Custom Gunite Pools
Built for Your Lot, Poured in Gunite.
Every backyard I’ve ever worked with is different. Flat. Sloped. Full of limestone rock under the topsoil. Shaded by live oaks you’re not willing to cut. Gunite is sprayed concrete over a steel-reinforced framework — the same building method used for foundations and retaining walls — so I start with your ground, not a template, and build with structural integrity as the starting point, not an afterthought.
What We Build
Gunite gives me unlimited design freedom because there’s no factory mold limiting the shape. The goal is a pool that feels inevitable for your yard — like it was always meant to be there.
Built for Your Exact Lot
There's no factory mold limiting the shape. I start with your ground — flat, sloped, rocky, shaded by live oaks you're not willing to cut — and design around it, not a catalog.
Freeform Pools
Natural, organic shapes that follow the contours of your landscape.
Geometric Pools
Clean lines, rectangular, L-shaped, roman — sharp and precise.
Slope & Hillside Builds
Raised pools, multi-level designs, pools built specifically for hillside lots.
Depth Zones
Shallow end for kids, deep end for diving or lap swimming.
Infinity Edges
The edge that disappears into a catch basin — works beautifully on sloped lots.
Swim Jets
For lap swimming in a smaller footprint.
Automatic Covers
Safety cover or solar cover — depends on what makes sense for your family.
Pool Features
Every Pool Can Include
Every gunite pool I build includes the base package: excavation, steel, plumbing, electrical, shotcrete application, decking, coping, tile, equipment, and startup. Beyond that, here’s what pairs well:
Integrated Spa
Built as part of the same gunite pour. No seam, no leaks.
Tanning Ledge
A shallow Baja shelf for sitting in the water. Great for kids, great for floating and watching the sky.
Fire Features
Fire bowls and pits that extend your backyard into cooler months.
Outdoor Living
Rock falls, sheet falls, bubble barrels, lighting, and automation you run from your phone.
Why Gunite for Hill Country Dirt
Limestone, Caliche, and Ground That Moves
Hill Country soil is not a flat plane you dig straight through. You hit rock — limestone and caliche — before you get where the pool actually goes. Then there’s the seasonal movement: ground dries and cracks in August, swells back in October.
Fiberglass pools are manufactured in a mold. They have a fixed shape and a fixed structural response. They don’t flex with the ground — in Hill Country terms, they can crack.
Gunite is different. The steel rebar framework is shaped by hand to match your exact yard. The concrete is sprayed on wet and packed tight against the earth. It bonds to the soil around it, and moves with the ground.
Excavation through Hill Country rock — the ground every design has to answer to
Shell and spa before plaster — the steel that carries the claim below
Thicker Shells. Smarter Reinforcement.
Our shell is 12 inches with double-mat steel, the reinforcement engineering code specifies for walls this thick.
That’s the standard on every pool I build, not an upgrade. Thicker shells in areas where soil pressure is highest, double-mat rebar in zones where the ground is most prone to shifting, and plumbing runs that account for freeze cycles even though they rarely freeze down here.
This is what 15 years of custom home building teaches you. You don’t use the same foundation for a house on flat ground as you do on a hillside lot. Your pool deserves the same thinking.
One Perfect Pour
Gunite is shot onto the rebar framework in a single continuous pour. Fewer cold joints, fewer weak points, and a monolithic shell that holds together as a single structural unit.
Once the shell cures, tile and coping go in by hand — every piece set to the line of your deck, not a factory template. Fiberglass is uniform because the mold is uniform. Gunite is custom, start to finish.
Tile and coping going in before plaster — every piece set by hand
An Honest Comparison
Gunite vs. Fiberglass
Fiberglass isn’t a scam — it’s a real product with real advantages, and for some yards it’s the sensible choice. Here are the tradeoffs, laid out straight.
Fiberglass
A factory-molded shell, delivered by truck and set by crane.
