Plumbing Upgrades When Renovating A Pool
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Something that comes up on almost every swimming pool renovation project is the question of the integrity of the existing pool plumbing system and whether we should be removing and replacing all of the buried pipes as part of the scope of the renovation that we are doing. On one hand there is a significant cost to replace all of the plumbing for your swimming pool. The actual cost to you would depend on the complexity of your plumbing system and the amount of time and work it will take to dig up and replace all the plumbing runs. If you do not install new pipes then there exists the potential that the pool could have a leak after completing a major renovation...and that is something you definitely never want to experience.
Every pool installation is unique but in general it is not all that much money to dig up and replace plumbing when you are already doing a major renovation. Breaking out the pool deck with jackhammers and hardscaping your backyard require hard work and heavy equipment so if you already have all of this going on in your backyard then the time might be right to consider upgrading the plumbing on your pool. This is the only way you can be sure that the plumbing will last as long as the rest of the pool you are renovating. If the existing plumbing system has known leaks, known deficiencies or has been built using the wring materials then to me that absolutely means it can not stay and the time to fix this is during a major renovation.
Wrong pool plumbing materials - The number one cause for me to determine that we need to replace an entire pool plumbing system is when I detect deficiencies within the plumbing system that would lead me to believe there will be systemic failures. Using the wring piping materials to build a pool is a perfect example. If you discover a pool has copper pipes, steel pipes, ABS pipes or non-pressure rated poly pipe then I would definitely recommend to replace the entire plumbing system both above and below ground and remove every stitch of that inferior plumbing material. There are a few accepted materials for use in plumbing pools and the common thread with all of them is that they are made to be pressure rated. Schedule 40 PVC is the most common modern day pool plumbing material. Schedule 20 is never acceptable in a pool installation. Nylon fittings are not acceptable for pool installations. ABS is not pressure rated but widely available at consumer level hardware stores so you do see it used in pool systems often. This would absolutely be a mistake as it is not pressure rated but it is also not rated for use in chlorinated systems. Metals pipes you do find on older pools, copper mostly, but these are a guaranteed failure. It is a matter of when, not if, and I would endeavor to replace all of the plumbing in the pool if I were to discover buried copper pipes.
The problem with swimming pools is that you never really know what you are going to find until you start digging up the pool. Who knows what the last person did who worked on this pool, so I have learned over 30 years of renovations to expect the unexpected. When I quote ay pool renovation project I usually include a provision for the cost to replace all of the buried pool plumbing. This way the pool owner knows in advance what the ballpark cost for this will be, and why you might need to do this. Most commonly I will explain that I will be pressure testing the pool pipes to verify the integrity of the pipes. A leak means a failure. If there is one leak we can explore to fix the leak. More than one leak and we should be considering to spend that money replacing the pool pipes entirely versus spending the money on labor searching for and digging up individual leaks.
When to consider replacing the entire pool plumbing system
- The existing plumbing failed the pressure test
- The existing plumbing is more than 20 years old
- More than one leak was located in the existing plumbing
- The wrong plumbing materials have been located on buried pipes
- You are planning to pour a new concrete pool deck
- You want more flow and efficiency from your plumbing system
This is not an exclusive list but a short list of the most likely causes for me to insist that we spend money upgrading your pool plumbing. Fixing broken pipes buried on your pool is hard to do, and costly, but more so that the process will likely involve cutting into your pool deck and leaving a permanent repair patch which will look bad. Also worth noting is that some pool leaks can not be repaired without draining the pool or making changes to a pool like replacing a wall fitting of some kind. Any work like this is best to be done while completing a major renovation as the work can not be done on a full pool, or the work will cause visible damage to the existing pool to try to repair while full. In any case, the time to fix ALL leaks in your pool plumbing system is during a renovation and I would consider this extra money well spent to have the confidence that the pipes are in perfect working order and will continue to be for decades to come.
Did you know that the most important factor that determines how efficient your pool plumbing system can be is the pipe size. Most specifically the pipe size for the pipes located on the suction side of your pump. Any pool with 1.5" suction line sizing might want to explore the potential of upgrading the suction line to 2" if the rest of the pool system is safely capable of higher flow rates. I would consider replacing 1.5" suction lines with no problems just to have the efficiency upgrade of the larger 2" pipes. For more information you can read this article on pipe size in swimming pools.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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