In-ground pool hatin'

[Tricky Mike]

So the wife and I hate our pool.
It sucks.
The tiles are all cracked and falling off. It doesn't get any sun, so the water temp hovers just above freezing all summer long. It's expensive to open, run, etc... I went in twice last year. She didn't go in once. I just want to fill the fucker in. I realize it'd gonna cost several grand to do this.

Anyone recommend a good excavating company that might be able to do this for a reasonable fee? Concrete pool, concrete deck, small collection of frogs at the moment. I just want it all gone, level, grassy (I'll handle the grassy part).

[Pittenger5]

Why not just drain it?
Or have a NESR pool party?

[rbrais]

Most excavators are about the same price for labor. The big cost will be bringing in the material. If you can find clean fill advertised that may be your best bet.

[Tricky Mike]

Why not just drain it?
Or have a NESR pool party?

Yeah, a big empty cement hole would look awesome in the backyard...
Even so, you can't just drain it. Hydrostatic pressure would make it float right out of the ground... For reals.


And NO, I CAN'T just get a couple of guys to lift it...

[Pittenger5]

Fine, lets go Lords Of Dogtown and session the fuck out of it.
And by session I mean, me drop in and injury myself badly.

[Sheppo]

Mike,
I might know a guy in Westford I'll PM you his contact info.
Doug

[rbrais]

Yeah, a big empty cement hole would look awesome in the backyard...
Even so, you can't just drain it. Hydrostatic pressure would make it float right out of the ground... For reals.


And NO, I CAN'T just get a couple of guys to lift it...

Concrete? I've seen septic tanks float, but never a concrete pool. Unless you have a really high water table you should be fine. After all, your foundation did not float before the house was framed, right?

[Tricky Mike]

Thanks, Doug.

[Tricky Mike]

I know, I know... I drained and pressure-washed it when we moved in... It didn't float.
Be that as it may, I'm not interested in a Lance Mountain party. Just want the thing to disappear.

[Kitt]

i'd be able to help if you weren't 1,987,341 miles away from where my dad keeps his backhoes.

[Wishbone]

And NO, I CAN'T just get a couple of guys to lift it...

That was my solution, damn you. You should get a crane then.


Why get an excavation company? Just drain it and fill it. As mentioned above advertise for fill needed. Plus it doesn't need to be clean or screened. Throw a bunch of rocks down bottom. Only need a foot or so of clean stuff on the top.

[R7]

You could get creative and line the edges with stone, take the filter stuff out so it's just a pump and have a great big giant fish pond

[Slyder]

Why not rent a jack hammer or something from a tool rental shop, drain it with a pump then smash up the deck and use that as fill first...then you'd need less fill to top it off...make it nice and level so you don't have a big lump where the pool is. Though you might not have that problem depending on how the yard around the pool is.

No more pool would also get your taxes reduced I think too.

I guess the frogs can move on

[Ericthejet]

Drain it, make a roof out of junked pallets and offer cheap motorcycle storage?

My brother has a large in-ground pool and he only seems to complain about his as well.

[scubasteveRR]

Wishbone, The thing was made to hold water... even if you drain it and fill it with dirt sand and what not the area will still fill with water.

You would need to break open the bottom first so the water falling on the ground in the pool area doesn't just sit in the dirt filled tub. It might take a while for it to fill but it would eventually...

Why get an excavation company? Just drain it and fill it. As mentioned above advertise for fill needed. Plus it doesn't need to be clean or screened. Throw a bunch of rocks down bottom. Only need a foot or so of clean stuff on the top.

EDIT: you could open a skate park??

[Tricky Mike]

Why get an excavation company? Just drain it and fill it.

What Steve said... and I need to have it graded if it isn't to be immediately obvious that there was once a pool there.

[joeswamp]

Wow, this is the third time I've heard an in-ground pool owner complain bitterly about pool ownership. The first two times were from people who were both big time swimmers, i.e. swam competitively in college. Owning one of these must really be no fun.

[scubasteveRR]

I had one all growing up... granted we had no tree's in the yard and it was almost always above 75 degree's my dad still HATED it with a passion. I remember telling my dad the day we sold the house it was going to be the thing i missed the most about the old house. my dad ovbiously had different feelings adout it after taking care of it for 20 years!

It's a pain in the ass!!! espcially if it's not warm and tree shit falling in it all the time.

Wow, this is the third time I've heard an in-ground pool owner complain bitterly about pool ownership. The first two times were from people who were both big time swimmers, i.e. swam competitively in college. Owning one of these must really be no fun.

[slammp]

Now THIS is definitely a "Grass is greener" topic. Not discounting your issues at all. My kids would KILL for a pool and the only reason we dont have one is because the average yard in Everett is like 10' x 10'.

On a serious note, I would think you could rent an open top dumpster have a bunch of NESR'ns over (you know like all the folks including myself who have benefitted from your mechanical services) and whack the shit out of it with sledgehammers; then remove the rubble. Might take a full weekend if you had 10+ guys willing to go at it. Then just hire a truck to backfill it and rent a vibrating compacter.

It wont be cheap buy I can't imagine if your willing to do the hard part it would be overly expensive.

[Tricky Mike]

In my case the pool needs a lot of work ($$) to make it decent. I'd rather not invest that money into something that will never really get used, and will basically just sit there as an expensive liability. If it were nice and we'd get some use out of it I'd be much more into the idea of fixing it up... Pools are like boats... You want friends with them... you don't want one for yourself.

[scubasteveRR]

Let me know if you decide to go postal on the whole thing with sledge hammers.

I'd be down to help out.

[KB]

I can get you some explosives dude.

KB

[richw]

Just put in an above ground because I believe in 8 to 10 years it will come down.

In COnnecticut there are some fucked up rules about "clean Fill" I think EPAAAH

You can not use any organic like wood it will rot disapear and create a sink hole
Bottom will have to have many large cracks and holes for drainage

[mzdagrl]

Let me know if you decide to go postal on the whole thing with sledge hammers.

That sounds like your most cost-effective idea. Tearing out the concrete would only waste perfectly good fill...

I'll betcha if you advertise on Craigslist (once finding out the laws regarding fill), you could probably find someone who is trying to get rid of part of their yard. Many people dig up their yards to put in things like garages, pools, and other structures that need foundations....maybe you can work out a swap with a neighbor or someone in your town....they dig it up and dump it into a truck or two, you take it away and dump it in the hole that was once your pool and is now a pit full of broken-up concrete..... You save $$ on buying fill, they save $$ having someone take it away.

Good luck!

[Manny]

Once it is dug up can you drop it off at my place? I want a pool bad. Real real bad.