Pool removal questions, answered by the Guys.

Common questions.

• What's the difference between partial fill-in and full removal?

  Partial fill-in removes the upper portion of the shell, cuts drainage openings in what stays, then places and compacts approved fill before rough grading. Full removal takes the entire shell out and hauls it away before the excavation is backfilled, compacted and finish graded. Partial is generally intended for open-yard uses with no structure planned; full removal is generally preferred if you may build on that footprint later.

• How long does a pool removal take?

  The demolition and backfill itself is usually the shortest part of the project. What moves the schedule is everything around it: how your local building department handles the permit, how equipment gets into the yard, utility locating, weather, and how much material has to come in or go out. We give you a schedule in writing after the site walk, once we have seen those conditions on your property.

• What happens to the dirt and debris?

  Demolished shell material and spoils are loaded and hauled off the property. Backfill is placed as approved fill and compacted in lifts rather than simply pushed in. Loose backfill is what causes settlement later. What material is appropriate depends on the soil and local requirements.

• Do I need city permits?

  Pool removal is generally a permitted demolition, and requirements vary by jurisdiction and by property. We prepare and coordinate the paperwork with your local building department. We cannot promise how a department will rule on a specific property, and we will not tell you a permit is guaranteed.

• What can I do with the space after?

  Lawn, garden, patio, play space, or a future build. The one that matters for the decision is future construction: if a structure may go on the former pool footprint, that generally points to full removal. Tell us what you are planning at the site walk and we will tell you which option fits it.

• How much does pool removal cost?

  We have not published a price range, and we would rather say so than print one wide enough to be meaningless. Two pools of the same size can differ substantially once you account for access, shell material, material leaving, fill coming in and the final condition. We publish the drivers that move the number so you can understand any estimate you receive.

• Can you build on a filled-in pool?

  Sometimes, and it is not us who decides. California's statewide ADU law and ADU handbook do not address building over a former pool footprint. Your local building department answers the question under foundation and soils requirements, case by case. If building is planned, that generally points to full removal because partial removal leaves concrete in the ground.

• Does removing a pool affect what my home is worth?

  We are not the right people to answer that and we will not pretend otherwise. It depends on your property, your neighbourhood and who is likely to buy it, and your agent is far better placed to judge it than a demolition contractor is. What we can tell you is the part that is factual: a filled-in pool is a known condition of the property, buyers and inspectors ask about it, and a permitted, inspected, documented removal is a much easier conversation than an undocumented one.

• Do you have to disclose a filled-in pool when you sell?

  California requires sellers of one-to-four unit residential property to deliver a Transfer Disclosure Statement covering known material facts, even in an as-is sale. State law does not specifically name filled or removed pools as an enumerated item. Ask your agent and keep your permit and final inspection records.

• Can I just fill the pool in with dirt myself?

  Pool removal is generally a permitted demolition, so the short answer is that the building department has a view on it regardless of who does the work. The longer answer is that the failure mode is not the dirt going in, it is what happens afterwards: fill that was pushed in rather than placed and compacted in lifts settles, and a shell left intact with no drainage openings becomes a concrete bowl holding water underground. Both problems surface years later, which is when they are most expensive.

• Which building department issues my permit?

  That depends on your address rather than your mailing city, and in this region the two are frequently different. Twelve of the 27 communities we work in are unincorporated and permit through a county. We publish the department for every community we serve, with an official link and the date we last checked it.