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Bob Frisch grew up in the family business, helping his dad demolish pools across Southern California. Today, he’s at the helm of Frisch & Sons, the leading pool demo company in Orange County. With small lots and the rising popularity of ADUs, Frisch & Sons stays busy helping homeowners reclaim valuable backyard space.
Some takeaways:
Explosion of ADUs is driving demolition needs. Nearly 1 in 10 homes has a pool in California. With small lots and rising housing prices, people are choosing to demolish pools to create space for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) or larger yards.
Full removal is quite rare. Only about 5-8% of clients go the full removal route. Most will elect for a partial removal, meaning the bottom half of the pool will stay in the ground.
Access impacts pricing. If they can’t fit a skid steer or mini excavator into the backyard easily, costs climb fast. Specializing in tight-access projects, Bob’s team uses equipment like the Bobcat S70 and Kubota U17 to get the jobs done.
Disposal costs eat into margins. Prior to investing in a concrete crusher, Frisch & Sons were spending $250K/year on disposal costs. By bringing crushing in-house, they’ve been able to lower costs and recycle crushed concrete into backfill material.
Cutting out general contractors unlocked better margins and control. Rather than subcontract through general contractors, Bob shifted the business to deal directly with homeowners. This move, paired with investment in SEO and Google Business Profile, helped them take control of their pipeline and pricing.
California’s permitting and regulations are no joke. While using DigAlert is common sense, contractors in CA have to go above and beyond with soil compaction tests after the job. Soil density needs to be at 90% or higher in order for the job to be completed.
Where to find Bob and Frisch & Sons:
X: @pooldemo
Website: https://www.frischandsons.com/
Instgram: @frischandsons
In this interview, we dive into:
0:00 Intro to Bob Frisch
0:08 Origin Story of Frisch & Sons
0:41 Why People Remove Pools in Southern California
2:22 Growing Up Around the Family Business
3:24 Buying Out His Dad (and Brother)
4:42 Bob’s Mom: The Backbone of the Office
5:30 How Customers Find Frisch & Sons
6:07 Types of Jobs (Backfill vs. Partial vs. Full Removal)
9:07 Tight Access Machines
10:27 Crushing Concrete In-House
12:39 Dig Alerts and Geotech Reports
15:01 What's Next for Frisch & Sons
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