Where it wins
- Faster install — the shell arrives finished
- Lower upfront cost than gunite
- Smooth factory gelcoat finish
The tradeoffs
- Fixed catalog shapes — the mold decides, not your yard
- Less forgiving of Guadalupe County soil movement
- Can’t be reshaped or resurfaced the way concrete can
Gunite
Concrete sprayed over steel rebar, shaped by hand on your lot.
Where it wins
- Fully custom — any shape, depth, or feature your yard calls for
- Engineered for ground that moves
- Resurfaceable and re-tileable across its whole life
- Handles slope, rock, and raised designs fiberglass can’t
The tradeoffs
- Costs more upfront
- Takes longer to build — about eight weeks here, not days
The short version: fiberglass is a fine pool on the right ground. On the ground we build on, gunite is the structure I build for decades — worth the extra cost and time if you’re building a backyard you plan to keep forever.
Why the Pace Is Slow on Purpose
Two Builds at a Time.
That’s the whole schedule, by design. Coy is on site as your builder and project manager on every one of them — not a sales floor handing you off to subcontractors.
Two
Builds at a Time
15+
Years Custom Construction
Gunite
Only — Fully Insured
Real Timelines
From Design Lock to Water.
Once your design and contract are done, we’re in the water in about eight weeks. I plan the whole build — permits, materials, crew schedules — before the first shovel touches your yard.
Built to Your Budget
A Pool Designed Around Your Number
I don’t publish a price range, because a range would be wrong for most of the people reading it. I’ve built small pools and I’ve built whole backyards. Tell me your budget and I’ll design a pool to fit it.
What moves the number:
- Lot conditions — rock, slope, access difficulty
- Size and depth
- Features — spa, waterfalls, tanning ledge, lighting
- Decking material — concrete, flagstone, stamped, travertine
- Equipment — heating, automation, filtration upgrades
My quotes are comprehensive. If we talked about it on the lot walk, it’s in the number — not a starting price that grows mid-build, one change order at a time.
Start designingCustom Gunite Pool Answers
FAQ — Custom Gunite Pools
What exactly is gunite?+
Gunite is a method of applying concrete. Steel rebar is tied into a shape, then concrete is pneumatically sprayed onto it at high pressure — the dry-mix version of shotcrete. The result is a dense, strong, monolithic shell. It's how you build foundations, retaining walls, tunnels, and pools.
How does gunite compare to fiberglass?+
Fiberglass is a factory mold, lifted by crane and set into a dug hole. It's faster to install but limited in shape, thinner structurally, and doesn't flex well with shifting soil. Gunite is custom-shaped, thicker, built with rebar, and moves with the ground. In Hill Country, gunite is the better structural choice.
How long does a gunite pool take to build?+
Once your design and contract are done, we're in the water in about eight weeks. The gunite application itself happens in a day or two — the rest of that build phase is excavation, steel, plumbing, electrical, curing, decking, tile, equipment, and finishing.
Is gunite more expensive than fiberglass?+
Initially, yes — but it lasts longer and doesn't need replacement. Think of it the same way you'd think about stick-built vs manufactured housing. One is cheaper upfront. The other holds up for decades.
Do you repair or resurface existing pools?+
No. I build new gunite pools only — I don't repair or resurface existing pools. If you're removing an old pool to build a new one from scratch, that's new construction and I'm glad to talk.
What questions do you ask before designing a pool for my yard?+
I want to know: what does your family actually do on weekends? Do you entertain? Will kids be swimming? Will you use it in the winter or just summer? Do you have a view you want to keep? Any trees you're not willing to lose? And honestly — what range makes sense for this project?
Do you handle pool permits too?+
Yes. Permit preparation and submission to the city is included. I know the requirements in Seguin and the rest of Guadalupe County.
Ready to Build?
Talk to Coy About
Your Gunite Pool.
Tell me about your yard — the square footage, the slope, the rock, the view — and I’ll tell you what kind of pool would work best and what the process looks like.
Send the details
Let’s talk about your pool.
Free consultation. No obligation. Just a conversation about your yard.