Demolition or Conservation of an Old Pool During Site Renovation

When renovating a property, especially if it's a plot of 10-15 ares or more, the question often arises: what to do with an old swimming pool? Complete demolition is a radical solution, requiring significant costs and effort, but it opens up new possibilities for using the space. Conservation, on the other hand, allows you to preserve the pool shell, perhaps for a different purpose, or to simplify the backfilling process if it's temporarily not needed. The choice depends on many factors: the condition of the structure, your future plans, budget, and even the type of soil on the site.

Criteria for Choice: Demolition or Conservation?

Before making a final decision, it's important to carefully weigh all the pros and cons. This will help you avoid costly mistakes and disappointments in the future.

1. Pool Condition and Construction Type: If the pool shell has serious cracks, leaks, or damaged walls or bottom, complete demolition is often the only reasonable option. For prefabricated or frame pools, demolition is significantly simpler than for permanent concrete or reinforced concrete structures. Composite shells can be removed whole, but this requires heavy machinery.
2. Planned Use of the Site: If you dream of a large lawn, vegetable garden, sports field, or a new recreation area where the pool simply doesn't fit, demolition will free up valuable space. However, if you are considering creating a decorative pond, an underground storage facility, or even an unusual flower bed, conservation with subsequent adaptation of the shell may be a more economical and creative solution.
3. Budget and Timeline: Complete demolition of a permanent pool, say 5x10 meters, can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of rubles, taking 3 to 7 days of active work, not counting planning and debris removal time. Conservation, especially if it only involves backfilling with soil without destroying the shell, is usually significantly cheaper and faster. Also consider the cost of construction debris removal, which can amount to tens of cubic meters.
4. Depth and Size of the Pool Bowl: Deep pools (over 1.8 m) or very large ones require more effort and materials for backfilling, as well as careful soil compaction to avoid settlement. This complicates and increases the cost of both demolition and conservation.

The Process of Complete Pool Demolition

Once you've decided on complete demolition, proceed systematically to ensure safety and efficiency.

1. Preparation and Disconnection of Utilities: First, completely drain the water from the pool. Then disconnect all engineering utilities: filtration systems, heating, lighting, pumps, pipelines. It is important to ensure that electrical wiring and water pipes are completely de-energized and shut off to avoid accidents.
2. Bowl Demolition: For concrete and reinforced concrete pools, a jackhammer, rotary hammer, or even a hydraulic hammer for heavy machinery will be required. The shell is broken into small fragments. For composite pools, if access allows, complete removal of the shell by crane is possible. The main task is to ensure access to the soil beneath the shell for subsequent backfilling and to prevent the formation of a