Guelph Excavation Pros removes and fills in inground swimming pools for Guelph homeowners who are finished with liner replacements, heater repairs and opening-day bills. We handle full removals and partial fill-ins of vinyl, fibreglass and concrete pools, plus the decks, patios and equipment around them. With 10+ years in the trade and 500+ jobs completed, we leave a compacted, graded yard ready for sod, a garden or future construction.
Our pool removal customers are usually new owners who inherited a pool they never wanted, families whose kids have grown up and moved on, and owners staring at a quote for a new liner or a cracked shell. Some simply want their lawn back, while others plan a garage, an addition or a garden suite where the pool now sits.
The pool demolition itself is the quick part. What decides whether your yard stays level for decades is the fill: placed in thin lifts and compacted properly, it stays put, but dumped in all at once, it keeps sinking for years.
10+ years digging
500+ jobs completed
Licensed and insured
WSIB coveredWe take out every kind of backyard pool and the hardscape around it, then put the yard back together. Most projects combine two or three of the services below under one fixed price.
Full removal takes out everything: walls, floor, liner, coping, steps, plumbing and the concrete collar around the base of the walls. The hole is then backfilled with compacted material, so nothing of the pool stays buried.
Choose this option if you may build on the spot, want the simplest disclosure when you sell, or have a fibreglass shell that cannot drain.
A partial removal, sometimes called a pool abandonment, takes down the top 450 to 900 mm (18 to 36 in) of wall, breaks drainage openings through the floor, and fills the shell. The lower walls and floor stay buried well below the new lawn.
It costs less and finishes faster, and it works well for lawn or gardens. The spot is not suited to future footings without an engineer's input.
Above-ground pools and their wraparound decks usually come out in half a day to a day. We drain the pool, cut down the wall and frame, pull the liner and the sand or stone pad, and haul it all away.
Deck framing, posts set in concrete and ladder footings come out too, and the pad area is levelled and seeded.
Pools rarely sit alone, so there is usually a concrete or interlock deck, a hot tub pad, an equipment pad and fencing to deal with. Thick decks and pads come out through our concrete breaking and removal service with the same crew.
Pumps, filters, heaters, diving boards and slides are disconnected and hauled for recycling or disposal. A cabana or shed can come down too as part of a small demolition.
Once the fill is compacted, we spread 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 in) of screened topsoil, fine grade the yard so water drains away from the house, and lay sod or seed. The new grade ties into your existing yard and the neighbours' property lines.
Planning a patio, garden or shed instead of lawn? Our grading and levelling crew shapes the area to suit it.
Choose full removal if you might build on the spot or want no questions when you sell; choose a partial fill-in if the area will stay lawn or garden and budget matters most. The table compares both, plus full removal with engineered fill for future building sites.
| Approach | Typical cost | Time on site | Can you build on it later? | Resale disclosure | Drainage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partial removal and fill-in | $7,000 to $14,000 | 2 to 3 days | Not without an engineer's review; fine for lawn, gardens and light patios | Must be disclosed; some buyers and insurers ask for records | Depends on the floor openings; too few can trap water |
| Full removal with clean compacted fill | $12,000 to $22,000 | 3 to 5 days | Lawn, patios and sheds; footings need a geotechnical check | Disclose and share photos and fill tickets; few buyers object | Natural drainage restored once the floor is gone |
| Full removal with engineered fill and testing | $16,000 to $30,000 or more | 4 to 7 days | Yes, with a compaction report for the building permit | Strongest position: removal and testing documented | Free-draining granular fill throughout |
In Guelph's clay-loam soils, drainage is the hidden issue. A partial fill-in with too few floor openings holds water like a bathtub and leaves a soggy patch every spring.
Each pool type comes apart differently, which changes the time, the equipment and the cost. Vinyl liner pools are the quickest to remove, fibreglass shells sit in the middle, and concrete pools (gunite or shotcrete) are the heaviest work.
Whatever the type, plumbing lines, the main drain and the skimmers are cut and capped. The heater's gas line is shut off and capped by a licensed gas fitter before any digging starts.
Use clean fill compacted in lifts if the area will be lawn or garden, and engineered granular fill with compaction testing if a building, addition, garage or garden suite could ever sit there. The difference lies in the material, how thin each layer is, and whether a third party tests it.
Imported fill has to be clean. Under Ontario's excess soil rules, soil from other sites must meet quality standards for residential use, so we bring fill from known sources with records.
A typical 4.9 x 9.8 m (16 x 32 ft) pool needs 80 to 110 m³ of fill, or about 7 to 9 tri-axle loads. Our earthmoving and soil hauling crew handles the trucking, so loads arrive as each lift goes in.
Most inground pool removals in Guelph take 2 to 5 days on site, depending on the pool type and whether the floor stays. Here is the order we work in.
Pool water must be dechlorinated before it is drained, either by leaving it uncovered without adding chlorine for about a week or by using a neutraliser, then testing it. It must not flow onto a neighbour's property, into a creek or into a storm drain unless local rules allow it.
We check the current City of Guelph sewer use rules for your address before the pump starts. Gas to the heater is capped by a licensed gas fitter, and the pool's electrical circuit is disconnected by a licensed electrician.
