What Happens to the Dirt and Debris When a Pool Is Removed?

On a partial removal, the broken concrete from the deck and the top of the pool stays on site and goes back into the bottom of the shell as fill. The pool equipment is hauled away. On a full removal, the entire shell is broken out and hauled off, and nothing from the old pool goes back in the hole. Either way, fill is trucked in to bring the area up to grade, and the street and driveway are cleaned up after the deliveries. On an Omni quote, all of that is included and written down.

What stays on site in a partial removal

We break up the deck and saw-cut the bond beam, the thick top edge of the pool walls, about 18 inches down. That clean broken concrete becomes the first layer of fill in the bottom of the shell. It goes in only after the drainage holes are broken through the floor and photographed.

Reusing it keeps the haul-off down. Concrete that would otherwise leave on a truck is already where it needs to be. The pump, filter, heater, removed plumbing and anything else that is not clean broken concrete leaves the site.

What gets hauled off in a full removal

A full removal breaks out the floor and walls of the shell and hauls them away, along with the deck and any attached spa. That is many tons of concrete and steel leaving your street, and it is one reason haul distance moves the price.

Nothing from the old pool goes back in the hole. The excavation is filled with engineered fill, placed and compacted in lifts, with compaction testing. If you plan to build on the spot, an independent geotechnical firm tests the fill as it comes up and issues a stamped letter.

The fill that comes in

A pool is a big hole, and most of what fills it arrives by truck. On a partial removal, the rest of the shell above the broken concrete is filled with aggregate base or engineered soil. On a full removal the whole excavation gets engineered fill.

Either way, fill goes in 6 to 9 inches at a time, and each layer is compacted before the next one goes in. The top is leveled with AB so it matches the rest of the yard. What you end up with is a level surface ready for turf, pavers, gravel or plants.

Street and driveway cleanup

Fill deliveries leave dirt and debris in the street. Loaded trucks and machines cross the driveway, and sometimes a wall, fence or paver section has to come out so equipment can get in.

Every Omni quote includes cleanup of the street and driveway after fill deliveries and repair of any wall, fence or paver section we open for access. You should not have to call the contractor back to sweep the street.

What a phone quote usually leaves out

Some pool demolition companies quote a flat number over the phone without seeing the yard. The number is real. What it covers is not always. Before you compare it to a written quote, ask what happens when:

• A block wall or fence section has to come out so the excavator can get in, and then go back
• Pavers, a driveway or a patio get driven over by loaded trucks
• Fill deliveries leave dirt and debris in the street
• The permit, the fee and the inspections have to be handled
• The pool equipment, the gas line and the electrical have to be removed and capped
• There is a spa attached to the pool

On a low bid each of those is a separate charge, and they show up after the machine is already in your yard. Ask every contractor to put in writing where the concrete goes, what fill comes in and who cleans the street. Our pool removal page lists everything an Omni quote includes.

Get a written quote

Call (520) 222-8503 or send us your address and a photo of the pool. We price the whole job once, in writing, before we start. To see what your pool costs you each year, use the TerraSpec, the pool removal cost calculator.