Pool removal in Texas

Labor makes up most of what you pay for pool removal. In Texas, construction laborers average $20.63 an hour, while the figure for the whole US is $25.02. That gap is the reason Texas pricing runs lower.

These numbers come from Angi's US prices, adjusted to reflect Texas wages. Your real figure comes from a crew after it has looked at your pool, how it can get into your yard, and how much fill the job calls for.

With a fill-in, the crew breaks open part of the shell, leaves the remainder buried, and packs the hole with soil. Work like this usually keeps a crew on site for 1 to 3 days. A full removal takes everything out and runs 3 to 7 days.

Filling in costs less. Taking it all out leaves nothing buried, which can matter if you plan to build there or sell. Texas sellers complete the Seller's Disclosure Notice, and one question on it covers whether the seller knows about landfill, settling, or soil movement at the property. A local crew can help you pick the option that fits your yard and what you have planned.

Under Texas law you have to reach 811 at least two business days ahead of any digging, and weekends and holidays don't count toward those days. This holds true even for a job in your own backyard. The call leads to buried utility lines getting marked so the crew avoids them.

Houston requires its permits in a fixed sequence. First, Houston requires a sanitary sewer disconnect permit. Next comes the demolition, fill, and grading permit for a pool or spa, which calls for Form CE-1094, a worksheet covering the excavation and the fill.

The city's specification also spells out how the work gets done:

• 3-inch holes get made through the lowest part of the pool floor, spaced roughly 4 feet apart in each direction, so water can drain.
• The hole gets backfilled with a loose, gravel-like fill placed in even 12-inch layers.
• Houston also sets rules for how firmly the fill must be packed, and your crew will handle that.
• Pool water can't be let out anywhere it might cause flooding or erosion, or carry soil toward ditches, streams, or storm water nearby. Draining it into a storm sewer is also off limits.

A crew familiar with these Houston rules can build the job plan around them starting with the first visit.

San Antonio's permit application has a demolition section that calls for a city licensed demolition contractor. Without one, that part of the permit can't be approved, so the license is worth checking before you sign anyone on.

Texas doesn't license or bond general contractors at the state level, though they do have to be registered as a business with the state. The agency that used to register home builders, the Texas Residential Construction Commission, no longer exists and now shows as inactive.

Licensing rules, where they exist, are set by your city, so the local building department is the one that decides them. One call reaches a local pool demolition crew. They'll ask about your pool and yard, then book a visit and give you a price in writing.

1. Call now. One call reaches a local pool demolition company near you.
2. Describe your pool type and your yard to the crew. This helps them get the visit ready.
3. They set up a visit, see the pool in person, and hand you a price in writing.

Having the price in writing lets you check it against the Texas range before you commit. Call now to set up the visit.