Tips for filling in an old pool that nobody talks about

I went through this exact process last June with an old 15x30 inground. One thing I’d add is that punching those holes in the bottom is harder than it sounds. I started with a heavy-duty rotary hammer, but I had to upgrade to a 60lb jackhammer rental from Sunbelt to really get through the reinforced concrete. If those holes aren't at least 12 inches wide, they’re going to clog up with silt eventually. The compaction is where I almost messed up. I thought I could just drive over it with the truck, but my neighbor lent me his Wacker Neuson plate compactor. I did it in 10-inch lifts like you suggested. Even with that, I noticed a slight dip near the old deep end after the first big storm, so I had to bring in another two yards of topsoil this spring.

Cost-wise, I ended up spending about $4,200 just on the fill and the equipment rentals. I got lucky with a local construction site that needed to offload "clean" fill for cheap, otherwise, the dirt alone whould have doubled my budget. It’s a massive project, but finally having a flat spot for my Weber grill and the patio set was the right move for us.

I'm a total beginner here and honestly had no idea it was this complicated. I was just going to buy some dirt and hire a guy with a shovel! Does anyone know if you need special permits for this? I'd hate to get in trouble with the city later. Also, if I want to put a gravel driveway over that spot in a few years, will it hold up, or does the ground stay kind of mushy forever beacuse of the holes in the concrete?

Permitting is absolutely non-negotiable because most municipalities classify a pool decommissioning as a major structural alteration, often requiring a witnessed inspection of those drainage perforations before you even begin the backfill process. Regarding your driveway aspirations, you must utilize a vibratory trench roller rather than a mere plate compactor to achieve the 95% Proctor density required to support the static and dynamic loads of a vehicle, or you will inevitably suffer from differential settlement. If the soil is not engineered and documented with a geotechnical report, that gravel will simply migrate into the subgrade over time, rendering the surface unstable and prone to significant rutting.

I did this three years ago and my biggest save was finding a local pool company that was excavating a new build nearby. They were looking for a place to dump their clean dirt and I let them use my yard for free. Saved me over two grand in delivery fees right there. Just make sure you're home to inspect every load so they don't dump trash or big rocks in your hole. I also suggest marking your utility lines before the trucks start rolling in; I almost lost my main water line when the dump truck driver got a bit too creative with his turn radius.