Most pool demolition contractors prefer to use a bobcat with a breaker attachment or a backhoe to remove and fill in a pool. Heavy machinery makes fairly quick work of in ground pools. But pool demolition contractors can also remove a swimming pool without heavy machinery.

Swimming pool removal “by hand” is a fairly long and tedious process. A couple of demolition workers with jackhammers demolish the surrounding concrete and use wheelbarrows or concrete haulers to haul away the concrete.

This is super-time consuming. If you need to have your pool removed by hand be prepared for a certain sticker shock. What would be a normal $5,000 pool removal can jump in price to $10,000 or more.

Are there any other alternatives to pool removal when you have a hard to remove pool? Not really. Many people suggest pulling the drain plug out of a pool, letting it drain, and filling the pool with dirt and building a deck on top of it. However this isn’t strictly legal or permissible. If you have a hard to remove pool you may consider just keeping the pool, but covering it during the winter months, or fencing it off to keep out trespassers and neighborhood kids.

1. A demolition company in Los Angeles that refuses to give a written estimate. A written estimate is standard fair for almost every demolition job. If a demolition company in Los Angeles says they don’t do estimates, or just gives phone estimates, or charge large amounts of money for demolition estimates move along and find a better company. 

2. A demolition company in Los Angeles that does not have a demolition contractor’s license. A demolition company that operates without a license is an invitation to disaster. Using a unlicensed contractor opens up you and your family to potential legal liabilities, and could cause damage to your house.

3. A demolition company in Los Angeles that doesn’t have insurance. Much like a contractor’s license, demolition companies are supposed to carry adequate insurance. If your demolition company doesn’t carry insurance or refuses to provide proof of insurance time to walk away.3

4. A demolition company in Los Angeles that has poor credit, or has been sued multiple times. A demolition company in Los Angeles that has poor credit can leave you liable for paying workers and subcontractors.

5. A demolition company in Los Angeles that has poor internet reviews. Internet reviews, both positive and negative, should be taken in context and with a certain grain of salt. But if a demolition company has mostly negative reviews than its time to find a different demolition company. 

You need a contract with a demolition contractor that spells out specifically the work to be done. Whether you are doing a swimming pool removal, a bathroom demolition, or a whole house demolition your contract should spell out the exact demolition work to be performed.  

A contract with your demolition contractor should also include specifics about the hauling and disposal of construction debris. Many people have been left with a pile of construction debris because the contract they had with their demolition contractor left them holding the bag. Ideally, your demolition contractor should handle construction debris hauling and removal. Whether they rent out a dumpster or subcontract to a hauling service.

Any contract with your demolition contractor also needs to spell out exactly how your demolition contractor gets paid. A good contract spells out a payment schedule and how payments are made.

You should also have a clause in your contract with a demolition contractor that spells out what happens if you demolition project isn’t done to specified standards. And who is liable if the demolition contractor damages your property.

The key to drafting any contract is specificity. So be specific and be thorough.  

A demolition contractor with poor credit, someone who doesn’t pay his subcontractors or his workers, can do a job and leave you holding the bag for paying everyone else involved. This can land you in a sea of litigation that can last for years and cost thousands of dollars.

So how do you check your demolition contractor’s credit? You can either ask your demolition contractor for recent credit reference. Any good demolition contractor should be able and willing to provide this information. If a demolition contractor refuses to supply a credit reference be very wary. Would you use a demolition contractor that refuses to supply his contractor license? No. Treat your contractor’s credit the same way.

You can also use services provided by credit bureaus like Experian to check your demolition contractor’s credit. In fact, using these background check services may serve as a safety to ensure that your demolition contractor is providing an accurate credit reference.

The motto when dealing with contractors should always be, Trust, but Verify.

Asking a demolition contractor for recent references is standard practice but many people feel awkward about asking. Don’t. Any demolition contractor in Los Angeles should happily provide you with recent work references. Any demolition contractor that says they won’t provide references, can’t provide references, or delay providing references is a contractor you don’t want to deal with.

So how many references should you ask your demolition contractor for? You want at least two recent references from jobs done in the last three to six months. You should also ask for a credit reference. Why ask for a credit reference? Because a demolition contractor with poor credit, even if his work is good, can leave you holding the bill for payment to workers and subcontractors.

