Hear from Our Customers
South Georgia doesn’t give you a four-month swim season it gives you eight. From early spring through late fall, the weather around Mystic is warm enough to be in the water, which means the pool you build is going to get real, daily use for the majority of the year. That changes the math on what a pool is worth. It’s not a seasonal luxury. It’s where your family spends a significant chunk of their life.
Most Mystic-area properties sit on larger rural parcels the kind of land that doesn’t fit a pre-molded fiberglass shape or a cookie-cutter layout. Concrete gives you the freedom to build around your lot, not in spite of it. Irregular shapes, sloped ground, septic system setbacks none of that is a problem when the pool is engineered and built in place from the ground up.
Irwin County’s soil profile also matters more than most contractors will tell you. The clay-influenced conditions beneath South Georgia farmland can shift with seasonal rainfall and drought cycles. A pool shell that isn’t engineered for that movement will show it eventually in cracks, in shifting, in headaches you didn’t sign up for. Concrete built correctly for this specific ground doesn’t have that problem. It holds.
We founded Deep Waters Pools in 2014 out of Douglas, GA but we didn’t start the company and then learn the trade. We brought more than 30 years of hands-on experience in concrete work, plumbing, and custom pool construction into the business before it ever had a name. That means we’ve never had a learning curve on your property.
Douglas sits directly on State Route 32 the same road that runs right through Mystic. That’s not a coincidence that makes for good copy; it’s a real geographic connection that means our crews traveling to your Irwin County property are following a familiar route, not figuring out a new market. We’ve worked in this soil, in this climate, and under the same Irwin County permitting process you’ll go through.
We built this company specifically because we watched too many South Georgia families get taken advantage of by contractors who disappeared after the deposit cleared. In a community like Mystic, where word travels fast and reputation is everything, that origin story isn’t a brand narrative it’s the reason we exist.
It starts with a real conversation about your property and what you want. Lot size, shape, how the yard drains, whether you’re on a septic system all of that gets factored in before a single number is put on paper. Most rural Irwin County properties run on septic, which means pool placement has to account for setbacks from the tank, drain field, and any wells on the land. That’s not a complication it’s a planning step we handle from the start so it doesn’t become a problem later.
From there, we pull the permits. Because Mystic is unincorporated, that means working directly with Irwin County Building and Zoning on South Irwin Avenue in Ocilla not a city hall, not a municipal desk. If your property triggers a septic site plan review through the South Health District, we handle that too. You don’t have to figure out the county permitting process on your own.
Once permits are approved, most custom concrete pool builds run 8 to 12 weeks. You’ll know that timeline before construction begins not as a vague estimate, but as a real commitment with a clear explanation of what could affect it. When the build is complete, we walk you through every system before we leave: the pump, the filter, the chemical balance, the safety cover. You get a pool that’s ready to use the day we drive away, not a construction site with water in it.
Ready to get started?
We build custom inground concrete pools not fiberglass, not vinyl liner. That’s a deliberate choice, and it matters for Mystic-area homeowners specifically. Vinyl liners need full replacement every 8 to 12 years, which adds a recurring cost that most buyers don’t factor into the original decision. Fiberglass pools are pre-molded, which means you’re choosing from a catalog of shapes rather than designing around your actual property. Concrete is permanent, fully customizable, and engineered for the specific ground it’s going into.
Beyond new construction, we also handle pool renovation work resurfacing, replastering, equipment upgrades, tile and coping replacement, and safety updates. Pools built in Irwin County during the 1980s and 1990s are now 30 to 40 years old, and many of them are due for serious attention. If you have an older pool on your property that needs more than a cleaning, that’s a conversation worth having.
Every project new build or renovation includes custom safety covers and full compliance with Georgia’s pool barrier requirements. Safety isn’t an add-on here. It’s built into the scope from the beginning, because families in Irwin County with kids in the yard shouldn’t have to negotiate for it. When the job is done, your pool meets code, it’s covered, and someone has walked you through how everything works before we leave your property.
Yes and because Mystic is unincorporated, the permit comes from Irwin County, not a city government. You’ll work with the Irwin County Building and Zoning office at 202 South Irwin Avenue in Ocilla. They handle plan review, permit issuance, and inspections throughout the construction process. Georgia law also requires that any contractor pulling permits for pool construction, plumbing, or electrical work hold active state licensure under Title 43 so if a contractor can’t show you proof of licensure, they can’t legally pull your permit.
