Hear from Our Customers
Pavo sits right on the Brooks and Thomas County line, and the soil underneath that ground is the same productive, clay-heavy earth that makes this part of South Georgia some of the most fertile farmland in the state. That’s great for crops. For a below-grade concrete structure, it means your pool needs to be engineered for what the ground actually does expanding when it’s wet, contracting when it dries out, shifting slowly over time. A pool that isn’t built for those conditions will show it eventually. One that is built for them lasts 30 years without drama.
There’s also the matter of the swimming season here. From April through October, you’re looking at six to seven months of real, usable pool weather in South Georgia. That’s not a short window it’s the better half of the year. A gunite pool designed around your specific backyard means that window belongs to you, not to a public facility down the road in Thomasville.
And when the build is done right the first time, you’re not spending the next decade managing repairs. Vinyl liners need full replacement every five to nine years. A properly built gunite pool needs resurfacing roughly every ten to fifteen years. Over the life of the pool, the math works in your favor but only if the builder got the engineering right from the start.
We’re based in Douglas, GA, and have been building custom inground pools across South Georgia since 2014 with more than 30 years of hands-on experience in concrete, plumbing, and pool construction behind our team before the company was ever named. We know this region. The soils around Pavo, the climate, the way the ground behaves differently in a wet spring versus a dry summer. We work with both Thomas County and Brooks County permit offices regularly, and we understand the specific requirements for properties that sit on Pavo’s county line.
What makes us different isn’t a slogan it’s a policy. We don’t subcontract. Not excavation, not rebar, not gunite application, not plumbing or electrical, not finishing. The same crew that breaks ground is the same crew that hands you the keys. In a community like Pavo, where your neighbors will see who’s working in your yard, that kind of accountability matters more than any marketing claim.
We also handle every permit in-house building and electrical including the added complexity that comes with Pavo’s dual-county jurisdiction. Whether your property falls under Thomas County or Brooks County, that’s handled without you having to figure it out.
It starts with your property not a showroom floor. We come out, evaluate your site, and build a 3D design rendering around your specific backyard, your lot dimensions, and how your family actually plans to use the space. You see the finished design before a single shovel breaks ground. No guessing, no surprises after the concrete is poured.
Once the design is approved and permits are pulled and in Pavo, that means coordinating with whichever county governs your address, Thomas or Brooks excavation begins. The rebar framework goes in next, engineered specifically for the soil conditions on your site. This is where the difference between a pool that lasts and one that doesn’t gets decided. We size the steel and set the wall thickness based on what your ground actually requires, not a one-size standard.
Gunite application follows, then plumbing, electrical, and finishing. Every phase is handled by our own crew. The timeline for a quality build runs roughly three to six months from permit approval to water in the pool not eight weeks, because a pool that cures properly takes the time it takes. Fall and early winter are actually the best time to start a build in South Georgia. The ground is workable, permit queues are shorter, and your pool is ready before the heat of the following summer hits.
Ready to get started?
Every gunite pool we build includes the full scope site evaluation, 3D design rendering, soil-specific engineering, excavation, rebar, gunite or shotcrete application, plumbing, electrical, finishing, equipment installation, and all required inspections. There’s no phase that gets handed off to a subcontractor and no inspection you have to schedule yourself.
Electrical work is bonded and grounded to NEC Article 680, the federal safety standard for pool construction. Most builders in the South Georgia market don’t mention that standard by name. We apply it to every build because it’s what keeps your family safe in the water not a technicality, not paperwork. Custom safety covers are included in the design conversation, and equipment installation covers all major brands: Hayward, Pentair, Jandy, Sta-Rite, and Zodiac. If something needs service five years from now, we can handle that too.
For Pavo homeowners specifically, the dual-county permit situation is fully managed in-house. If your property sits on the Thomas County side, that’s handled. If it’s Brooks County, same thing. You don’t research jurisdictions, you don’t call permit offices, and you don’t coordinate inspectors. Beyond the build itself, we offer ongoing maintenance plans so the company that built your pool is also the company keeping it running for the life of it.
This is the most common concern in Pavo and across this region, and it’s worth addressing directly. The short answer is: a properly engineered gunite pool does not crack from normal soil movement. The longer answer is that cracking is almost always a builder problem, not a material problem. South Georgia’s clay-heavy soils the same ground that makes Brooks County some of the most productive farmland in the state do expand and contract with moisture changes. That’s real. But a gunite shell designed for those specific conditions, with the correct rebar density, appropriate wall thickness, and adequate curing time, is built to handle that movement.
