“We hired Wilhan’s team to do the pool demolition and the backyard landscaping. It was a great experience. They are professional and knowledgeable. The wait time is short, the team work efficiently, and the project quality is excellent. They complete the project within a few business days as promised.”
Offer$3,000 off your pool removal
Bay Area Pool Demolition. Your Backyard Back.
We drain it, permit it, pull it out, backfill it to engineered spec and get the city to sign off. 20+ years of it, CSLB #1105573. You decide what goes there instead: lawn, patio, garage, ADU.
Rather talk it through?(415) 910-4217
5.0 on Google · 27 reviewsCSLB #110557320+ Years ExperienceFamily-OwnedPermits & Engineering Included
Two Ways To Do It
Partial demolition or full removal. The choice decides what you can build.
Anyone can quote you a cheap number. What matters is whether the ground is certified afterwards. Here is the honest difference.
Partial Demolition
Lowest costThe fast, economical option when the space is going back to lawn, turf or a simple patio.
- Pool borders broken down below grade
- Drainage holes punched through the bottom of the shell
- Remaining shell buried on site
- Backfilled, compacted and graded
- Not suitable for structures: no ADU, garage or addition over it
- Must be disclosed to future buyers
Best for: lawn, artificial turf, planting beds, a simple patio.
Most homeowners pick this
Full Removal
Build-readyThe whole shell comes out and leaves the ground certified for whatever you build next.
- Entire pool shell demolished and hauled off site
- Engineered fill placed and compacted in lifts
- Geotechnical engineer oversees backfill and compaction
- Stamped engineer’s report issued to you and the city
- Ground suitable for future structural builds: ADU, garage, addition
- Cleanest disclosure position when you sell
Best for: ADUs, garages, additions, or any future structure over the footprint.
Not sure which one your project needs? That is what the free walkthrough is for. We will tell you straight, including when partial is the smarter spend.
Licensed & bonded, CSLB #1105573Richmond, CA. Serving the whole Bay AreaMon–Fri 7am–5pm · Sat 8am–1pm
What Customers Say
5.0
27 Google reviews
Days on site, not months. And the permits handled.
What Bay Area homeowners keep writing about: how fast the crew moves, how clean they leave the property, and how the paperwork stopped being their problem.
pool removal7patio removal2bobcat operation2quick estimate2
“I cannot give a better review of the team’s work! Simply phenomenal expertise and attention to detail. They are masters of the Bobcat! Our pool was 18’ x 34’. There was 7+ feet of concrete decking surrounding the pool. THIS IS A HUGE JOB! … It’s been 7 working days since starting and were now staring at 1700 sq. ft. of dirt where a pool and broken concrete used to stand.”
“Wilhan and his Royal Demolition crew did an excellent job filling in the 1950’s era backyard pool attached to my new house! The City of Pinole took a crazy amount of time issuing the permits for the job, to the point where I was down to the wire and about to lose my homeowners insurance. In spite of continuous rain and Christmas and New Years holidays, the Royal crew somehow made the project happen on time.”
Client Story
“When I finally got in touch with Royal Demolition, I got an immediate quote.”
A homeowner in San Anselmo, Marin County on having his childhood-home backyard taken back down to dirt and rebuilt.
“I knew we had selected the right team on day one when they drove the tractor into the pool, and it was like watching a ballet.”
His childhood home. The pool had gone beyond repair. He got an immediate quote, the crew started within days, and he was surprised at how fast the demolition itself went. Then the yard was rebuilt around a sitting wall he had not even asked for.
Homeowner · San Anselmo, Marin County, CA
Why Homeowners Pull It Out
An unused pool is a bill, a hazard and wasted square footage.
Most of the pools we take out stopped being used years ago. What kept running was the cost and the risk.
Stop paying for water you never swim in
Chemicals, pump power, repairs and service calls run every single month whether the pool gets used or not. Removal ends that bill permanently.
Kill the liability
An unused pool is an open hazard for kids, pets and guests, and a line item on your homeowner’s insurance. Filled and compacted, that risk is gone.
Get the yard back
Lawn, turf, patio, ADU, garage, garden. Once the shell is out and the fill is certified, the footprint is yours to build on.
Sell without the objection
Buyers discount an aging pool for the repairs and upkeep they inherit. A clean, engineered backyard removes the argument.
Included In The Job
The paperwork is where pool removals go wrong. We own all of it.
Dig Alert, permits, utility cap-offs, engineering, inspections, sign-off. Every line below is part of the scope, not an extra you discover halfway through.
Dig Alert & utility locating
We file with Dig Alert and get every utility located and marked before a machine touches the ground.
Water pumped from pool and spa
Pool and spa drained and discharged the way your city requires. No standing water, no violations.
Permits drafted and opened
We draft the paperwork and open the demolition permit with your city or county. You do not stand in line.
Reports and covenants prepared
Recommendations, covenants or Fire Ant Reports prepared where the city demands them.
Utilities capped at the source
Gas, water and electrical to the pool equipment cut and capped at the source, not left buried live.
All city and county inspections scheduled
We book the inspections and meet the inspector on site at every stage.
Removal, backfill and geotechnical report
Shell removed, fill placed and compacted in lifts, with a stamped Geotechnical Engineer’s Report issued to the city and to you when required.
Final sign-off from the city
We do not walk away until the final inspection is signed off. The job closes on paper, not just on the ground.
Before & After
Same backyard. No pool. No trace it was ever there.
Real Royal Demolition jobs: shell out, fill compacted, surface finished and ready to use.
Shell broken out, patio in its place
Mid-demolition, with the excavator working inside the shell, and the same footprint finished as a paver patio with a turf inset. Bay Area.
Pool and spa out, turf lawn in
Kidney pool with attached spa removed, backfilled and compacted, finished with artificial turf. Bay Area.
Pool out, full paver patio in
Pool removed and the footprint engineered for hardscape, then finished as a full paver patio. Bay Area.
How It Runs
Four steps, and only the first one is yours.
01
Call or send the form
Tell us the city, roughly how big the pool is and what you want the space to become. Takes under a minute.
02
Free on-site walkthrough
We come out, check access for the equipment, look at the shell and the utilities, and put a written price in your hands. No charge, no pressure.
03
We handle the paperwork
Dig Alert, permits, reports, utility cap-offs, inspection scheduling. You approve the quote; we take the bureaucracy.
04
Demo, backfill, sign-off
Crew and equipment on site, shell out, fill compacted in lifts, site graded and cleaned, final inspection signed off, and the engineer’s report in your file.
On The Job
Our own equipment, our own crew.
No brokered subcontractors showing up in an unmarked truck. Wilhan and his crew quote the job and run the job: the same people, start to finish.
Demo day: shell broken out
Concrete stockpiled and hauled off
Backfilled, compacted, graded
Common Questions
What homeowners ask before they book.
Permits, engineering, cost, what you can build afterwards. If your question is not here, ask it on the walkthrough.
Yes. Nearly every Bay Area city and county requires a demolition permit to remove a pool, and an inspection to close it out. We draft the paperwork, open the permit, schedule every inspection and meet the inspector on site. You do not deal with the city.
$3,000 OFF your pool removal
Book the free walkthrough. Get a written number.
We come out, look at access and the shell, tell you whether partial or full is right, and put an itemized price in writing. No charge, no obligation, no pressure to sign anything on the spot.
Serving Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules, Berkeley, Albany, Oakland, Alameda, Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill and the rest of the Bay Area. Mention this page when you call or fill out the form.