Inground Pool Removal in Mandurah — Concrete and Fibreglass Shells Out

The pools coming out now are the 1980s–2000s pools

Mandurah put pools in faster than almost anywhere in WA — the canal estates, the Halls Head subdivisions, the brick-and-tile streets of Dudley Park and Coodanup. A big share of those pools are now 25 to 40 years old, and the sums have flipped: a resurfacing, new equipment and a compliant fence upgrade can cost more than removing the pool altogether. Removal is quoted fixed and in writing; typical figures are on the What It Costs page.

Two local factors make Peel inground removals their own kind of job:

• Sandy coastal soils. Easy digging, but backfill that isn't compacted in proper layers will slump within a couple of winters. Compaction is the job, not an extra.
• High groundwater near the canals and estuary. An old fibreglass shell emptied at the wrong moment can lift — "pop" — out of the ground, or crack as the sand around it moves. Emptying the pool is a sequenced step, never the first one.

Full removal or partial removal — one decision, made early

Full removal — the whole shell comes out: concrete broken up and carted off, fibreglass cut up and removed, hole backfilled with clean fill and compacted in layers. Costs more, but the ground is genuinely reinstated and there's nothing buried for a future buyer to find.

Partial removal (backfill) — the walls are broken down, drainage holes are punched through the floor, the top metre or so of shell is removed and the rest is buried under compacted fill. Cheaper and faster, but the site should be disclosed on sale and isn't automatically buildable.

If in doubt, we'll tell you which one your plans actually need before you commit to either. Small shells — spas and plunge pools — are usually full-removal jobs by default; they're covered on their own page.

What's included, what's not, what it depends on

Included in the written quote:

• Excavator and operator sized to your access — from about 1.5 t machines through a standard side gate up to 5 t where there's room
• Breaking out concrete or cutting up fibreglass, and dewatering where needed
• All cartage and tip fees for the shell material
• Clean sand fill, placed and compacted in layers
• Site left level and raked off

Not included:

• The council's BA5 permit fee — paid directly to the City of Mandurah or Shire of Murray
• Electrical disconnection of the pool pump (your electrician) and capping of any gas heater line (your gasfitter)
• New landscaping, turf or paving over the finished surface

What moves the price:

• Concrete versus fibreglass — concrete means more tonnes to break and cart
• Access — a Halls Head courtyard block where everything goes through a 1 m gate is a different job to an acreage block at Pinjarra or North Yunderup where a truck backs up to the hole
• Pool size and depth, and how much paving and coping comes out with it

The paperwork is real, and it gets done in the right order

Removing an inground pool is demolition work, so it generally needs a demolition permit — form BA5 under the Building Act 2011 (WA) — lodged with the City of Mandurah or, around Pinjarra and the Murray side of the region, the Shire of Murray (whose demolition permit fee started at $110 for a house-class structure in 2025–26 — fees are indexed, so confirm the current figure when you lodge). The safety barrier stays legally required until the shell can no longer hold 300 mm of water, and once the pool is gone the council is notified in writing — with before and after photos — so it comes off the four-yearly barrier inspection register and the fee comes off your rates. The full sequence, form by form, is on the Approvals page.

We ask the contractors we work with to hold the relevant WorkSafe WA licences and public liability cover — ask to see both before the machine arrives.

Straight answers

• Cheapest option? Partial removal — but say if you might ever build there, because that changes the answer. Prices: What It Costs.
• Will trucks wreck the lawn? Track mats go down on the haul path; a lawn repair is cheaper than hand-carting forty tonnes of concrete, and we'll tell you honestly which your block needs.
• Timeframe? Most inground pools are 2 to 4 days on site — break out, cart away, backfill and compact — plus the council's permit lead time up front.
• Got an above ground pool instead? Different, simpler, cheaper job — see above ground pool removal.

Call (08) 9516 1339 with the pool type, rough size and what's between the street and the water, and you'll get a straight answer on how it would run.