Office: 0392.8213108

Gsm: 05338760066

cyprusacart@yahoo.com

20 Temmuz Cad.Seytanpir Plaza,Alsancak (in front of CAPITANO,old woodys bar)

deecyprus4


Joined: 27/07/2008
Posts: 39


Message Posted:
03/08/2008 10:26

Here's some advice based on my own amateur experience of a problem pool.



How to work out how many tons of water your pool contains



1 cubic or square meter of water weighs 1 metric ton, i.e the water in a space measuring 1m x 1m x 1m = 1 ton



To work out the number of tons in your pool multiply the lenght x breadth x average depth

So, if you pool is an 8x4 and has an average depth of 1.5m, the calculation is

8 x 4 = 32 x 1.5 = 48 tons



If you pool is 10 x 5 and an average of 2m deep

10 x 5 = 50 x 2 = 100 tons



Bear these calculations in mind when considering the amount of chemicals etc. required.





Massive sudden water leak in an overflow pool?

This is most likely due to the non-return valve being stuck open - usually due to small stones, twig, leaves etc. jamming the valve that maintains the level in your pool when the pump is off.

The water level in your pool will equalise with the level in your balance tank - if you have an overflow in your balance tank below the level of the pool, the water will flow from the pool to your balance tank and then out of the overflow.

Ask your pool man to clean the valve. Consider a 2nd valve to reduce the likelihood of large water loss in this way.



Normal Water Use

In the heat of the summer, normal water loss seems to be about 3-4 tons a week for a 8x4 pool, 4-5 in a 10x5

I have heard that everytime someone gets out of the pool, you loose 1-2 litres of water through drips/drying/evaporation, so allow for this if you have kids staying!



Is it a Leak or Evaporation?

The "Bucket Test" is a way of finding out if your water loss is through evaporation or a leak.

Fill a bucket with water and leave on a pool step, the bucket doesn't leak, so if the bucket loses 1cm of water, your pool has evaporated about 1cm too.



Remember, you may have 2 or more leaks, and that a tiny hole under pressure will lose a huge amount of water over 24 hours.



Remember, the tiles and tile grout is only decorative, it's the concrete liner that is the waterproof barrier.



If it's not evaporation or a stuck valve, try these steps.



1. Take the pool off overflow and switch off the pump. Note the hight of water in the pool and balance tank



2. Next morning measure height of water in balance tank & pool



3. 1cm drop in your pool = 1/2 ton of lost water for a 10x 5 pool, or about 1/3 ton in a 8x4 (10m x 5m water = 50 cubic meters = 50 tons of water , divide by 100cm = 500 lites per cm), you can do the same calculation for your balance tank, but you will soon see if it is losing the amount of water you are experiencing.



4. Measure every 12 hours and note it down.



5. Continue for a few days - you may find once the level drops a few cm below the overflow level, the loss will decrease - this could be due to less evaporation, if you have porous ridge tiles, these will soak a lot of water in that will evaporate off in the heat of the day



6. Check the grouting around the ridge tiles, and especially where these join the pool tiles. Fill in any tiny gaps - I used something called Pratleys Putty (sometimes available on e-bay, about £6 inc p&p) that you mix together, and then squash in the holes - works underwater too, and sets very hard - a fantastic product for pools.



7. If you have a diving mask, get in the pool, pull out the pool lights and check again for imperfections and holes in the concrete etc. around the light holes - also around the bottom drain if you can - again, use Pratleys Putty.



8. If it stops at a certain level, with no obvious cause (e.g, not just under the pool lights), it could be a dry joint, i.e the pool concrete was poured in 2 stages, and the second pouring hasn't sealed against the 1st - this is a serious problem that could mean demolition or serious work on the pool



9. If the water keeps dropping all the way down (like ours did), it could be due to sub-standard concrete used in the construction - this is a serious problem that could mean demolition or serious work on the pool - ours had the tiles removed, and the bottom of the pool dug out, re-concreted, re-sealed and re-tiled (lucky we hadn't made the final payment !)



10. It could be a leak in the drain pipe, less likely as it's plastic. The pipework can be pressure tested when empty, but this itself could cause a leak - ask a pool specialist for advice.



Water in Pump Room

This is a nasty and dangerous problem that seems to affect many people.



There are two schools of thought regading Balance Tanks;

One says it's good to have a high level overflow (much like a toilet cistern overflow) so if the water gets too high, the water pours away.

The disadvantage of the overflow is, if your non-return valve sticks, you can loose many tons of water from your pool via the balance tank and overflow.



Water tends to enter a pump room in two main ways.

1. If you don't have a balance tank overflow and the pump room shares a wall with the balance tank, there can be a dry joint in the concrete between them at the top which leaks into the pump room when the balance tank is very full, e.g after heavy rain.



2. The pump room isn't built as a water tight space - it should be built as the reverse of a swimming pool, i.e waterproofed to keep water out, when it rains, water soaks in.



The solution to either problem is difficult to retrospectively fit, the options are;

a. Fit a drain in the bottom of the pump room (impossible in most cases)

b. Dig a sump in the bottom of the pump room (possibly use a plastic bucket cemented in) and use a submersible pump to bale-out when needed.

c. Fit an overflow to you balance tank if you have the "dry joint" problem - see provisos above r.e sticking non-return valve.



