Status: completed June 2026. Client: Tier 1 fitout builder, working for the hotel operator (confidential). Location: waterfront hotel, Surfers Paradise QLD. Scope: demolition of the outdoor pool and spa, the pool deck slab, terrace floor finishes, bar counter and low walls, and a landscaped ramp, followed by excavation of the pool footprint, as the external works package of a hotel refurbishment.
The builder needed the old pool and its surrounds gone so the new pool and terrace could go in, on a hotel that stayed open around the work. The pool sat on a suspended deck over the undercroft on one side and against the river frontage on the other, with retained walls, a pergola and the hotel facade all hard up against the work area. Perfect was engaged as the demolition and excavation subcontractor and was on site for about five weeks from May to June 2026.
What the job involved
- Dilapidation survey of the retained structure, facade, balustrades and neighbouring finishes before any breaking started
- Saw cut separation lines between the demolition scope and the retained structure: road saw through the pool base and deck, track saw through the pool walls and hobs, so nothing was hammered against a wall that had to stay
- Pool paint and fibreglass lining hammered off by hand and bagged before the concrete was broken
- Pool shell, pool deck slab and the composite metal deck slab over the undercroft broken out by a remote controlled demolition machine and a 5 tonne excavator working inside the footprint
- Steel supports under the deck cut with oxy once the slab load was off them
- Floor tiles, bedding and synthetic turf lifted from the terraces with a compact excavator, tiles bagged and walked out
- Bar counter, low block walls and hobs demolished, with saw cuts at the junctions to the retained walls
- Landscaping, hedges and stumps removed, and the ramp beside the adjoining venue reduced by hand: block wall taken down course by course, timber slats unscrewed, steel cut, slab hammered
- Excavation of the pool footprint, with the fill classified by the builder's occupational hygienist before it was loaded to tippers in the hotel driveway
- Concrete and tiles to recycling, steel to the scrap recycler, general material to licensed facilities, all on dockets
What made it hard
The hotel was trading. Guests were in the rooms above and the adjoining venue was open, so the work ran inside the approved hours, deliveries and tippers came and went through the hotel driveway, and the breaking had to be planned so the noisiest work happened when it hurt the operation least.
Half the scope sat on a suspended slab over the undercroft. Machines had to be sized to what the deck could carry, the slab had to come off in a set sequence so the steel supports were never left holding a partial load, and the propping was designed by the builder's engineer before we started. The other half sat against the river, behind a balustrade that stayed, on a footprint too tight to swing a normal excavator.
How it was run
Separation first. Before anything was hammered, every line between our scope and the retained structure was saw cut, so the retained walls, the facade and the balustrade were never loaded by the breaking. The pool lining came off by hand and went into bags, then the remote controlled machine went into the pool and broke the shell from the inside while a mini excavator sorted and loaded the rubble beside it. Everything stayed inside the pool footprint.
The deck over the undercroft came off in strips, working back from the edge, with the steel supports cut only after the slab above them was gone. The terraces were done with a compact machine and hand tools, tiles bagged on the spot and walked out to the truck in the driveway. Once the shell was out, the footprint was excavated and the hygienist classified the fill in stockpiles before it left the site on tippers.
How it went
Pool, spa and deck out. Retained walls, balustrade, pergola and facade intact. Footprint excavated, classified and handed over with the follow on trades already setting out the new pool.
If you have something similar
Pool removal, structural demolition on suspended slabs and tight excavation on live commercial sites are what Perfect Strip Out and Demolition does in Queensland and New South Wales. Have a look at our swimming pool removal, demolition, detailed excavation and Gold Coast commercial strip out pages, or just get in touch and tell us what you are dealing with.
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