Custom Inground Pools & Remodels in San Diego & Imperial Counties

Gunite pool construction (with gunite or shotcrete) involves multiple phases.

After planning and designing the pool, these steps typically include: permitting, layout, excavation, steel installation, plumbing, electric, concrete application, installation of tile and coping, deck installation, plaster/interior finish, and start-up.

The sequence here may vary based on local building codes and practices, as well as if the project contains any specialized custom design features.

With normal backyard conditions and weather that allows for the construction to proceed, builders in San Diego usually need about 90 days from excavation to complete a typical residential gunite pool.

In some geographic markets, build times average a few weeks longer. In general, the more complex the design and the more special features it has, the more time your project will take.

Other variables often extend build times. Among them: time of year, permits/variances, difficult building conditions (e.g., property access, hitting groundwater, subterranean rock, or unmarked utility lines), addendums to change the design or features, customer payment progress, adjacent outdoor features under construction, and custom material choices requiring a special order.

Above all, weather conditions, such as rain or extreme heat and humidity, can cause delays. Fortunately, with San Diego’s moderate Mediterranean climate, these conditions are uncommon.

Gunite construction is multiphase—requiring a series of steps using various tradesmen for each. Reputable pool builders adhere to the timelines and terms outlined in the sales contract.

Beneath the ground, several conditions can slow or impede pool construction.

In San Diego, examples include sand, clay, caliche (a kind of mineral deposit), rock, decomposed granite, extended tree roots, a high local water table (in which water from the earth seeps into an excavated hole), and buried utility lines that utility-reporting services did not identify.

While qualified pool contractors like Blue Haven Pools use strategies to overcome these subterranean hurdles, build schedules may sometimes be extended.

Learn more: Backyard Conditions that Impact Building Costs

Soil that expands, contracts, shifts, or is unstable for other reasons can impact a pool’s construction and long-term stability.

For example, in an open excavated hole, sandy soil may cause the walls to collapse. Soil with a high clay content may expand or contract with seasonal temperature or moisture changes.

Professional pool contractors are accustomed to these kinds of challenges and have solutions for the majority of them. Tactics vary by the nature of the challenge and building practices in the local market.

Learn more here: Backyard Conditions that Impact Building Costs

Builders use a variety of techniques to overcome soil challenges for gunite pool construction.

For example, to address unstable earth, they may lay a bed of compacted fill with pea gravel in the excavated hole or increase the amount of gunite and steel in the pool shell. To address sandy soil, they may frame the excavated hole with plywood to hold its shape until gunite is applied.

In certain cases, an analysis by a soil engineer may be needed, and more extensive tactics may be required.