What causes cracking is rushing the cure, under-sizing the steel, or applying gunite too thin to save money on materials. Those are builder decisions, not material limitations. We engineer every pool for the actual soil conditions on the site not a generic national template which is why our pools in South Georgia’s clay-heavy ground hold up the way they do.
For a residential gunite pool in the South Georgia market, you’re generally looking at a range of $75,000 to $150,000 depending on size, depth, design complexity, and equipment selection. That’s a real investment, and it’s worth understanding what drives the number. The soil conditions in the Thomas and Brooks County area clay-heavy, moisture-sensitive require specific engineering that affects material and labor costs. A builder who doesn’t account for local soil in their design is cutting a corner that will eventually show up in your pool’s surface or structure.
The other thing worth understanding is the long-term math. Vinyl liners need full replacement every five to nine years at roughly $4,000 to $4,500 per cycle. A well-built gunite pool needs resurfacing every ten to fifteen years. Over a 30-year lifespan, the cost difference between pool types narrows significantly and gunite is the only option that gives you complete freedom in shape, depth, and design. The cheapest bid on a gunite pool is rarely the best value over time.
A realistic timeline for a quality gunite build in the Pavo area is three to six months from permit approval to water in the pool. That accounts for permitting which in Pavo involves coordinating with either Thomas County or Brooks County depending on where your property sits excavation, rebar, gunite application, curing time, plumbing, electrical, finishing, and final inspections. Curing is not something you rush. Gunite that hasn’t fully cured is structurally weaker, and no reputable builder skips that time.
The best time to start a build in South Georgia is fall or early winter. South Georgia’s mild winters mean construction isn’t weather-blocked the way it would be further north, permit queues are shorter, and crews are more available. A pool that breaks ground in October or November is typically ready before the following summer’s heat arrives. If you’re hoping to swim in April, the time to start the conversation is now not in February.
Yes and in Pavo specifically, the permitting situation is a little more involved than in most Georgia towns. Because Pavo sits directly on the county line between Brooks County and Thomas County, your permit jurisdiction depends on which side of that line your property falls. Some Pavo addresses fall under Thomas County Building and Zoning; others fall under Brooks County. It’s not always obvious, and getting it wrong means delays, fines, or having to redo work.
Beyond the building permit, pool construction in Georgia also requires an electrical permit and inspections at each phase of the build. We handle all of it building permit, electrical permit, and every required inspection regardless of which county governs your address. You don’t call permit offices, you don’t schedule inspectors, and you don’t navigate the dual-county complexity on your own. It’s handled from start to finish, which matters in a situation like Pavo’s where the jurisdictional question alone can slow down a project if it’s not managed correctly from the beginning.
Both gunite and shotcrete are forms of pneumatically applied concrete meaning the material is sprayed at high velocity onto a rebar framework to form the pool shell. The difference is in how the concrete is mixed. Gunite is a dry mix that combines with water at the nozzle during application. Shotcrete arrives pre-mixed and wet, then gets sprayed. Both methods produce a structurally sound pool when applied correctly by an experienced crew.
In practice, the method matters less than the crew applying it. A poorly applied shotcrete pool and a poorly applied gunite pool will both fail. A properly applied version of either will last decades. What actually determines the outcome is the engineering behind the shell rebar sizing, wall thickness, curing time and the experience of the team doing the work. We use the method best suited to each specific project and site condition. The conversation about which approach fits your build happens during the design phase, based on your property’s specific requirements.
Yes and that continuity is something most pool companies in this market can’t offer. We build the pool and service it, covering all major equipment brands including Hayward, Pentair, Jandy, Sta-Rite, and Zodiac. If something needs attention six years after the build, you’re calling the same company that installed it not tracking down a separate service provider or explaining your setup to someone who’s never seen it.
In a community the size of Pavo, that matters practically. There’s no row of pool service trucks on every block here. Finding reliable, knowledgeable pool maintenance after a contractor moves on is a real problem for a lot of South Georgia homeowners. We offer ongoing maintenance plans specifically so that doesn’t become your problem. The relationship doesn’t end when the pool is filled it continues for the life of the pool. For a homeowner making a $75,000 to $150,000 investment in their property, having one company accountable for both the build and the long-term upkeep is worth more than it might seem on the surface.
Local Resources
Useful Links
