F.a.q

Lets just ask the number one question? All pools are different and have different access . It could use a bobcat with mini excavator for side yard access or just be off the alley with our big 315 cat. Many things play into these so lets just say 5k to 20k

Again is it residential or commercial , little machines with jack jackhammers or big machine with a wrecking ball ..

We have about a 90 percent success in  finishing  in 1 day ...ill tell you 1-2 days on big machines and 2-3 on small equipment . Most 2 day for big machines is because the city did not come by and do their pre inspection . 

What is a Pre and or post inspection ?

This is where in some cases " Garland " or "Plano" require a pre inspection .. A pre inspection is an inspector coming to see that we completely busted out the bottom of the pool for drainage !

Access to the pool is a MAJOR factor .. access from and alley , zero lot line with no alley require a bobcat and a shuttle out to the front or side .  Over a retaining wall require dirt to be brought in before excavation to access . The easier the access the cheaper it is 

Some city's require a demo permit and some do not . Garland/Plano yes! with a pre and post dig.

Dallas / Richardson = No

University Park = yes with all kinds of restrictions ..No wrecking ball usage only jack hammer . No dump trucks or machines  in alley  , means you have to shuttle the debris to the end of the alley or out to the front of the house  . Also in UP you cannot do a cave in method only a complete removal .

 A cave in method is where the pools wall get collapsed at least 2 ft down and the complete bottom of the pool is busted up to allow water to drain through it. Not drilling holes or saw cutting it but busting it up and some citys will require a pre and post dig to make sure you did it right or they will not let you back fill your pool.

I will stress that we do not recommend you doing this method . Do not let someone talk you into this  . It is cheaper but it diminishes the value of your home , kills the resale value , It will eventually sink in , you can never build a structure on top of it , you legally have to disclose on a property report a buried pool is in your yard .We very rarely take on a cave in job , its not the proper way to do it but it is cheaper and in some instances its understandable .

Complete removal ..The proper way to remove a pool is just how it sounds . We offer a 100 percent you do nothing but watch .. we come out and look at the job and give you a free estimate  which is good for one year . Put you on the board and select date , get permits ,call dig tess , disconnect your electric and stub the gas  and drain the pool . Demo day , remove the fence panels and completely bust up the pool and do any sawcuts to save any deck we can if need be . Remove all the pumps and equipment and remove the pad and or fence that was around the equipment . Haul all of the gunite  concrete shell off . Take pictures during the process for you and insurance purposes and for resale purposes . Bring in clean fill and pack per load .. most pools take 8-12 for shallow and 10 -20 for diving pools . Roll and pack and finish you get 12 yards of screen loam " landscape loam " so we can set elevation and drainage away from the house . Clean up and put the fence back in place , clean up and get out .. we finished about 90 percent of all pool removals in ONE DAY..  

1. Foundation- using a wrecking ball or jack hammer has never effected the foundation on a pool to date that we have done . Now certain city's do require you to use a jack hammer . University Park is one.  Using a wrecking ball does have a loud boom and does shake things up a bit . 

One to One ratio . If the house is as close to the pool as its depth some citys require you to backfill with select fill. This can get very costly.

2.Equipment we use . We use a variety of Cat and Bobcat equipment . Some are as small as cars and others are very big . Depending on access is how we choose what will demo your pool . The harder the access and smaller the machine the more it cost and the longer it takes .

3. What about my old equipment . We remove all the old equipment and pad, filters . If you want it , your more than welcome to keep it or sell it , i have hundreds at our shop . Is it worth selling ? To me , yes to maybe your pool guy , but online i do not recommend. 

4. What is common fill and where do we get it ?  Fill dirt is usually subsoil (soil from beneath topsoil) and underlying soil parent material which has little soil organic matter or biological activity. Fill dirt is taken from a location where soil is being removed as a part of leveling an area for construction; it may also contain sand, rocks, and stones, as well as earth. We do not bring you rock because you live in a rock area  .. some small rock or stone could be in it.

We have multiple dumpsites all around Dallas and surrounding city's where we take the dirt from our pools we excavate and that is where we get ours from .

 5. What is screen loam ?  

Loam refers to a special mixture of sand, clay, and silt. Loam is usually made of up half sand, one quarter silt, and one quarter clay. It is considered the best topsoil, as it allows enough water to be soaked into the ground to keep plants hydrated – and yet it still drains well enough that air can circulate.

So the difference between loam soil and topsoil is the same difference between your thumb and fingers: all loam is a kind of topsoil, but not all topsoil is a kind of loam.

