Well, we did it. We removed our in ground pool! The pool was actually one of our main hesitations with buying this house.  It was an old, vinyl liner pool and needed repairs. It needed a new liner, a new light ($400 just for a pool light. I wish I was exaggerating), some deck repairs, and possibly other maintenance. There aren't many people who still work on vinyl pools, and it was going to cost at least $3000, probably closer to 4, by the time it was a swimmable pool, not to mention monthly cleaning and maintenance.

This is the realtor's photo, which makes it look slightly okay. Once the water was out, it was bad. There were also a lot of cracks in the deck.

We were not up for that, especially for a pool we didn't really want that badly. So, after getting a few quotes on removing the pool and filling it in for anywhere from $3,000 to 10,000, we decided to DIY it, just like we do with almost everything else!

First, we emptied the pool...well, actually, we just let it dry up and empty itself. Next, we removed the liner with a basic utility razor blade, and folded the liner into the deep end. We did take a few minutes to rescue some frogs that were living in the couple of inches of remaining water. Our pool had a vermiculite (basically, sand) bottom and side, with the side surrounded by a metal sheet to hold up the sand, which we left for the time being. Since it isn't a concrete pool, drainage isn't an issue.

Next, we rented a jack hammer from Home Depot and William painstakingly jack hammered the deck.  This is one part that in hindsight, we may have looked at hiring out. I wouldn't think it would cost too much to hire someone to do a couple hours of jack hammering, and someone who does it a lot would probably be more efficient. Not that William wasn't efficient, but it is tiring, painful work and caused a lot of blisters.

The fun part was up next - we rented a "mini" 7,000 pound excavator from Sunbelt Rentals. We went back and forth on whether to get a skid steer or excavator, but in the end, the excavator was the right decision.  It helped us dig up the concrete, even the parts that were still in large chunks. It also has teeth, so it allowed us to really dig into the small hill surrounding the pool. It did have a blade, so we used that for leveling the yard as best we could.  We also had 20 tons of dirt delivered, and the excavator did a pretty good job of moving that around, though the skid steer would have been faster.

A glimpse at how ugly the pool was once the water was out

The hardest part was the metal walls. We didn't realize this, but the sheets were anchored in with large metal bolts. We dug around each bolt and William cut through it with a reciprocating saw that had a metal blade attached. We tried to remove the metal completely, but ended up just folding it in and burying it.

Now, the yard is basically a sand/dirt pit where the pool was, so we will be figuring out a landscaping plan soon. We are so excited to have it gone and done with, and for MUCH less than we would have spent having it done professionally. Having an excavator for a few days was pretty fun, too!

Before leveling and adding more dirt, but already looking much better!

The approximate cost breakdown:

• Jackhammer rental and saw blades: $115


• Excavator rental and gas: $400


• Dirt: $200


• Total so far: $715 

We do need to put in grass, which will be an expense, and will probably buy some more plants. We are mulching a portion along the fence and back, and have a free source for mulch, which will cut down on costs. We also plan to do 2-3 raised garden beds. Even with a few hundred extra dollars put into the landscaping, this is a huge cost saving compared to having a professional remove it OR having it fixed and having to maintain it regularly.