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Princeton Excavation

Pool Demolition

Inground Pool Removal & Fill-In

Princeton Excavation removes inground pools in the Princeton area, either as a partial fill-in that leaves the broken lower shell in place or a full removal that takes every piece of concrete, liner, and steel out. Either way the hole is backfilled in compacted lifts of clean fill and graded back to a lawn you can plant, or build on.

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Two ways to take out a pool

Two ways to take out a pool

Which one fits depends on what you want to do with the yard next, and on what your town requires.

Partial Fill-In

The top of the walls comes off, the floor is broken so water drains through, and the rubble stays at the bottom under clean fill compacted in lifts. It's the lower-cost route and fine for lawn or garden.

Full Removal

Every piece of the shell, liner, steel, and decking is broken out and hauled away before the hole is backfilled. It costs more, but the ground is clean if you plan to build an addition, garage, or new pool there later.

Decking, Equipment & Grade

Surrounding concrete or paver decking and the equipment pad come out with it, and the finished grade is pitched to drain away from the house. Topsoil goes on top, ready for seed or sod.

Why pool fill-ins sink, and how we stop it

A pool that settles years later was almost always filled in one shot: loose fill dumped into the hole and a machine driven over the top. Water ponds on the unbroken floor, the fill softens, and the lawn drops. We break the floor for drainage, place clean fill in layers, and compact each layer before the next goes in.

  • Where we work

    A typical inground pool takes 60 to 90 truckloads' worth of fill, so access is the real planning question. We check the route from the street to the pool, protect the lawn and driveway along it, and call in the NJ One Call 811 markout before the first bucket goes in.

  • What we protect

    The pool's electrical and gas lines get disconnected and capped by your licensed electrician or plumber before we start, so nothing live is buried under the new lawn.

What pool removal costs

Typical New Jersey ranges, for budgeting only: a partial fill-in commonly runs $4,000 to $8,000 and a full removal $4,000 to $16,000. Most of that is material and trucking: clean fill in, broken concrete and decking out.

Size and depth set the fill quantity, and access sets how fast it goes in. A pool the trucks can reach down a driveway is a different job from one behind the house through a side yard. We count the loads on a site walk and put one firm number on paper.

See all excavation cost ranges

How a job goes

From the first call to a clean handover

  1. 1. Site Walk

    We come look at the property by appointment, check the access and any constraints, and go over your plans or what you have in mind.

  2. 2. Marking & Layout

    We set the layout on the ground with laser accuracy. Depths, lines, and elevations are marked before anything gets dug.

  3. 3. The Work

    We bring the right machine for the access, lay ground protection where it's needed, and keep the mess around lawns, trees, and hardscape to a minimum.

  4. 4. Clean Handover

    You're left with a site that's ready to go and a yard that's still in one piece, set up for whatever's next.

Frequently Asked Questions

As a New Jersey market range, not a quote: partial fill-ins commonly run $4,000 to $8,000, and full removals $4,000 to $16,000. Pool size, how much concrete and decking comes out, the fill trucked in, and machine access decide where yours lands. We give a firm written price after a site visit.

Princeton, Hopewell Township, Montgomery & Skillman, and surrounding Mercer and Somerset County, NJ.

Pool you don't use anymore? Let's turn it back into yard.

Owner-operated and by appointment. Tell us about your project and we'll walk the site with you.

Request a Site Visit
Call (609) 438-8064Site Visit