Bay Area General Contractor Service Areas

Who issues the permit for a pool removal or demolition?

The building department of the city where the property is located issues the permit. If the home is in an unincorporated area, such as El Sobrante in Contra Costa County or Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, the county building department issues it instead. Each department sets its own fees, plan requirements and inspection steps.

1. Confirm the jurisdictionA mailing address can name a nearby city even when the lot is in an unincorporated area; the county assessor can confirm which one applies.
2. Apply for the permitCicarelli Contractors pulls the demolition permit and prepares what the department asks for.
3. Pass the inspectionsDepartments typically inspect before backfill and at the end; some also ask for a compaction report.
4. Keep the final approvalFile it with your house records for a future sale or a new build.

Read what Bay Area building departments ask for in our pool demolition permit guide, and how the job works on the pool removal page.

Is it hard to get rid of a pool?

Getting rid of a pool is a construction job, not a weekend project, but for the homeowner it is mostly a matter of choosing the method and hiring a licensed crew. The work runs in a fixed order: permit, draining, breaking out the shell, hauling the debris, backfilling and compacting the hole, and the city's final inspection.

What makes one job harder than another is the site, not the city: narrow side yards and hillside lots limit the equipment, a full removal takes more hauling than a partial one, and some departments ask for a compaction report. One Google review describes a hillside pool with limited access where the crew wheelbarrowed fill dirt uphill. Compare the methods on the pool removal page.

Can you drain a pool into the street in the Bay Area?

No. Storm drains carry water to creeks and the Bay without treatment, so pool water must never go into the street, the gutter or a storm drain. The West Valley Clean Water Program advises dechlorinating the water, testing it, and draining most in-ground pools to the sanitary sewer through a built-in line or a cleanout.

If there is no cleanout, the same guidance allows discharging dechlorinated water onto a lawn or another area of your property that can hold it, and warns against draining into a septic system. Check your own city's rules before draining, and see the West Valley Clean Water Program guidance.

How far from Richmond does Cicarelli Contractors work?

The crew works in all 9 Bay Area counties, from Santa Rosa and Napa in the north to San Jose in the south. The table shows the straight-line distance from Richmond to each city that already has its own page; driving distance is longer, and the East Bay is the closest part of the service area.