Fot the cost of a few meters of plastic pipe to create a drain in the pump room when it was being built, wouldn't life be so much better :cry:



Ways to save water



Overflow pools are often constructed with the wrong sort of ridge tiles, i.e they are porous and designed for use with non-overflow pools. When the pump is on and the pool overflowing, each tile can absorb 1/2 litre of water. When the pump is off, the water in the tiles evaporates off due to sun and wind.

Short of replacing the tiles with proper, marble type tiles, at the start of each season, "paint" the tiles with a couple of coats of clear waterproofer (ask in TAYF/Marshalls in Karaoglanoglu) when they are dry.

Also, fill in any gaps between/under the tiles with Pratleys Putty.



The Overflow gully can also evaporate a lot of water if its concrete is untreated. Firstly, it should be coated with a primer agent, and then with 2-3 coats of waterproofing paint, again available in ask in TAYF/Marshalls.



A pool cover can greatly reduce evaporation and reduce heat loss. Beware if you are not living permanently in your house, wind or heavy rain can result in loss or damage of your cover.



Our 1st pool maintenance company back-washed with abandon - not sure if this was an attempt to sell more water or that they didn't know what they were doing - it should only reqire doing every 2-3 weeks under normal conditions.

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 1569


Message Posted:
03/08/2008 10:32

we have a cover for our pool drilled holes around it and solid iron rods thread through the liner to secure in the holes we have had it for 4 yrs now no probs

lobylud


Joined: 14/10/2007
Posts: 77


Message Posted:
03/08/2008 21:00

My post is not to give any advice on leaky pools.



I just want to say it's fantastic for deecyprus4 to go to all that time and trouble to write such a detailed account and give their personal advice to try and help someone with a problem.



That's what the forum should be all about.



Loby.

bradus


Joined: 25/02/2007
Posts: 749


Message Posted:
03/08/2008 21:14

Deecyprus,



Fantastic post. I'm sure that it will be useful info for many on the forum.

jock1


Joined: 06/01/2008
Posts: 663


Message Posted:
03/08/2008 21:32

Good bit of knowlege gathered for myself and the forum.



regards jock

Ossie


Joined: 19/01/2008
Posts: 23


Message Posted:
04/08/2008 12:20

Deecyprus.



Excellent post,hows about going professional?

deecyprus4


Joined: 27/07/2008
Posts: 39


Message Posted:
10/08/2008 09:40

will be their full time in oct

mitsi


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 21


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 07:55

our friends in Karsiyaka had massive leak in their brand new pool. Turned out there was a hole in base filled with newspaper and tiled over||| Good here eh? luckily they were still under guarantee but work took 3 weeks to correct.

MarkVpiazza


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 13


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 09:46

DeeCyprus, or should I call your Plagiarist,



I think you forgot to put in your post who the author of your post was



Here is the original that I posted last September

http://trncvillaowners.phpbb3now.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5



It's a shame you didn't have to manners to give credit to the person who took so much time to compile it.



Mark Piazza

cyprusishome


Joined: 31/03/2007
Posts: 571


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 14:43

Mark,



If you are the original author of this piece then I have to agree with you.



Taking work that is in the public domain is seen by many as fair game but when a piece as large as this is taken the norm in my experience is at least to state the BB or whatever if not the author.



I will give the benefit that the poster is new to this and maybe other BB's but hopefully they will gain from this experience.



David

MarkVpiazza


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 13


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 14:53

David



I had a look at Kevin & Dee's other recent posts and found this one

http://www.cyprus44.com/forums/4481.asp



which again is copied word for word from my post here from March

http://trncvillaowners.phpbb3now.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2305&hilit=+wikipedia



It's a very clear Kevin & Dee are too lazy to wite their own posts, and without an original thought in their heads.



It's a bit like having a stalker



I wonder if other members of TRNC BBs have had their posts "stolen" by DeeCyprus4?



Mark

deecyprus4


Joined: 27/07/2008
Posts: 39


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 18:52

only trying to help everyone gets there info from somewhere did you get yours from divine intervention mark sado

w26kay


Joined: 14/10/2007
Posts: 12


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 20:00

deecyprus4 has been well and truely caught out cheating and not for the first time!



"only trying to help everyone gets there info from somewhere did you get yours from divine intervention mark sado"



No. He actually wrote this article.

You should apologise to him, not only for "stealing" his hard work, but for your rudeness as quoted above.

markvpiazza


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 13


Message Posted:
14/08/2008 20:02

Kev & Dee



I got my information from my own experience of a leaking pool - every word written is by my own hand.



The sado thing is that you tried to make out that you had written it, and took the praise. When someone in the thread suggested you should fix pools professionally, you said that you would be out in October , implying you would consider working with pools.



Mark

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 180


Message Posted:
15/08/2008 08:27

We all learn things from various sources. We learn from school. We learn from family, neighbours and friends. We learn at work.

We learn from others.

This is nothing to be ashamed of and we should never think we know everything. If a day passes without us learning something, we have wasted it.

Eventually, what we know becomes "our own" knowledge, but true understanding of that knowledge only comes with experience.



I knew nothing about swimming pools when I came to TRNC, and after 5 years I am still learning.



Beware the instant expert.

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 1569


Message Posted:
15/08/2008 14:03

deecyprus44 , i did'nt read the above posts until this minute , while i still think all should share and still see no wrong in it , i must say there really was no need to pass the posting off as your own , you could have said that you found it on another forum ,but you chose not to , what you did was really not nice .

hopefully you are in the minority , simbas