Get Estimates … You should solicit about three estimates for most residential demolition projects. These estimates should be given in writing after an estimator from a demolition contractor physically visits your property. Don’t accept phone estimates. Also try the estimation like a job interview. Ask each estimator a lot of questions and get a feel for how their demolition business works.

Check Your Contractor’s License … Once you’ve settled on a demolition contractor check his license with the State of California. Never use an unlicensed demolition contractor (unfortunately there are a lot of them in Los Angeles). Also take this time to confirm that your demolition contractor has the appropriate insurance. Ask your demolition contractor for the name and number of your demolition contractor’s insurance agent. Ask your demolition contractor’s insurance agent to fax you proof of insurance.

Verify Your Demolition Contractor’s References … Most good demolition contractors in Los Angeles should be able to provide you with two to three recent references for work performed.

Get a Contract Beforehand … Sit down with your demolition contractor and work out a contract. This contract should be extremely specific spelling out the work to be performed, the rate to be paid, how payment is supposed to be made, what happens if the work performed isn’t satisfactory, etc.

If you follow these tips you should be able to find a good demolition contractor in Los Angeles that fits your needs. 

The easiest way to get rid of construction debris is to hire a hauling service in the Thousand Oaks area. A hauling service knows the ins and outs of construction debris disposal around Thousand Oaks. A hauling service can quickly and efficiently clean up a construction site. If you are just starting your do-it-yourself project book a hauling service at least a week in advance so you won’t have a lot of construction debris lying around.

 Using a hauling service eliminates the worst part of do-it-yourself construction — the clean up — and lets someone else do the work for you.

Renting a dumpster in Los Angeles is often problematic. Dumpsters are heavily regulated in most parts of the city. In Los Angeles proper you can’t put a dumpster on the street without a permit and in certain parts of the city you can’t even put a dumpster in your driveway. Dumpsters also come with very specific weight limits. If you go over a specified weight limit you will have to pay extra in overweight fees.

Hauling services in Los Angeles are more expensive than dumpster rental on the surface, but can save you a lot of time and money in the long term. A hauling service comes to your worksite and disposes of your tile and other construction debris for you. They do the hauling and disposal for either a flat rate or by how much you fill the truck with. Hauling services in Los Angeles take the guesswork and labor out of construction debris hauling and disposal.

“I recently demolished my driveway. The demolition went smoothly and took about two days. But what do I do with all the remaining concrete? I took it and piled it in a side yard and now I don’t know what to do with it.”

Well, you made the first great mistake of demolition. You failed to have a plan for removing your construction debris before you started your project. Normally we’d recommend renting a dumpster and hauling away the concrete as you went, but since you didn’t do that we recommend calling a hauling service.

A hauling service is a service that specializes in hauling away construction debris. Typically a hauling service will charge by the load (given the fact you demolished an entire driveway I’d estimate you have at least two loads) and bring their own heavy equipment to haul away your concrete. A quick tip to remember when pricing hauling services: ask about labor. Some hauling services will quote you a estimated price minus the labor, so ask your hauling service if their over the phone price estimate includes labor or if labor is additional.

You can use a hauling service at the beginning of a demolition project as well. We recommend booking a hauling service or a renting a dumpster a week in advance of whenever you are scheduled to begin your demolition project.

Experienced demolition contractors subcontract to hauling services all the time. In fact, hauling services are becoming the preferred option for construction debris disposal due to the red tape and regulations that hire dumpster rentals.

• Household junk
• Hoarders junk
• Commercial junk
• Construction debris
• Dirt and Concrete

Junk removal services in Sherman Oaks, CA also offer various services like:

• Backyard clean out service; where junk removal professionals come to your house and clean out your backyard.
• Garage clean out services; where a junk removal professional cleans out your garage.
• Storage unit clean out; where a junk removal professional cleans out your storage unit.
• Office clean out; where a junk removal service comes to an office and gets rid of unwanted junk and old office furniture.

Junk removal services in Sherman Oaks, California also offer garbage removal and garbage pick-up services, trash removal and trash pick up services, and rubbish removal and rubbish pick up services.

Call your local junk removal service in Sherman Oaks to see what services that offer.