If your property runs on a septic system which is the norm for rural land in and around Mystic pool construction will also trigger a site plan review through the South Health District. The site plan has to show the pool’s location relative to your septic tank, drain field, and any wells on the property. We handle the full permit process, including coordination with both offices, so you’re not navigating county bureaucracy on your own while also trying to plan a pool.
From the time your permit is approved by Irwin County Building and Zoning, most custom concrete pool builds take 8 to 12 weeks to complete. That’s the honest range not a vague “a few months” answer designed to avoid follow-up questions. The actual timeline depends on the complexity of your design, site conditions on your specific property, and how quickly inspections can be scheduled with the county.
What that timeline means practically: if you want your pool ready for the full South Georgia swim season, which starts in earnest by late April or early May, you need to be in the planning and permitting process by late winter. Families around Mystic who wait until April to start the conversation are typically looking at a pool that’s finished in midsummer at the earliest. Starting in January or February gives you the best shot at swimming by Memorial Day. We’ll give you a realistic schedule at the start not the one that sounds best, but the one that’s actually accurate.
The short version: concrete is permanent and fully custom, fiberglass is pre-molded and limited in shape, and vinyl liner is the most affordable upfront but carries ongoing replacement costs. For most Mystic-area properties large rural lots with irregular shapes, septic systems, and specific site conditions concrete is the most practical long-term choice because it’s designed and built around your actual land rather than dropped into it.
Fiberglass pools are manufactured in a factory and delivered as a single shell, which limits your design options to whatever shapes are in the catalog. They’re faster to install and lower in long-term chemical maintenance costs, but they can’t be customized to fit unusual lot configurations. Vinyl liner pools are the least expensive to build initially, but the liner itself needs full replacement every 8 to 12 years a cost that runs $10,000 to $15,000 or more depending on the pool. Concrete pools cost more upfront and require more attention to water chemistry over time, but a properly built concrete pool in South Georgia soil lasts 30 or more years without structural replacement. That’s the trade-off, and it’s worth understanding before you decide.
Yes, but it requires careful site planning from the start. Georgia’s rules require specific setbacks between a pool and the components of a septic system the tank, the drain field, and any wells on the property. These setbacks exist to protect both the septic system’s function and your pool’s structural integrity. A pool placed too close to a drain field can interfere with how the field operates, and in some soil conditions, proximity to underground drainage can affect the ground stability beneath the pool shell.
The site plan you submit to the South Health District has to show exactly where the pool will sit in relation to every septic component on your land. This is a standard part of the permitting process for rural Irwin County properties, and it’s something we factor into the design conversation before anything else is decided. Getting the placement right at the planning stage is far easier than discovering a conflict after permits have been submitted. Most rural properties around Mystic have enough land to site a pool correctly it just takes someone who knows to look at the full picture from the beginning.
For a custom concrete inground pool in the South Georgia market, most homeowners are looking at a range between $60,000 and $100,000 depending on size, design complexity, features, and site conditions. That’s a real range not a floor designed to get you on the phone before the actual number comes out. Factors that affect where your project lands within that range include the pool’s square footage, the depth configuration, any attached spa or water features, the finish materials you choose, and what your specific lot requires in terms of excavation or site prep.
What that investment buys you with concrete as opposed to a vinyl liner pool is a pool that doesn’t have a recurring replacement cost built into it. You’re not budgeting for a new liner a decade from now. You’re building something that, with proper maintenance, will still be structurally sound when your kids are grown. For a homeowner in Irwin County who plans to stay on their property long-term, that math tends to hold up. We’ll give you a real quote before any work begins not an estimate that grows after the contract is signed.
The honest answer is that no pool company has a physical presence in Mystic or Ocilla. The closest confirmed competitor serving Irwin County is based in Tifton which is roughly the same distance from your property as Douglas. The difference isn’t geography. It’s experience and accountability. We’ve been building concrete pools on South Georgia rural properties for more than 30 years. That includes properties with the same Tifton-series soil, the same clay-influenced conditions, and the same Irwin County permitting process you’re going to go through.
In a tight-knit community like Mystic, we operate with the understanding that every project is a public record of our work. We built this company specifically because South Georgia families were being burned by contractors who didn’t operate that way. When you’re making a $60,000 to $100,000 investment in your property, the contractor’s track record in conditions like yours matters more than which town their office is in.
Local Resources
Useful Links
