Are you among the 1000's of Americans who are fed up with the maintenance, repairs, and liability of having a Swimming Pool? I have personally removed hundreds of swimming pools in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here are the top reasons my clients came to the decision to get rid of their pool and the best steps to take to make sure your contractor measures up when you decide to hire a company to do the job.
Top 10 Reasons Most people remove their Swimming Pool.
1.
"The kids used it for years and now they have moved out and it never gets used" 2.
"The pool is in desperate need of a remodel but the cost of the remodel is too high to justify" 3.
"The pool is leaking and the cost of repair is more than the cost of removal.
" 4.
"We are moving out and renting the property and don't want the liability of a pool.
" 5.
"We never wanted a pool but the home of our dreams already had one.
" 6.
"The pool takes up our whole yard and we want room for the kids, dogs, us to play" 7.
"We want a pool more suiting of the house (make my round pool square).
" 8.
"We want to put an addition on our existing home and the pool is in the way.
" 9.
"I drained my pool to save water and it popped 2 feet out of the ground!" True story 10.
"I'm greening my home and want to save water and energy.
" Top 10 Things to Consider When Hiring a Pool Removal Contractor.
1.
Check the contractors license number at http://www.
cslb.
ca.
gov/ or by calling 1-800-321-2752.
2.
Get a least 3 bids from quality swimming pool removal contractors 3.
Get at least 10 references and call at least 3 of them.
4.
Make sure all project expectations are in writing and only sign the contract if you understand the terms.
There should be NO change orders or up charges for a pool removal if bid properly.
5.
Confirm that your pool removal contractor has general liability insurance and workers compensation and make sure they will not be using any subcontractors without your knowledge.
6.
Never pay more than 10% or $1000, which ever is less.
And never let the payments get ahead of the work.
7.
Before work starts make sure your contractor has pulled the proper permits.
8.
Ask your contractor what techniques they will use for compaction and ensure it is appropriate for the soil type used to for filling your pool.
9.
Whoever you hire, it is important that they have lots of experience in removing pools.
If the process is done wrong the cost to correct the mistakes will be more than the original cost of removal.
10.
Don't make your final payment until all work is done to your satisfaction and all items in contract have been fulfilled.
(This includes the city permit being finalized) As with any other home improvement project it is always important to do your homework and know the right questions to ask contractors bidding your project.
The most important factors relating to swimming pool removal is experience, experience, experience.
Due to the technical aspects of backfill and compaction it is very important to make sure your contractor has experience in filling deep voids such as swimming pools so that you will not have to deal with sinkage in years to come.
Should you ever have any questions regarding the removal of your swimming pool please feel free to contact me, I would be happy to help.