The build
How a Gunite Pool Gets Built in Oklahoma
The construction of a gunite pool follows a precise process, with each step building toward the finished result. Knowing what to expect at every stage makes the journey easier to follow and more enjoyable.
Below, we've outlined the process from start to finish, highlighting the decisions that allow you to personalize your pool.
- Stages
- Nine, in a fixed order
- Timings
- On average, 8 to 12 weeks
- Your first step
- A free site visit
The sequence
Nine stages. The ones that feel slow are usually inspections and cure time, and both of those are protecting the shell you are paying for.
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Site visit and layout
We walk the yard, look at access for machinery, find the utilities, check the grade and the setbacks, and talk about where the sun is in the afternoon. This is where a design either fits the yard or gets changed. It is free and it does not commit you to anything.
You decide: Give the loungers the sunny seats, save a clear lane for the wet-foot parade and put the pool where the backyard says, "Obviously, right here."
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Design and estimate
The layout becomes a drawing with real dimensions, and the drawing becomes a price for the work described. If you built something in the studio first, we start from that instead of from a blank page.
You decide: Order from the whole pool menu. Shape, depth, ledge, spa, moving water and color can all show up before anyone asks you to be sensible.
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Permits and locates
The plan goes to your city for permit, and the utility locate service marks the yard. Nothing gets dug until both are done. This stage is out of our hands and it is the most common reason a start date moves.
You decide: While the math is mathing, hold tile, coping and water-color auditions. Tiny samples take this job extremely seriously.
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Excavation
The machine digs the shape, including the deep end, the ledge shelf and the spa if there is one. The hole is dug oversize to leave room for the shell thickness. This is the loudest, fastest, most alarming looking day of the whole job.
You decide: Walk the outline and call your future spots. First cannonball here, floating headquarters there, spa bubbles over there.
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Steel and plumbing
A steel reinforcing cage is tied through the whole shell, and every plumbing run is set. Returns, skimmers, main drains, spa jets, and a line for every water feature. Anything plumbed now is cheap. Anything added later means breaking concrete.
You decide: Choose the splash and glow. Bubblers, waterfalls, spa jets and lights are how the backyard develops an after-dark personality.
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Gunite
Concrete is sprayed under pressure over the steel and carved to the finished profile. This is when the pool becomes an object you can walk into. It then cures, and it gets watered while it cures, which looks like nothing is happening and is in fact the most important week for the shell's strength.
You decide: Baby the new shell with its prescribed water while tile and coping samples compete for your attention nearby.
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Tile, coping and deck
Waterline tile goes on, coping caps the edge, and the deck is formed and finished around it. This is the stage that changes how the pool looks more than any other, and the stage where the yard starts to read as a finished space.
You decide: Pick the pool's outfit. Tile brings the color, coping frames the water and the deck has to look good while surviving bare feet.
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Interior finish
Plaster, quartz or pebble goes on the shell interior, and then the pool is filled immediately, because a new finish should not sit dry. From this point the water color you chose is the water color you have.
You decide: This is the big water-color reveal, when a very attractive empty bowl suddenly starts looking like vacation.
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Startup and handover
The equipment is commissioned, the water is balanced over the first days, and we show you how the pump, heater, sanitizer and lighting actually work. New plaster needs specific care for its first month, and we walk you through it rather than emailing a sheet.
You decide: Decide whether you want hands-on pool care or pumps, heat and lights that respond to phone taps like an obedient backyard spaceship.
What we have not told you on this page
We would rather flag a gap than fill it with a plausible number.
- Duration
- On average, a pool build takes 8 to 12 weeks. Actual schedules vary with weather, inspection queues and access, so the timeline for your project may differ from the average.
- Payment schedule
- Draws are set out in your contract and explained before you sign it.
- Warranty
- Not published here. Ask us directly and we will put the terms in writing with your estimate.
- Photographs of these stages
- See our project photos or videos in our gallery, or check out our Facebook!
The questions that come up mid build
How long will the hole sit open?
Excavation, steel and gunite run close together by design, because an open excavation is exposed to weather and is the stage nobody enjoys looking at. The gap between them is usually an inspection. We tell you which one we are waiting on.
Can we change our minds partway through?
Up to a point, and the point is different for each decision. Shape is fixed at excavation. Plumbing and water feature positions are fixed at steel. Coping and deck material can change up until the tile stage. The finish can change until the day it goes on.
Who do we call when something goes wrong?
Us, on the same number you have been calling. Over 30 years in this industry means we have been around longer than most of the equipment we install, and we would rather fix a problem than route you to a manufacturer.
What happens the week after handover?
New plaster needs particular care while it cures under water, including brushing and specific chemistry. We go through it with you at startup and we are on the phone during that first month.
Start with a free consultation that provides real insights
A site visit allows us to assess your yard, discuss your goals, and determine the best options for your property. Bring your 3D pool design, and we'll walk through the details with you, answering questions and providing guidance tailored to your project.
Book a free design and estimate