How Much Does Pool Removal Cost in Texas?

Published national cost guides put pool removal at about $6,000 on average. A partial removal, where the shell is broken up and the hole is filled, runs about $3,000 to $7,000. A full removal, where the whole shell leaves the yard, runs about $5,000 to $16,000. Cost guides that publish Texas city figures land in the same band. They show averages near $5,900, with most jobs between about $4,900 and $7,800.

Those are market numbers, not our price list. Pool removal gets priced off the pool in your yard: its size, its shell and how close a truck can get to it. Below are the published ranges, what moves them, and what the yard looks like after.

What does pool removal cost in Texas?

Cost guides also publish pool removal by the square foot. The national figure sits around $13.50 per square foot of pool. The Texas city pages run close to that, near $13.25.

Is it expensive to remove a pool? Next to a house teardown, no. Next to a repair bill, it depends on the pool. A small vinyl liner pool with a wide side gate is a different job than a deep gunite pool behind a fence.

Partial removal or full removal?

Partial removal is the common choice. The pool gets drained. Holes are punched through the bottom so water drains out instead of sitting under the fill. The top two to three feet of wall is broken off. That broken concrete drops into the hole, then clean fill goes in over it in lifts and each lift gets compacted.

Full removal takes the whole shell out. The concrete, the steel, the fiberglass or the liner walls come out and get hauled to a landfill. The hole is then filled with clean fill and compacted the same way. Breaking out the deck and coping on a full removal is the same work as concrete removal on a driveway.

Full removal costs more because there is more to break, load and haul. Cost guides put the gap at a few thousand dollars on a typical yard. What you get for the money is a yard with no buried concrete in it.

What drives the price?

Size and depth. A pool is a hole measured in cubic yards. A 16 by 32 foot pool averaging 5 feet deep is close to 95 cubic yards. Every yard of that has to be filled and compacted.

Shell type. Vinyl liner pools come apart fastest, published at about $3,000 to $10,000. Fiberglass runs about $5,000 to $15,000. Concrete and gunite sit at the top, about $3,000 to $15,000. That shell has to be broken with an excavator and a demolition attachment.

Access. This is the factor most people miss. An excavator and a dump truck have to reach the back yard. A narrow gate, a fence, a slope or a tree in the path all add hours. In San Antonio, tree rules can also shape how a machine gets back there. The city reviews trees on the lot when a demolition application is filed.

Deck and equipment. The concrete deck, the coping, the pump, the filter, the heater and the plumbing are usually priced on their own. Published deck removal runs about $2 to $5 per square foot.

Fill and compaction. A partial removal needs less imported fill, because the broken shell takes up room in the hole. Getting that fill to the yard is dump truck hauling, and shaping the finished grade is dirt work. Both are real line items on a pool job.

Disposal. A demolished pool makes real tonnage, and it has to go somewhere. San Antonio’s demolition bulletin requires demolition debris to go to an approved and permitted landfill site.

What can you build over a filled in pool?

Grass, a garden, a patio or a play area go over a filled pool without much trouble. A house, an addition, a garage or a shop is a different question.

Fill settles. Even good fill placed in lifts keeps moving for a while after the trucks leave. Building departments and engineers usually want proof of the work. That means fill placed in lifts, compacted to a stated percentage, with a test to show it.

If a structure is planned for that spot, get a geotechnical engineer involved before the pool comes out. Published compaction testing runs about $400 to $800. That is a small number next to a cracked slab.

Do you have to tell a buyer the pool was filled in?

Plan on yes. Texas sellers of a single family home fill out the Seller’s Disclosure Notice. The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes that form under Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code.

The form asks whether the seller is aware of landfill, settling, soil movement or fault lines on the property. It also asks about alterations or repairs made without the permits required at the time. A filled pool touches both questions.

Keep the paperwork. Save the permit if one was pulled, photos of the drainage holes and the lifts, and any compaction test. Ask your agent or a real estate attorney how to answer the form for your sale.

Do you need a permit to remove a pool in San Antonio?

Call Development Services before the work starts. The city’s demolition and deconstruction bulletin lists above ground swimming pools among the items that need no demolition permit. Fences, decks, sidewalks and driveways are on that same list.

Inground pools are not named either way, and the bulletin frames demolition permits around removing a building from a site. That gap is worth one phone call to the city. Fees follow the city fee schedule, and published permit figures elsewhere run from about $50 to $800. Outside the San Antonio city limits, the county or that town sets the rules.

How long does pool removal take?

Cost guides put partial removal at about 2 to 3 days of work on site. Full removal runs about 5 to 10 days. Add time for draining the pool, for a permit where one applies, and for the ground to dry after rain.

South Texas clay holds water. A wet week can stop compaction cold, because fill will not compact right when it is too wet.

Getting a real number for your pool

A written estimate comes from looking at the pool. Gate width, the deck, the depth at the deep end, where the spoils go and where the trucks park all change the number.

We look at the pool, explain what partial and full removal each mean for your yard, and put the price in writing. Call (253) 606-9497 for a free estimate on swimming pool demolition in San Antonio and about 50 miles around the city.