Above Ground Pool and Hot Tub Removal in Boise: The Yard After

Last month a hot tub removal in Boise, up on the Bench, turned into a two-for-one. An old 18-foot round above ground pool sat about ten feet from the spa, and the homeowner wanted both gone. Once the walls were down and the liner was rolled up, they stared at a flat circle of yellow sand and said, "Huh. Now what?"

That's the part nobody plans for. Most people think of above ground pool removal in Boise as a hauling job, and mostly it is. But whatever's left on the ground afterward is yours, so it helps to know what you're in for before we show up.

What the ground looks like after above ground pool removal

Expect a circle or oval of sand. Sometimes it's a couple of inches deep. Sometimes it's a lot more, if whoever put the pool in was generous.

If the pool's been up for a few summers, the grass underneath isn't yellow. It's gone.

What you'll usually find is packed sand, maybe some landscape fabric or foam padding, and a ring of dark, soggy soil around the edge. That's where water sloshed out every time somebody cannonballed in.

Some pools sat on pavers or concrete blocks under each upright, and those leave little square dents. Under a couple of older pools in Garden City, we've pulled up wood track boards rotting in the sand.

None of that is a disaster. It just isn't lawn yet.

What leaves with us on a hot tub removal in Boise

Here's how it usually goes. The walls, top rails, uprights, liner, ladder, pump and filter all leave on our end. The metal gets recycled, and a pump that still runs sometimes goes to someone who can use it.

If there's a hot tub next to the pool, and there often is, you get one estimate, one visit and one firm price. We cut the spa into sections, carry it out through the gate and take the pool down the same day.

A hot tub leaves its own footprint, usually a slab, some pavers or a gravel pad. Whether you keep that is up to you. A solid slab next to a freshly cleared circle can be the start of a patio instead of leftover clutter.

The sand is the gray area. We'll take it if you want it gone, and it's priced like everything else we haul, by volume. Honestly, though, plenty of people are better off keeping it.

Spread thin and worked into topsoil, it loosens up the heavy clay you get around Nampa and Caldwell before new sod goes down.

Mention the sand during the estimate, not on the day of the job. It changes the volume, which changes the price, and we'd rather hand you one firm number that already includes it.

Heads up: Before you dig or level where the pool sat, check for sprinkler lines or a buried electrical run to the old pump. Most pumps ran off an extension cord, but every so often someone buried a line. If you're going more than a few inches down, call 811 first.

Getting grass back after hot tub and pool removal in Boise

Do you need a landscaper for one bare circle? Usually not. Most people knock it out over a weekend.

Rake out the sand so you're not left with a mound. Then break up the soil underneath with a garden fork or a rented tiller, because years of water weight packs it hard.

Mix in some compost and topsoil. Leave it a little higher than the lawn around it, since it'll settle.

Timing matters here in the valley. Early fall or spring is when to seed or sod. Starting grass on a bare patch in Meridian in late July, with afternoons pushing 100 degrees, means a lot of watering for not much grass.

If your pool comes down in midsummer, a lot of folks just leave the sand alone and plant in September. Winter's no better. Ground that thaws and refreezes all February won't hold seed.

Can you take the pool down yourself?

Sure. An above ground pool is one of the easier things to take apart on your own. The walls unbolt and the liner cuts.

Yes, we'd love the job. But if you've got a free Saturday, a truck and a friend, you can probably get it down.

The hard part is everything after. A rolled-up liner full of leftover sludge is heavy and gross, and steel walls can spring back when you unbolt them and slice a hand open.

Then it all has to get to the Ada County landfill or a metal recycler. That's easily a couple of trips.

We've had folks in Star and Eagle call us halfway through a DIY teardown, and that's fine too. Either way, drain the pool completely first. A few inches left in the bottom turns into a mud pit the second a wall comes off.

Bottom line

Getting the pool out is the quick part. How your yard ends up depends on what happens afterward, so think about the sand, the soil and your planting window before the walls come down.

If you've got an old pool, a hot tub or both taking up the backyard, give us a call at (208) 692-3124. We'll come take a look and give you a firm price before anything gets touched.