How Long Does Pool Removal Take in Tucson?
A partial pool removal in Tucson is typically a few days of work on site. A full removal, where the entire shell is broken out and hauled away, is about a week. Before either one starts, the jurisdiction has to issue the demolition permit, and that lead time varies by city, town and county. Once work begins, inspections, weather and access can move the calendar.
The 8 steps of a pool removal
Every Omni removal follows the same eight steps.
- Site visit, demolition plan and permits. We walk the property, measure the pool and spa, and draw up a demolition plan. We prepare the site plan, submit the permit application and pay the fee. Permit review is the step that sets your start date.
- Drain the pool. We pump out the pool and spa before any demolition starts.
- Remove equipment and cap utilities. The pump, filter, heater and other equipment are disconnected and hauled away. Pool plumbing, gas and electrical are removed or capped at the source.
- Break out the deck and top of the pool. We break up the deck and saw-cut the top of the pool and spa walls, the bond beam, about 18 inches down. On a full removal, the whole shell comes out instead.
- Open drainage holes. On a partial removal we break holes all the way through the pool and spa floors so water drains into the ground below, and we photograph every hole before fill. The jurisdiction’s pre-fill inspection happens here, where it has one.
- Backfill in layers. On a partial removal the broken concrete goes in the bottom of the shell first, then aggregate base or engineered soil. On a full removal the concrete leaves the site and the hole is filled with engineered fill.
- Compact and grade. Fill goes in 6 to 9 inches at a time, and each layer is compacted before the next. The top is leveled with AB to match the rest of the yard.
- Final inspection and finished yard. We clean up, stabilize the surface and schedule the final inspection.
Why a partial removal takes a few days on site
Most of the concrete never leaves the yard. The deck and the top of the shell are broken out, the drainage holes go in, and the broken concrete becomes the first layer of fill. That keeps hauling to a minimum. The on-site time goes into breaking concrete and into placing and compacting fill one lift at a time.
The crew days are not always back to back. Draining comes first, and the inspection before fill has to happen before the first load goes in. Measured on the calendar, from the day the pool is drained to finish grade, a typical job runs a week to a week and a half.
Why a full removal takes about a week
A full removal breaks out the entire shell, floor and walls, and hauls all of it away along with the deck and any attached spa. That is more machine time, more truck trips out and more fill coming in. The engineered fill is placed and compacted in lifts, with compaction testing.
If you plan to build on the spot, add independent geotechnical testing as the fill comes up and a stamped letter at the end.
What stretches the schedule
- Permit review time, which varies by jurisdiction
- Inspection scheduling. Pima County’s demolition inspection is called after the equipment is out and the drainage holes are in, and Oro Valley inspects before fill and again after backfill
- Access. A 36 inch gate and a 10 foot side yard are different machines and different days
- A wall or fence section that has to come out for access and go back up
- An attached spa, which is its own shell to break out and fill
- Rain, which can stop fill and compaction work until the ground dries
- Compaction testing and reports on a full removal
Planning around a date
If the removal has to be done by a certain date, such as a closing or the start of a building project, tell us at the site visit. We work backward from that date, starting with the permit. Our pool removal page covers the methods and pricing for each type of removal.
Get a written schedule and quote
Call (520) 222-8503 for a site visit and a written quote with a schedule. To see what your pool costs you each year until it comes out, use the TerraSpec, the pool removal cost calculator.
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