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A gunite pool built correctly in Ware County isn’t just a backyard upgrade it’s a structure that will outlast your mortgage. The difference between a pool that holds up for 30 years and one that starts showing problems in five comes down almost entirely to how it was built, not what it was built from.
Out here near Waresboro and the Okefenokee, the soil tells a different story than what you’ll find in Middle Georgia. The sandy, marine-sediment soils of this region with a water table that runs higher than most people expect require real engineering decisions: proper rebar density, adequate wall thickness, hydrostatic relief built in from the start. Skip any of those steps and the pool pays for it later.
From April through October, you’re looking at nearly seven months of swimming weather in Waresboro. That’s not a short season you’ll use a handful of times it’s the better part of the year. A pool that’s engineered correctly for this environment, built by people who understand this specific climate and this specific soil, is one you’ll actually use for decades without wondering what’s happening underneath the shell.
Deep Waters Pools is based in Douglas about 45 miles west of Waresboro on US 84 and we’ve been building custom inground pools across southeastern Georgia since 2014. But the experience behind our company goes back more than 30 years in concrete, plumbing, and pool construction. This isn’t a franchise operation or a company that learned the trade on your dime.
Every pool we build is handled entirely in-house. That means the team that designs your pool is the same team that digs it, frames the steel, applies the gunite, runs the plumbing, and installs the equipment. Nobody gets handed off to a subcontractor at any stage. In a community like Waresboro, that kind of accountability is just how the work should be done.
We also handle every permit required by Ware County: the building permit, the electrical permit, and every inspection from groundbreak to final sign-off. If you’ve never pulled a county-level permit for a project this size, that process alone can catch people off guard. It won’t catch you off guard here.
It starts with a design conversation. Before anything goes in the ground, you’ll see your pool in 3D every shape, every depth, every feature designed around your actual backyard and how your family plans to use it. That step matters more than most people realize, especially when you’re investing a sum that may represent a significant portion of your home’s current value.
Once the design is locked in, we handle the Ware County permit process. Because Waresboro is unincorporated, all permits go through the county not a city office and the process has its own timeline and inspection requirements. Having a builder who’s already familiar with that process means you’re not waiting on paperwork that could have been handled weeks earlier.
From there, construction moves through excavation, steel framing, gunite application, plumbing, electrical, and finishing all by the same crew, in sequence, without handoffs. The realistic timeline for a quality gunite build in this area is three to six months. That’s not a number designed to impress you; it’s the actual time it takes to do the work right, let the shell cure properly, and pass every inspection. The best time to start the process is fall or early winter, so your pool is ready before the Ware County heat hits in April.
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A custom gunite pool from Deep Waters Pools includes the full scope 3D design, Ware County permit management, excavation, steel reinforcement, gunite or shotcrete application, plumbing, electrical work bonded and grounded to NEC Article 680, surface finishing, and equipment installation. There’s no phase where a stranger shows up and takes over. The same team is accountable for all of it.
Equipment installation covers all major brands Hayward, Pentair, Jandy, Sta-Rite, and Zodiac and we service every one of them after the build is complete. That matters because the relationship doesn’t end when the pool is finished. Weekly maintenance, seasonal care, and equipment repairs are all available through the same company that built your pool. For Waresboro homeowners who want one number to call for the life of the pool, that continuity is worth a lot.
If you’re also considering a custom spa, patio, or pool safety cover, those are built in-house as well. We also handle pool restoration for existing pools that need rescue whether that’s a neglected shell, failed equipment, or a previous builder’s unfinished work. Whatever the project looks like, the scope is handled by people who know southeastern Georgia’s climate, know Ware County’s permit requirements, and know what the ground under your property actually demands from a concrete pool shell.
This is the most important question to ask before you build, and the honest answer is: a poorly built gunite pool can crack in any soil. The soil around Waresboro and the broader Okefenokee region is sandy and marine-sediment-derived, with a water table that runs higher than most homeowners expect. That combination creates real engineering considerations hydrostatic pressure from below, soil movement during heavy rain events, and settling over time if the foundation work isn’t done correctly.
The difference is in how the pool is engineered from the start. Proper rebar density, adequate shell thickness, and hydrostatic relief valves built into the design address these conditions directly. Cracking is a builder failure, not a material failure. Gunite has been the standard for custom residential pools since the 1940s precisely because reinforced concrete, built correctly, handles ground movement better than any alternative. The key word is “correctly” and that starts with a builder who understands what’s actually under your property, not one applying a generic template to southeastern Georgia soil.
A gunite pool in the Waresboro area typically runs $75,000 to $150,000 depending on size, features, and finish. In Ware County, where the median home value sits around $159,900, that’s a significant investment relative to your property. That’s exactly why it matters who you hire. You’re not just paying for concrete and plumbing you’re paying for someone who will still be reachable five years after the pool is finished, who understands the specific soil conditions near Waresboro, and who has handled the Ware County permit process dozens of times before. The lowest bid rarely accounts for the real costs of doing the work right in this region.
Gunite pools do require resurfacing over time that’s accurate. The number you’ll hear from fiberglass advocates in this market is “every 3 to 7 years.” That figure applies to pools built with thin applications, rushed curing, or inferior materials. A properly engineered gunite pool in the Waresboro area, built with the right thickness and cured correctly, realistically needs resurfacing every 10 to 15 years.
Over a 30-year lifespan, that’s two or three resurfacing cycles a manageable maintenance cost compared to the structural limitations of other pool types. Vinyl liner pools, for comparison, require full liner replacement every 8 to 12 years at significant cost, and they can’t be reshaped or reconfigured without rebuilding the entire structure. A gunite shell, by contrast, is permanent. You can change the finish, add features, or modify the design years down the road without starting over. For a homeowner in Ware County planning to stay in their home long-term, that flexibility has real value.
Because Waresboro is an unincorporated community, all pool construction permits are issued through Ware County not a city government. That means your building permit, electrical permit, and all required phase inspections go through the county’s permitting office. If you’ve never navigated a county-level permit process for a project this size, it can be more involved than people expect, and delays in permitting directly delay your construction timeline.
We handle every permit and every inspection in-house, from the initial application through final sign-off. That includes the electrical permit, which governs the bonding and grounding work required under NEC Article 680 the federal safety standard for swimming pools. Homeowners who pull their own permits or work with builders who leave permitting to the owner take on legal responsibility for the construction. Having a builder manage the entire permit process protects you legally, financially, and at the time of any future property sale. In Ware County, that’s not a small thing.
The realistic timeline for a custom gunite pool build in the Waresboro area is three to six months from permit approval to final inspection. That includes excavation, steel framing, gunite application, curing time, plumbing, electrical, surface finishing, equipment installation, and all required county inspections. Any builder quoting you eight to twelve weeks for a full gunite build is either cutting corners on curing time or not accounting for the permit process.
The smartest move for Ware County homeowners is to start the process in the fall. Permit queues are shorter, construction crews are more available, and you’re not competing with the spring rush that hits every year when temperatures climb and everyone suddenly wants a pool. Starting in October or November puts you on track for a completed pool before Waresboro’s swimming season opens in April rather than watching the summer go by while your pool is still under construction.
That’s the right question to ask, and it deserves a straight answer. We started Deep Waters Pools specifically because we watched too many South Georgia families get burned by contractors who overpromised and disappeared. The no-subcontractor model, the in-house permitting, the 30-plus years of hands-on experience, and the full lifecycle service relationship are all built around one idea: that a family making this kind of investment in their home deserves a builder who is still reachable five years after the pool is finished. In a community like Waresboro, where people put down roots and stay, that kind of long-term accountability is exactly what the investment requires.
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