Help estimating pool demo

Goodmorning everyone,

I just got back from visiting the site of a pool that a customer wants demolished. I need a hand estimating this one (still very new in the game). The pictures below will say more then my words however the pool is 12'x25' with a 3' wooden walkway around it. The side walls are galvanized sheet metal with supports in a concrete surround. The concrete appears to be only a few inches thick with small pours at each of the supports measuring approximately 1 cubic foot. The structure is 4' above the ground and roughly 5' in the ground at the deepest. I am unsure of the structure below the ground level. In-ground pools usually just have the liner siting against a hard-packed sand. Would the galvanized metal extend below the surface of the ground? I would probably scrap the metal, thrash the liner separate from the wood and get a 10yard dumster for the concrete. I will probably need 10 yards of fill dirt to fill the hole and do grading away from the house. I am debating using my 1-ton dump for the wood and liner however I may want to just get a can. I would probably rent an excavator with a thumb to do the demo. I will have side gate access. I also need to call the county to see if I need a permit. Any clue from any Marylanders on here if I would need one?

Thanks for all the help guys!

Are you sure you are qualified to do this job? Some of the stuff you're asking is pretty basic. You don't know if you need a permit? 10yds of fill dirt is less than a full dump truck and just a real simple calculation (4ydsx 8ydsx2yds) says you'll probably need over 60 yds. That's 5 dump trucks but could need more depending on how it packs down. Does the fill have to be compacted as you go? If you have to rent ALL of the equipment to do the job, I don't know if you could make any profit.

Welder Dave said:

Are you sure you are qualified to do this job? Some of the stuff you're asking is pretty basic. You don't know if you need a permit? 10yds of fill dirt is less than a full dump truck and just a real simple calculation (4ydsx 8ydsx2yds) says you'll probably need over 60 yds. That's 5 dump trucks but could need more depending on how it packs down. Does the fill have to be compacted as you go? If you have to rent ALL of the equipment to do the job, I don't know if you could make any profit.

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Good point but I wasn't "qualified" to do demo when I took my first house down either.

Straightexhaust you should be able to get all the wood, coping and the liner in a 30 yard. Scrap the metal and send the concrete to an inert dump if one is available. Like welder dave said, you'll need more than 10 yards of dirt to fill that hole, without even doing the math that stuck out.

Permits and licensing vary from city to city, be sure and check first.

I did a pool similar to that years ago, the walls were attached to steel c-channel, used a gas powered cut-off saw. Cut everything into manageable pieces and hauled it out by hand. In the towns I work, usually we need to have a permit so that the pool is taken off the homeowners tax assessment.

Sorry I didn't mean to type 10 yards, I was thinking 10 loads with my 5 yard dump totaling 50 yards. The place to get fill dirt is only 5-7 miles from the site so I may just haul myself unless they have free delivery that close. If the metal doesn't form a structure underneath the liner then an excavator would be just a convenience. I would just use my skid steer with my grapple to get the steel out and do the cutting with a chopsaw. I mostly am just posting for plan of attack advice. As far as a permit goes I know you need one to install a pool and some counties only require one for demo to get the pool removed off of your lot plan for tax purposes, just didn't know if anyone would know before I played phone games with the state.

Are they actually requiring you to remove all the concrete most pool demos ive done i break the bottom of the pool in a few spots do it does not hold water knock the top half of the walls into the pool cover it with fill then fill and compact in 1 ft lifts. Ive only ever had to do 2 pool demos that required removing all the concrete and that was only because they were building a larger pool in its place. Every single one has needed a permit but most contractors pull the permits out them selves i seldom jave to pull permits for demos

I worked up a dollar figure this morning so far minus a possible permit. I'm curious to hear estimates from you guys though

monster76 said:

Are they actually requiring you to remove all the concrete

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I was told by the home owner that there in no concrete below the ground other then the small footings and the pad. The liner is just against sand, I told him that it will be extra if this is not true and will be written on the estimate.

Seems like way too many unknown variables for us AND you to bid this job.Does the town[NOT the state] require a demo permit,electrical inspection[termination of any electrical components],what,if anything can be buried,type of fill,any compaction requirements????????

Straightexhaust just go down to the local building inspections dept. that covers this area and tell them about the job and ask what type of permits are involved.

If this is located in a municipality where you do not have a business license be sure and include that cost in the bid. The city want's their piece of the pie..

The Anne Arundel County Permit office got back to me and said that a building plan is required. Will have to add that into the cost now.

the last pool i demoed i charged 5k for a 15x30 i left the concrete i had to bring in 4 loads of fill and 2 loads of top soil and it took me 2 days start to finish me pulling the permits

monster76 said:

the last pool i demoed i charged 5k for a 15x30 i left the concrete i had to bring in 4 loads of fill and 2 loads of top soil and it took me 2 days start to finish me pulling the permits

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What type of pool was it, in or out of ground? Vinyl or concrete?

concrete, in ground

monster76 said:

concrete, in ground

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Did you just demo the top edge and drop the concrete into the hole then, and the then fill and compact it?

I busted out the bottom so it wouldnt hold any water rip off the coping and the first foot or so tossed it into the pool pushed all the pavers int the pool also the filed compacted filled in a few low spot in the yard graded the whoe thing and i was out of there

I emailed the customer this morning stating that the total would be $2010. The breakdown is $160 to create a plot plan for the county,$50 for the permit, $900 in labor for the demo, and $900 for the haul away ($450 for a 10 yard for concrete, $450 for a 30 yard for debris). The customer called back this afternoon stating that he likes the price but is going to push the job back to the end of summer because he is going to have some trees taken down.

What do you guys think of the price?

How in depth does the plan need to be? Does it need an engineer's stamp? I don't know about where you are, but around here roll offs are brutal. Good luck getting them to drop off a 30, bring back a 10, swap, dump, and come back to get the 10 all before the end of the day. What about fill and grading? You have to rent machines? What is site access like? I think your a little low. That would go for $3,000 at least all day long around here. And that's using a triaxle for disposal.

My estimate:

Plot plan - RFI
Permit - $100 ($50 plus your time)
Concrete disposal - $300
Trash disposal - $300
20 yards of fill - $100
1 day Triaxle rental - $720
1 day Bobcat rental - $800
1 day Excavator rental - $800
Total - $3,120

The plot plan just needs to be a scale drawing showing the house, pool, and other structures. I was going to do it on the computer but the program sketch-up apparently has a huge learning curve so engineering style graph paper is what I drew it on.

I have my own skid steer (LS170), truck with dump box, and trailer that I would use for the demo using a root grapple. I was originally going to rent a mini ex for the demo but with the depth of it I think I can muscle it with the skid and then the small stuff by hand to keep some money in my pocket. A mini excavator is my planned purchase this fall.

I estimated $330 of fill. Around 50 yards. Free delivery from a local place

Last pool i did here is how i broke it down

backhoe 600 per day
top soil 350x2
fill 150x4
labor 200
compactor 350
skid steer 500x2
1500 for sod installed i sub that out

Thats how i came.up.with the 5k number thats how i broke it down