re: filling in an in-ground swimming pool

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As an epilogue, I'd like to share *my* experiences in filling in my in-ground (steel walled, vinyl lined) pool. Note: this occurred in 2003 in the DC suburbs of Virginia.

First of all, why was I filling the pool? The vinyl was beginning to tear. It would have cost at least $1500 to re-line the pool. And the city government was telling me something "had to be done" about the pool (which was more like a lake), at this point. (I had frogs living in it.)

And so my adventure began.

I think "Ok. I'll start by calling contractors to buy dirt, and I'll fill the pool myself." I mean, how much can it cost, right? It's DIRT!!!

Well, dirt is, (excuse the expression) dirt cheap. But the trucks and drivers that bring it are NOT. I was quoted about $150 per truck (including the drive and the dirt). Doing a little math, I figured I'd need about 19 trucks. (And this was not an Olympic sized pool). That's about $3000.

Fortunately, there was a construction company doing a large project at a school nearby. (I found the company with the help of the city government.) The contractor needed to get rid of maybe 100 truckloads of dirt. Normally companies have to pay to dump dirt (or so I'm told) and they have to truck it to a landfill, or other place. And my house was less than a mile from the construction site.

So I call the company and arrange to get the dirt for free. And I figure, the dirt will arrive in a couple of days. Wrong.

It took *weeks* for the dirt to arrive. And it arrived in two "batches". Remember, a contractor removes dirt on *their* schedule not yours. So, any construction delays (and there are ALWAYS construction delays) meant I had to wait.

They also had to contend with rules about when they could remove dirt. The city does not permit moving the dirt while it's raining heavily. (Note: this was the SECOND rainiest year on record.) So, while I'm waiting for the dirt to arrive, I'm pumping out the pool every week. The pump (a big gas powered monster) cost me some $50 per day to rent.

Next the contrator couldn't dump the dirt *directly* into the pool because of the location of the pool, the location of the driveway, the size of the trucks, etc. So they dumped the dirt in my yard. So I had 19 dumptruck-loads of dirt in my front *and* back yards. (You can imagine how happy the neighbors were).

I swear to you. It looked like I had constructed my own private "moto-cross" track.

Next I had to find a contractor to move the dirt into the pool. (I tried doing it myself, and let's just say...it was a bad idea. A very bad idea.)

You would think finding a contractor would be easy, right? After all, all I wanted was for someone to move some dirt (from my yard) into my (now empty) pool. Wrong again.

I called about ten contractors. Of that, only six were even interested in submitting bids. Of the six, only three *actually* submitted bids.

And finally, I signed one to a contract. And normally this would be the end of the story.

But it wasn't.

The contractor I hired did *not have* the actual equipment. But I figured, he'll rent it, right? Well, he tells me that he does not have enough money to rent the equipment. And he wants ME (yes, ME) to rent the equipment. The problem is, that if he breaks the equipment, who's responsible? Yup. Me. If the equipment disappears, who's responsible? That's right, me again. So I say goodbye to contractor #1, and hello to contractor #2.

Contractor #2 *has* the equipment (a very good sign). And he agrees to do the job (so, I'm really getting excited). But when I ask him to sign a contract, specifying with price, deadlines, etc., he balks. I ask him to explain what part of the contract he doesn't like, and he balks *again*. I ask him who "told him" the contract was bad and he balks a *third time*. (I'm later told by someone who knows him, that he simply *can't read*.

So, onto contractor #3. Contractor #3 not only *has* the equipment, *and* insurance, *and* signs the contract, but he (get this!) requires NO down payment.

He starts the job on time, and actually (get this)finishes in three days. He even does a little grading (though I did have to pay him for that).

Total price: $1500 (including pump rental and grading). My best guess of what it would cost had I contracted the whole thing out (including buying the dirt): $4500.

Moral of the story:

1) You *can* get a pool filled in.
2) It does NOT have to cost you thousands of dollars.
3) But it may not be a smooth, and easy process. 4) It will, however, save you money in the long run, as pools are not cheap to operate and maintain.

Final note: Having owned a house with a pool, and filled in a pool, I will tell you that I never want to have a swimming pool again. They are a pain, expensive to operate, a legal liability, and expensive to remove. (Hmmm, kind of like a wife, now that I think about it. But don't get me started...)