Gunite construction
Custom Gunite Pools in Austin
Concrete shot over steel, carved by hand, finished to your site. The pool that can be any shape the land asks for.
A gunite pool starts as a hole and a cage of steel and ends as a structure that will outlast the house. Because the concrete is sprayed in place rather than dropped in as a mold, there is no fixed catalog — every Terramar pool is drawn to one lot, one grade, one view.
Why gunite, and when it isn't
Gunite is dry concrete blown through a hose at high pressure onto a grid of rebar, then troweled into shape before it sets. It is what makes infinity edges, vanishing spas, sunken benches and negative corners possible — none of which come out of a fiberglass mold. It is the right choice when the shape matters.
It is not always the right choice. If your lot is flat, your budget is firm, and a rectangle under sixteen by forty feet suits you, fiberglass installs in weeks and costs less. We will tell you that plainly rather than sell you a bigger project. When people ask about "shotcrete versus gunite," they are the same concrete family — gunite is mixed dry at the nozzle, shotcrete wet — and both build a shell we would stand behind.
How the build runs
The sequence is fixed because concrete and plaster cure on their own clock. We survey and engineer, excavate and tie steel, shoot the gunite and let it cure wet for a week, set tile, coping, decking, plumbing and equipment, then apply the interior finish and fill the same day. Full detail lives on our process, but the short version is one honest season.
Interior finishes
- Plaster — the classic white marble finish. Warmest price, smoothest feel, roughly a ten-year surface.
- Quartz — plaster with quartz aggregate. Harder, more stain-resistant, a subtle sparkle; a common upgrade.
- Pebble — exposed natural pebble. The most durable and the deepest water color; fifteen-plus years and our usual recommendation for a pool meant to last.
The honest timeline
Sixteen to twenty weeks for most custom pools, first dig to first swim. The dig itself is unpredictable in this part of Texas — under the topsoil is caliche and then solid limestone, and a shelf of rock can add days. We build the schedule around inspection windows and the two mandatory cure periods, and we do not promise a date the concrete can't keep.
A pool is poured once. We would rather move a line on paper twenty times than move a wall in concrete once.
What it costs
A custom gunite pool in Austin generally runs $80,000 to $150,000. On hillside lots — most of Westlake, Barton Creek and the Lake Travis ridgelines — access and elevation move the number more than the water does. The full breakdown, including what buyers usually forget, is in our 2026 Austin pool cost guide.
Questions we get
How long does it take to build a gunite pool in Austin?
Sixteen to twenty weeks from the first excavation to the first swim for most custom pools. Gunite and plaster both have to cure on their own schedule, and Austin's caliche and limestone can add days to the dig. Weather and inspection windows account for most of the variation.
Is gunite better than fiberglass or shotcrete?
For custom shapes, gunite is the only real option — it is sprayed in place, so it can be any size or profile, with true infinity edges, ledges and integrated spas. Fiberglass is faster and cheaper but comes in fixed molds under about 16 by 40 feet. Shotcrete is the same material family, mixed wet instead of dry; both make an excellent shell and we spec whichever the site and crew favor.
What drives the cost of a custom pool?
Size and depth set the baseline, but on Austin hillside lots access and elevation usually cost more than the water itself. A pool a pump truck can reach is far cheaper than one that needs a crane or a retaining wall. Interior finish, edge treatment, automation and decking then move the number the rest of the way.
Do you handle permits and engineering?
Yes. We carry the structural engineering, the City of Austin or county permit, and the required barrier and drainage details through inspection. On HOA lots — common in Westlake and Barton Creek — we prepare the architectural review submittal as well.
Start with the site