Will Pool Demolition Raise the Value of My Home?

Like all things real estate related everything depends on the area you live. Generally speaking pool demolition will not raise the value of your home. In parts of the country where pools are much loved there is a chance that a pool demolition could hurt the value of your home. In most cases demolishing a swimming pool will have little to no effect on your home value.

Will Pool Demolition Lower My Taxes?

Homes with pools often appraise at a higher value than homes without pools. So removing a pool will lower your taxes. Will removal lower them substantially? Probably not. Swimming pools represent a small portion of your overall property tax assessment. 

Do I Have to Disclose a Pool Demolition When I Sell a Home?

Yes, most cases and in most cities you must disclose the site of a formerly demolish swimming pool. 

So if you are looking at swimming pool demolition from a purely value added perspective swimming pool demolition is probably a wash. Removing a pool certainly won’t increase the value of your home and you won’t recoup the money spent on property taxes. But most people who seek out pool demolition, seek it out for other reasons, such as family safety. 

1. Drain the swimming pool

Before demolishing a swimming pool you’ll need to drain it. You can either open the drains and let time and gravity do their job, or pump out the water. Once a pool has been complete drained, you will need to drill an array of holes in the bottom of the pool. Holes will allow the pool to drain properly and constantly once its been filled in.

2. Demolish the Top Two Feet of Concrete

Demolish the top two layers of concrete around the pool and take the pool down to ground level. This is done usually with a Bobcat with a pneumatic drill attached to it. A bobcat can quickly demo a pool and the associated concrete.

3. Fill in the Pool

Once the top to three layers of concrete have been demolished use the demolish concrete as fill and dump it into the bottom of the pool.

4. Top the Concrete Fill with Fill Dirt

Fill in the pool with extra fill dirt, and then grade and compact.

5. Landscape

After your former pool site has been compacted, call a landscaper and have sod planted.

Los Angeles only requires a grading permit in most cases for swimming pool demolition. This permit costs about $200 to $300. Most swimming pool demolition contractors will absorb the initial cost of the permit into their estimate and charge you for it later. Some demolition contractors will require you to obtain a permit yourself before they begin a swimming pool removal.

The actual hard cost of swimming pool removal can also depend on what type of swimming pool demolition you need and want.

Partial swimming pool demolition, sometimes called pool fill-in, is the most common and popular form of swimming pool removal. Partial swimming pool demolition tends to cost between $5,000 to $6,000 in most cases. Plus the cost of landscaping after the pool has been demolished and filled in. 

Complete swimming pool removal is less common. The only reasons people opt for complete swimming pool demolition in Los Angeles is because 1.) there neighborhood or homeowner association requires a complete demolition, or 2.) they don’t have to have to disclose the former pool site when the house is sold.

Complete swimming pool demolition costs between $8,000 to $20,000 because every ounce of concrete and construction materials needs to be hauled away and properly disposed of by a hauling service. 

Access can also greatly effect the price of swimming pool removal in Los Angeles. If your pool can be easily accessed by heavy machinery (like a Bobcat) than your costs are going to be less than a pool that cannot be accessed by heavy machinery. 

Every swimming pool demolition is different and there is no way to determine how much your pool will cost to remove until you call a licensed demolition contractor in Los Angeles for an estimate.