Pool removal
The pool goes, the deck goes, and the ground is left as ground again.
When people call us about pool removal
- A pool is unused, leaking or expensive to keep
- You are reclaiming the yard for garden or an extension
- A pool has been flagged in a sale or by an insurer
- You are buying a property and want the pool gone before you move in
What pool removal covers
- Concrete, gunite, vinyl-liner and fibreglass pools
- Full removal, where the entire shell comes out
- Partial removal, where the shell is broken up, drainage created and the void engineered fill
- Surrounding deck, coping and hardscape
- Pump house, plant, pipework and electrical supply
- Backfill, compaction and finished grading
Full removal or partial fill is a decision to make now, not later
Partial removal costs less: the shell is broken up, the base is punched through so water can drain, and the void is filled and compacted. Full removal takes the whole structure out and leaves ground that behaves like the rest of the lot. The distinction matters at resale and it matters if you ever want to build over that footprint, and in some jurisdictions a partially filled pool has to be disclosed. We will explain both and let you choose, rather than quietly quoting the cheaper one.
How pool removal runs
The order matters more than the tools. This is the sequence for pool removal.
Drain and disconnect
Water discharged appropriately, power isolated, gas and plumbing to the plant capped.
Deck and plant out
Surround, coping and equipment removed so the shell is fully exposed.
Break out
Full removal of the shell, or breaking and punching for a drained partial fill.
Fill and compact
Filled in layers with compaction, not tipped in loose, so it does not sink in two winters.
Grade and finish
Levelled to the surrounding ground and left ready for turf or planting.
What moves the price on pool removal
Every one of these moves the number, so you can see what a quote is actually responding to — and tell us the ones you already know when you call.
- Full removal versus partial fill
- Pool size, and whether the shell is gunite, concrete or liner
- Machine access to the rear of the property
- How much decking and hardscape surrounds it
- Fill volume and whether material is imported
Pool removal: your questions
Which option should I choose?
If you may build over it, sell soon, or want the ground to behave normally, full removal. If it is going to be lawn and you want the lower cost, a properly drained and compacted partial fill is a legitimate answer. What is not legitimate is filling a shell without drainage, which creates a bathtub under your garden.
Will the ground sink?
Not if it is filled in layers and compacted as it goes. Some settlement in the first year is normal, and we would rather tell you that up front than have you surprised by it.
Can you get a machine into the back yard?
That is the first thing we check. Where access is genuinely too tight, the work goes to smaller plant or by hand, which changes the cost. Better to find out on the site visit.
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Get a price for pool removal
Call and describe the job. Most of the time we can scope it on the phone and confirm on site.
Seven days a week, 7am to 11pm. Emergency calls answered around the clock.
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