By The Junk Lord · Updated
What are you actually dealing with?
Before you work out how to get rid of a pool table, figure out what kind you have. Lift the edge of the felt at a pocket or look under the table. If the playing surface is stone, it’s a slate table. If it’s wood or particleboard, it’s a much lighter job.
A slate table is basically a stone slab sitting on a wooden frame. The slate is very heavy and brittle at the edges. On many tables it’s split into sections that are screwed down to the frame, with the felt stretched and stapled over the top and the rails bolted on around it.
That’s why a slate table doesn’t leave a room in one piece. Tipping one on its side to squeeze it through a door is how slate cracks, walls get gouged and backs get hurt. It comes apart first, then goes out a piece at a time.
Can it just go out with the trash?
Not in York. The City of York lists pool tables among the items residents have to handle privately, right next to pianos and organs.[1]
Other towns don’t name pool tables, but their limits get you to the same place. York Township and Manchester Borough won’t take a large item that two people can’t lift. East Manchester Township won’t take anything over 75 pounds or longer than 4 feet without the hauler’s approval, and Ephrata Borough sends anything over 50 pounds to a private hauler. Even broken down, the slate is the part that tends to fail those tests, so call your hauler before you set any of it out.[2][3][4][5]
Hauling it to the county yourself is possible, but check first. YCSWA’s Small Load Drop-Off takes furniture from York County residents, and waste loads are charged by the ton. Pool tables aren’t named on the list, so ask YCSWA about the slate before you load it.[6][7]
Can someone else use it?
Maybe, and it’s worth a try if the table is in good shape. Just know that a slate table someone plans to play on has to be taken down, moved and set back up level, which is billiards installer work.
- List the size (7, 8 or 9 foot), the brand if you can find it, whether it’s slate, and the condition of the felt and rails.
- Include a photo of the stairs and doorway. The buyer needs to know what the installer is walking into.
- Make it clear the buyer arranges the teardown and move. That keeps you out of the slate-carrying business.
- If you think the table is valuable, have a billiards shop look at it before you list it free.
Can I take it apart myself?
If the table is headed for disposal and you’re handy, yes, with help. Work from the top down: pull the staples and the felt, unbolt the rails and pockets, back out the screws holding the slate, then take the frame and legs apart. Keep a bucket for the hardware.
Lifting the slate is the part to respect. Get enough people that nobody is straining, wear gloves and boots, carry each section flat or on edge with someone at both ends, and never try a stair turn with a slab you can’t see over. A section that slips on the stairs is going to the bottom no matter what you do.
When it makes sense to call us
If the table is in a finished basement, nobody wants it, and you don’t have a few strong friends free on a Saturday, our pool table removal is the simple route. We break the table down where it stands, carry the slate and frame out a piece at a time, and haul off every part, felt and staples included. The foosball table and the old bar stools can go on the same load.
Text a photo of the table and the stairs to (717) 654-6138. William confirms the price before the first rail comes off.