The Stages of a Shotcrete Pool Build, Explained
A custom pool is built in a fixed sequence of stages, each one resting on the last. Here is what actually happens, in order, from layout to first swim.
Why The Order Never Changes
A shotcrete or gunite pool is built in a set sequence, and the order is not flexible. Each stage depends on the one before it being done right, which is why a build that skips ahead or rushes a phase tends to pay for it later. Understanding the sequence makes the whole project far less mysterious to live through.
What follows is the real order of operations on a typical custom pool in the Burbank area. The timing of each stage varies with the design, the access, and the city's review, but the sequence itself holds for nearly every gunite build.
Knowing what comes next is one of the quiet benefits of hiring a crew that does the whole job. There is never a gap where one company finishes and another has not shown up yet, because it is the same people the whole way through.
Layout, Dig, And Steel
It starts with layout: the approved design gets staked and painted onto the actual dirt, so you can see the footprint before anyone digs. This is the moment to confirm the pool sits exactly where you want it relative to the house, the trees, and the yard.
Then comes excavation. The machine carves the rough shape of the pool, and the crew refines the floor, the walls, and the steps by hand. On tight Valley lots, this is where access planning pays off, since the spoil has to get out and the machine has to fit.
With the hole dug, the steel goes in. A grid of rebar is tied throughout the shell to spec, forming the cage that will give the gunite its strength. The plumbing rough-in is set at the same stage, with the lines for the returns, the main drain, and the skimmer run before the shell is shot. A city inspection typically follows the steel and plumbing, confirming everything is to plan before the shell goes up.
- Layout staked and painted on the dirt
- Excavation shapes the pool
- Rebar cage tied to spec
- Plumbing rough-in set
- Inspection before the shell is shot
Shooting And Curing The Shell
Next the shell is shot. Gunite or shotcrete is sprayed at high pressure over the steel cage, and the crew shapes and screeds it into the floor, the walls, the steps, and the benches. This is the structural heart of the pool, and it is a skilled, physical stage that happens fast once it starts.
Then the shell has to cure, which simply takes time and water. Curing is what lets the concrete reach its full strength, and rushing past it undermines everything built on top. A good crew keeps the fresh shell wet and gives it the days it needs rather than racing to the next stage.
While the shell cures, the visible choices come into focus: the tile, the coping, the interior finish, and the deck. These get finalized so the work can flow once the shell is ready.
Tile, Deck, Finish, And Startup
With the shell cured, the build moves to the surfaces you live with. Waterline tile and coping go on first, defining the edge of the pool. The deck and hardscape get formed and poured around it, with the grading and drainage built in underneath where you will never see them but always benefit from them.
Then the interior finish goes on, the plaster, quartz, or pebble surface that you will feel underfoot. This is one of the last steps because the pool fills right after it is applied, and the surface needs the water to cure properly.
Finally comes startup: the pool is filled, the equipment is fired up, and the water is balanced and the new surface carefully brushed and tended through its first days. A final inspection signs off the build, and a walk-through hands you a pool you know how to run. From first chalk line to first swim, that is the whole sequence.
Understanding the stages makes a pool build far easier to live through, and a crew that owns every stage makes it easier still.
Call 562-620-3515 for a free design visit and a clear plan for your backyard build.
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