Two ways to retire a pool
Demolition Little Rock: Pool Removal vs Pool Fill In for Little Rock Yards
A full pool removal and a fill-in both get rid of a pool. They leave very different ground behind, at very different prices, and the right one depends on what you will do with the yard.
- Little Rock and 12 nearby towns
- Written price before work starts
- Permit and utility steps explained
- Houses, pools, garages and slabs
- Lots left level and swept
Demolition Little Rock arranges both kinds of pool removal around Little Rock, and the most common question is which one to pick. The short answer: if anything will ever be built where the pool is, or you are selling soon, a full removal is usually worth the extra cost. If the spot will only ever be lawn or garden and you are staying put, a fill-in does the job for far less.
A fill-in runs $2,000 to $7,000 against $9,000 to $19,000 for a full removal; choosing the fill-in and later building on that spot can mean paying to dig the buried shell out anyway.
Describe the building, its size and what it is made of, and hear a typical price range before anyone drives out.
Call (501) 222-3828What each method actually does
Full removal
The entire pool comes out: floor, walls, steel, coping, deck and equipment. The hole is backfilled in layers, each compacted, and topsoil goes on last. The ground behaves like undisturbed soil and can carry a patio, an addition or a house.
Fill-in (partial removal)
The top of the walls and the coping are broken down into the pool, holes are broken through the floor so water can drain, and the cavity is filled with broken concrete and soil. The surface looks like yard, but the shell stays in the ground.
Cost side by side
| Method | Typical range | Time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Fill-in | $2,000 to $7,000 | 1 to 3 days |
| Full removal | $9,000 to $19,000 | 3 to 7 days |
| Above-ground pool | $300 to $800 | A few hours |
HomeAdvisor puts the normal range for pool removal at $4,000 to $12,000 and the average around $8,000. Removing a concrete deck adds $500 to $1,700, and fill dirt runs about $8 to $12 a cubic yard.
Describe the building, its size and what it is made of, and hear a typical price range before anyone drives out.
Call (501) 222-3828When a full removal is worth it
- You plan to build anything on that spot, now or later
- You are selling within a few years and want a simple answer for the buyer's inspector
- The lender or buyer has asked for it
- The pool is in the middle of the only flat, usable part of the yard
When a fill-in makes sense
- The spot will stay lawn, garden or play area
- You plan to stay in the house for years
- Access is tight and a full removal would tear up more of the yard
- The budget is closer to $5,000 than $15,000
Little Rock soils and doing either one right
Whichever method you pick, the ground underneath matters. Where the USDA soil survey maps well drained soils, such as much of Little Rock itself, backfill drains and compacts well. Where it maps poorly drained silt, as around Shannon Hills and Maumelle, water can sit in an open pool cavity or in a filled shell, so drain holes, drainable stone and a crowned surface matter more.
Either way, fill should go in layers and be compacted, never dumped full and left to settle, and the job should use clean soil and concrete only, no trash or wood that rots and leaves voids.
Disclosure and paperwork
A filled pool may need to be disclosed when you sell. Keep the permit and any inspection record from either method, because a buyer's inspector asking how the pool was handled is satisfied far more easily by paperwork than by memory.
Describe the building, its size and what it is made of, and hear a typical price range before anyone drives out.
Call (501) 222-3828Questions to ask before you choose
- Will anything ever be built on this spot, even a patio or a shed?
- Am I likely to sell in the next five years?
- Is the yard low or wet, so water could sit in a buried shell?
- How will the machines reach the pool, and what will they cross to get there?
- Does my city want a permit or a backfill inspection?
If the answer to either of the first two is yes, a full removal is usually the better money. If both are no, the yard drains well and access is easy, a fill-in done properly is a sensible way to save several thousand dollars.
What happens to the pool equipment, deck and fence
Whichever method you choose, the pump, filter, heater and any gas line to the heater are disconnected and removed first; a gas line is capped by a qualified tradesperson. The concrete deck around the pool can come out for $500 to $1,700, or stay as a patio if it is level and sound. A pool safety fence can come down too, once the pool is gone, though some owners keep it as a yard fence. Covered in more detail on the pool removal page.
Vinyl and fiberglass pools change the comparison
The choice is starkest for concrete and gunite pools, which leave the most material behind in a fill-in. A vinyl liner pool has thin walls of steel or polymer and often a sand or thin concrete floor, so a full removal costs less than for concrete, roughly $3,000 to $10,000, and the case for leaving it buried is weaker. A fiberglass shell is usually cut up or lifted out whole for about $5,000 to $10,000. With either, a full removal is often close enough in price to a fill-in that it is the better choice.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between pool removal and a pool fill in?
A full removal takes the whole shell out and leaves buildable ground. A fill-in breaks the top in and leaves the shell buried under fill.
How much does each cost in Little Rock?
A fill-in typically runs $2,000 to $7,000 and a full removal $9,000 to $19,000.
Can I build on a filled-in pool?
Not safely without engineering, because the buried shell and fill can settle. A full removal is the route if you will build there.
Does a filled-in pool hurt resale?
It can. A partial removal may need to be disclosed, and some buyers prefer a full removal with compaction records.
What are the signs I should choose a full removal?
Plans to build on the spot, a sale coming up, a lender or buyer asking for it, or a pool in the only flat part of the yard.
How long does each method take?
A fill-in takes one to three days and a full removal three to seven, weather allowing.
Can I do a pool fill-in myself?
It is possible but rarely worth it. Breaking the walls and floor needs a breaker and an excavator, fill has to be compacted in layers, and many cities want a permit. A professional fill-in usually costs $2,000 to $7,000.
Have something that needs to come down?
A house, a garage, a pool or a slab. Call with the address and the size, and get a typical price range and the permit steps that apply to it.
Call (501) 222-3828