The excavator removes the coping, deck edge and top of the walls first, then, on a full removal, the rest of the walls and the floor. Steel, concrete and plastic go into separate loads for recycling.
Equipment pads, plumbing runs and buried lighting conduit come out at the same time.
On a partial removal, the floor is broken through so the old shell cannot hold water. We break the deep end and shallow end into rubble, or punch openings at close spacing across the whole floor, down to native soil.
This one step separates a dry yard from a spongy one, and it is the first thing a buyer's home inspector will ask about.
Fill goes in 150 to 300 mm (6 to 12 in) at a time, and each lift is compacted before the next is placed. On partial removals, broken wall concrete can be set in the deep end well below finished grade, with fill compacted tightly around it.
Skipping lifts is the most common mistake we see. Fill dumped in one pass bridges over voids and settles 10 to 20% over the next few seasons, leaving a sunken rectangle in the lawn exactly where the pool was.
The final layer is screened topsoil, graded to slope away from the house at 2% or more and blended into the rest of the yard. Fresh sod goes down last, or seed if you prefer.
We leave the street swept and hand over fill tickets and photos of each stage for your records.
In Guelph, a pool removal usually does not need a building permit, but confirm with the City's Building Services, and the Site Alteration By-law can apply if the fill changes grades or drainage. Pool fence rules apply until the pool is gone, and buyers will ask how it was removed.
Keep the paperwork together: our invoice describing the method, fill tickets, before and after photos, and any compaction report. Insurers and home inspectors ask for these more often than most owners expect.
Filling in a pool in Ontario typically costs $7,000 to $14,000 for a partial removal and $12,000 to $22,000 for a full removal of a standard vinyl pool, including fill, topsoil and sod. Concrete pools and full removals with engineered fill and compaction testing run $16,000 to $30,000 or more.
Above-ground pool tear-outs usually cost $800 to $2,500 with the deck. Every quote is fixed in writing after we see the yard.
| Cost driver | What we look at | How it moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Pool type | Vinyl, fibreglass or concrete | Concrete takes longest to break and haul; vinyl is quickest |
| Size and depth | Surface area and deep-end depth | Larger, deeper pools need more breaking and more fill |
| Access | Gate width, side yard clearance, slopes and overhead wires | Tight access means compact machines and more trips; removing a fence panel often saves money |
| Fill volume and type | Clean fill or engineered granular with testing | Engineered fill and testing add several thousand dollars |
| Patio and deck removal | Concrete, interlock or wood around the pool | Thick concrete decks can add $2,000 to $6,000 |
| Restoration | Topsoil depth, sod or seed, regrading | Sod costs more than seed but gives an instant lawn |
Short answers to what pool owners ask us most during site visits. The cost and timing figures assume a standard backyard pool with reasonable access.
Filling in a standard inground pool in Ontario typically costs $7,000 to $14,000 for a partial fill-in and $12,000 to $22,000 for a full removal. Concrete pools, tight access, large decks and engineered fill push the price higher.
In Guelph, we give a fixed written quote after a free site visit.
Most inground pool removals take 2 to 5 working days: about 2 to 3 for a partial fill-in and 3 to 5 for a full removal. Concrete pools and jobs that need compaction testing can run 6 or 7 days.
Dechlorinating and draining add several days before we arrive, and sod goes down on the last day.
It depends on your plans: full removal is better if you might build there, sell soon or have a fibreglass shell, while a partial fill-in suits lawn or garden on a tighter budget. Full removal costs more but leaves nothing buried.
The comparison table above sets out the cost, time and resale differences side by side.
Yes, if the pool was fully removed and backfilled with engineered fill compacted in lifts and tested. A building permit for an addition, garage or garden suite will usually need a geotechnical report on that fill.
Over a partial fill-in, footings normally have to go down through the old pool to native soil, which an engineer must design. We can then dig them as part of our foundation excavation work.
Once dechlorinated, pool water is pumped where local rules allow, such as slowly onto your own lawn, and never onto a neighbour's property or into a creek. In Guelph, we confirm the current sewer use rules before draining, because sanitary and storm discharge are treated differently.
Saltwater pools need extra care, since salt can harm lawns and gardens.
Many inground pools built in 1980s and 1990s subdivisions across Guelph, Kitchener and Cambridge are now at the end of their life, with brittle liners, rusting steel walls and outdated equipment. We remove and fill in pools in all three cities and anywhere within about 30 minutes of Guelph.
Pool Removal in GuelphBackyard pools in Guelph neighbourhoods such as Kortright Hills often sit behind narrow side yards, so we plan machine access and fence panels at the site visit.
Pool Removal in KitchenerIn Kitchener, we remove vinyl and concrete pools on established lots and restore the yard with topsoil and sod, ready for a patio or play space.
Pool Removal in CambridgeFor Cambridge homeowners, we handle full removals and fill-ins, including the concrete decks and sheds that surround many older pools.
Tell us about your pool and send a few photos, and we will book a free site visit and a fixed written quote covering removal, fill and restoration. Call 548-918-0387 or use the form; we pick up 7 days a week.
Open Monday to Saturday 6:00am to 9:00pm and Sunday 9:00am to 9:00pm.
