Hi all, I am new to this site and am looking for some advice on digging out a pool that is buried in my backyard. Approximately 3 years ago, the former owners of my house decided they no longer wanted their pool, filled it in with sand, and poured concrete on top. This week I broke up a little bit of the cement to see the condition of the pool and have attempted to attach a picture (sorry if the pic is sideways... the red part is the lip that hangs over the pool, and the brown on top of it is just the sand we dug out).
I believe the pool is a cement pool, approximately 15' by 30', was built in the early 90s, and has a hot tub at one end. The pool is in El Paso, TX, and I believe it was a salt water pool. I do not believe that the former owners punched holes in the bottom of the pool, but have no way of knowing that for sure. The pump and filter are gone, but all the piping remains above ground on the walls running along our fence. The skimmer basket was also filled with sand and concreted over. I am unsure about the rest of the electrical/plumbing.
So my question is how much $$$ do you all think it would take to restore this pool? I know an accurate estimate is probably not possible given the limited information, but I am hoping for a ballpark estimate ($$$ amount for best and worst case scenarios).
We would like to do some of the work ourselves, but will need to hire professionals to do the electric and plumbing. We are thinking of hiring a crew to help us dig it out, or possibly attempt to re-plaster it ourselves. We do not have much DIY experience, so we are looking for any advice you may have. If we dig it out is there a certain end we should start at or specific way we should do it? Could digging out the pool damage it further (I have heard stories about pools "floating out" etc)? How important is it to have professionals re-plaster? Is it important that they be licensed and insured? Sorry for all the naive questions, but we are just a pair of first time home buyer who are out of our element lol. We are getting estimates this weekend from pool companies, but do not want to get taken advantage of, and are looking for DIY ways to cut costs if possible. Any help, estimates, or advice would be great. Thanks!
I believe the pool is a cement pool, approximately 15' by 30', was built in the early 90s, and has a hot tub at one end. The pool is in El Paso, TX, and I believe it was a salt water pool. I do not believe that the former owners punched holes in the bottom of the pool, but have no way of knowing that for sure. The pump and filter are gone, but all the piping remains above ground on the walls running along our fence. The skimmer basket was also filled with sand and concreted over. I am unsure about the rest of the electrical/plumbing.
So my question is how much $$$ do you all think it would take to restore this pool? I know an accurate estimate is probably not possible given the limited information, but I am hoping for a ballpark estimate ($$$ amount for best and worst case scenarios).
We would like to do some of the work ourselves, but will need to hire professionals to do the electric and plumbing. We are thinking of hiring a crew to help us dig it out, or possibly attempt to re-plaster it ourselves. We do not have much DIY experience, so we are looking for any advice you may have. If we dig it out is there a certain end we should start at or specific way we should do it? Could digging out the pool damage it further (I have heard stories about pools "floating out" etc)? How important is it to have professionals re-plaster? Is it important that they be licensed and insured? Sorry for all the naive questions, but we are just a pair of first time home buyer who are out of our element lol. We are getting estimates this weekend from pool companies, but do not want to get taken advantage of, and are looking for DIY ways to cut costs if possible. Any help, estimates, or advice would be great. Thanks!