Pool Removal Contractors Working in Santa Ana

Pool removal in Santa Ana needs building, electrical and plumbing permits from the city's Planning and Building Agency, and Pool Removal California found 16 businesses offering in-ground pool removal there, 8 with an active state licence. Handout BLD-16 calls for five 3 ft by 3 ft holes in the floor and the bond beam removed.

This directory groups Santa Ana under Orange County. Each listing below was matched to Santa Ana because the business names the city on its own website, serves it through a named region, or appears for it on Google Maps. Licence numbers were checked at the Contractors State License Board lookup on 11 October 2026, and businesses with an active licence are listed first.

Contractors serving Santa Ana

Another 7 businesses show no licence number or only a Google Maps listing for Santa Ana. They are being checked by phone before being listed.

A pool removal in Santa Ana needs a licensed contractor or an owner-builder permit, because Industry Bulletin 24-07 keeps permitted work outside the $1,000 unlicensed-work exemption. The state classification guide explains the A, C-12, C-21 and C-53 classes most pool jobs use.

Santa Ana Pool Removal Permit Rules

Santa Ana's Planning and Building Agency requires three permits to abandon a pool: a building permit with a site plan, an electrical permit and a plumbing permit, plus approvals from the Planning Department and from Public Works for construction runoff. The city's 2026-27 fee schedule bills demolition plan check at $294.06 an hour and inspection at $212.11 an hour, with an electrical demolition fee of $64.15 and a 26% stormwater surcharge on building and plumbing permits.

Inspections and paperwork on a Santa Ana job

BLD-16 sets the inspection order, booked at (714) 667-2738 or online:

1. Electrical inspection, with every electrical connection terminated or disconnected.
2. Plumbing inspection, with every water supply and drain connection capped.
3. Building inspection of the holes, which gives the go-ahead to backfill once electrical and plumbing have passed.
4. Final inspection, where any compaction report goes to the inspector and is filed with the finaled permit.

Partial fill-in or full removal in Santa Ana

Handout BLD-16 (revised March 2025) describes abandoning the pool in place. Crews jack hammer five holes, each 3 ft by 3 ft, four in the deep end and one in the shallow end, remove the bond beam around the top, typically 12 to 18 inches deep, and take out any built-in spa walls. The shell is filled with pea gravel up to the bond beam and finished with clean soil, or filled with soil compacted to 90% of the laboratory standard, with a compaction report at final inspection. An addition over the old pool needs a compaction report from a professional engineer.

The fill-in questions page sets the two methods side by side, with typical timelines of one to four days for a partial fill-in and three to seven for a full removal.

What a Santa Ana job costs

No Santa Ana contractor publishes prices, but Orange County firms do: Frisch & Sons publishes $12,000 to $20,000 for a partial fill-in and $18,000 to $30,000 or more for a full removal. Santa Ana's own charges add hourly demolition plan check and inspection, the electrical and plumbing permits, and the $204 debris plan review.

The California pool removal cost guide covers what moves a quote, from side-yard access to fill dirt and the compaction report.

Hauling the debris in Santa Ana

Santa Ana's construction and demolition page names Republic Services for temporary debris bins, reached at (657) 467-6220, and cites the CALGreen minimum of 65% recycled. Republic's Santa Ana flyer says a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan must be submitted before a permit is issued, lists concrete, rock and dirt as clean debris and caps roll-off containers at 10 tons. The fee schedule charges $204 to review a residential debris recycling plan, with a refundable deposit of $1.14 a square foot and a $250 minimum.

Pool water has to go somewhere before demolition starts. Santa Ana belongs to H2OC, the stormwater program shared by all 34 Orange County cities, whose pool drainage brochure asks for pool water sent to the sanitary sewer when possible. The storm drain is allowed only for dechlorinated water with no more than 0.1 mg/L of chlorine, a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 and no filter media or acid waste, and saltwater pools may not use it. Santa Ana's storm drains carry water untreated to the ocean.

Sellers in Santa Ana should keep the finaled permit, because the state's seller disclosure form asks about fill on the property and about unpermitted work.

Nearby areas

Contractors listed for Santa Ana also work in neighbouring communities, including Tustin, Orange, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Irvine. Neighbouring cities set their own permit rules, so a job outside Santa Ana city limits follows that city's building department or, in unincorporated areas, the county.

Other Orange County pages in this directory: Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove.

Common Santa Ana questions

What permits does a Santa Ana pool removal need?

Building, electrical and plumbing permits, plus Planning and Public Works approval.

How many holes does Santa Ana require?

Five holes, each 3 ft by 3 ft: four in the deep end and one in the shallow end.

Can a Santa Ana homeowner build over a filled pool?

Yes, with a compaction report from a professional engineer, as Handout BLD-16 (revised March 2025) requires for an addition.

What does a Santa Ana pool removal permit cost?

Demolition plan check is $294.06 an hour and inspection $212.11 an hour on the 2026-27 schedule, plus electrical and plumbing fees.

Where can Santa Ana pool water be drained?

To the sanitary sewer when possible; the storm drain only below 0.1 mg/L chlorine at pH 6.5 to 8.5.