Leaking Pool Removed to Reclaim Backyard Space

A leaking pool is one of those problems that sneaks up on you. What used to be a backyard feature becomes a liability - constantly losing water, eating up maintenance costs, and taking up space that could actually be used. That was exactly the situation here. The pool had to go.

Access was tight. That's where this job got interesting. Getting full-size equipment into a fenced backyard with limited entry points means you have to be strategic. We ran compact CAT excavators that could get in, break up the concrete shell, and move material without tearing up the rest of the property. A skid steer worked in tandem to pull debris and keep things moving. Two machines, tight quarters, no shortcuts.

The demolition process itself is more involved than most people expect. The concrete shell gets broken down in sections, rebar is cut and pulled, and then the excavation begins - removing all that material and prepping the void left behind. Once the debris is cleared out, the hole gets backfilled and compacted in lifts. We used a plate compactor to work the fill in layers so the ground settles properly and doesn't sink down the road. That part matters a lot. A poorly backfilled pool removal will show up later as a sunken, unusable mess.

What this homeowner ended up with is a clean, level, open yard. No more leaking shell. No more wasted water. Just usable space where kids and dogs can actually run around. That's the whole point.

Pool removal isn't a common job, but it's one we're well set up to handle. The excavation work, the site prep, the compaction - it all falls squarely in our wheelhouse. If you've got a pool that's more headache than it's worth, this is exactly the kind of job we do.