The larger sand particles in the loam make it easy for air to circulate through the dirt, which helps to dry out moisture at the proper rate. However, clay is incredibly absorbent, so it is excellent for retaining moisture that plants need to grow tall and strong. Silt basically acts like both sand and clay, holding some water while allowing the ground to aerate properly.

6. Disclosure 

 Property disclosure statements essentially outline any flaws that the home sellers (and their real estate agents) are aware of that could negatively affect the home's value. These statements are required by law in most areas of the country so buyers can know a property's good and bad points before they close the deal.

7. Payment

We only accept Cashiers Check , Check , Money order . WE DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS..

8. Dig Tess 

 811 is the phone number you call before digging to protect yourself and others from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines.

There are millions of miles of buried utilities beneath the surface of the earth that are vital to everyday living like water, electricity and natural gas.

811 is the federally designated call before you dig number that helps homeowners and professionals avoid damaging these vital utilities. When you make the free call to 811 a few days before you dig, you'll help prevent unintended consequences such as injury to you or your family, damage to your property, utility service outages to the entire neighborhood and potential fines and repair costs.

9. Contractor general liability insurance

 For contractors and construction businesses, General Liability Insurance covers the cost of lawsuits brought by third parties over property injury or bodily damage allegedly caused by the business or one of its employees.  If they do not have it , do not let them do the job !

10. Hidden cost ? Hidden utility's 

I would love to say no but sometimes the answer is yes . Hidden utility , Trash buried in the pool , a pool on top of another pool .  Meaning lets say you had a diving pool  and you didn't like it and you had a company come out and change it to a play pool .. then they sell the house and dont disclose the  first pool and you try to remove your pool and i bid it at a shallow pool price and start busting it out to find its not 5 foot deep its actually 10 ft deep .. now we have 8 more loads to take out and bust the concrete out and fill that in .. 

Sometimes under the deck there could be an electrical line ,gas line to the BBQ pit or in the gunite wall of the pool , sprinklers . This we dont know and sometimes cannot be aware of and the cost of these are on you .. the home owner .

11. Drainage 

Drainage in the back yard after a pool removal is very important in that the pool usually sits higher than the patio for deck drainage. We use a laser transit when the pool is gone to try get water flow away from the house and towards the alley or back of the yard . Some times proper drainage cannot be achieved and a french drain may be necessary . Again this is an extra cost and we do not do drains .

12. Will your back yard sink where the pool was ?

If you choose to do a cave in method =yes your pool will eventually sink

If you do a complete removal with us , No your back yard will not sink ..We stand behind our word ! Never once have we had a home owner call us and say the yard is sinking .

13. Can you build on it after ?

Yes . you can build on it after or pour a pad .. Now if your doing and extension of a home or something we recommend you use select fill dirt to fill the hole where the pool was or where you plan on building .

14. How many loads to fill it ? How many loads of concrete come out ?

8 to 20 loads to fill pool with common fill and about 4-7 loads of concrete and deck come out .

15. My fence , My driveway ,My sprinklers ?

We take down the fence and we put it back up when we are done . Driveway and access areas are subject to machines being on them and could crack or crack more if already cracked , we take precaution and put dirt down to help ease the weight . We do not replace sprinklers if broken .. we can mark them for an irrigation specialist .

16. Do we SOD or put grass down ?

No we do not .. the reason is ? When we finish and put the screen loam down you need to water it and let it settle ..  this can take a couple of days before putting sod down . Also it might not be the time of the season to put sod down .

17. Can any deck be saved ?

Yes . Basically go about 2 1/2  ft around the water line of your pool and we can saw cut it . Sometime not with vinyl liner and fiber glass pools ..

18. Trash removal and getting ready .

We do offer trash removal and tree removal depending how big . Shrubs and stones and things ? If you want it , move it or if you cant my guys will take care of it .

Getting ready ...again move what you want to save and if there is any special things we will talk about it upon the presite inspection .  Other than that .. no not at all , call the grand kids get a camera and have fun watching .

19. Electrical disconnect and gas ? 

We will do the electrical disconnection from the breaker panel and remove all electrical for safety reasons around and that went to the pool . Same with the gas , there will be a stub out of the ground and we will cap .. the gas line may still be sticking out of the ground .. if you want it removed you can call a plumber to disconnect it from the meter at a later date or before . Electrical if your wanting to save an outlet or anything , it will require a certified electrician to keep things the way you want and it can be added at your expense before or after .. typically after .. 

20. Vinyl or Fiberglass pool removal ? 

These pools are typically easier but require trash haul off and yes They are cheaper to get removed than a gunite or concrete pool . Most of the times on these keeping deck is not an option as the walls are cut back 2-3 feet and have sand fill underneath them .

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