Once the finish is in and the water is up, the steel, the plumbing and the shell are under it for good. Here is what goes in, in the order it goes in, and the question to ask any builder at each step.
Get a Quote Call (817) 565-5581Every builder does these steps. The difference is in how carefully each one gets done and whether anybody checks it before the next one covers it up.
The shape gets painted on the ground and checked against the house, the septic field, the fence line and where the afternoon sun sits. Then the excavator digs it out, deeper than the finished floor to leave room for the steel and the shell.
A grid of rebar is tied on spacers so it sits inside the shell, not on the dirt, and forms set the top edge. North Texas clay moves when it gets wet and dries out again. The steel is what keeps the shell from cracking when it does.
Suction and return lines, the lines to the spa and every water feature, and conduit for the lights all go in before the shell. Bonding ties the steel, the equipment and the water together so there is no shock hazard, and it is work for a licensed electrician.
Gunite is dry concrete mix sprayed through a hose, with water added at the nozzle, packed against the steel to form the walls, floor, benches and ledges. Then it cures before anything goes on top of it.
Waterline tile, the coping on the edge, then the deck: broom finished concrete, pavers or turf inlays. This is where the pool starts to look like the photos, and where doing the kitchen and cabana at the same time saves a second mobilization.
The interior finish goes on, the pool fills so the finish cures under water, and the water chemistry gets balanced during startup. The first few weeks of chemistry matter more than any week after.
Fiberglass goes in faster, and for a small, simple pool on a flat lot it can make sense. But you take the shape it ships in, it has to fit on a truck, and a crack is a replacement, not a repair. Gunite shapes to the yard, takes a spa, a ledge or a swim up bar wherever they belong, and can be resurfaced for decades.
A rough idea of what you want and where the yard is. We will walk it and come back with real numbers, not a phone quote.
Call (817) 565-5581