Hear from Our Customers
A pool built the right way means you’re not calling someone six months later about a crack in the shell, a plumbing leak, or a deck that’s already settling. You get a structure that holds up one that your family uses for decades, not one you’re sinking repair money into before your kids even finish high school.
Jeff Davis County sits in the Coastal Plain, and that sandy loam soil requires a builder who understands what’s underneath your yard before the first shovel hits the ground. Drainage, water table proximity near the Altamaha River corridor, proper backfill compaction these aren’t afterthoughts. They’re the difference between a pool that performs for 30 years and one that gives you problems before the warranty runs out.
South Georgia’s swim season runs close to nine months out of the year. That’s just the reality of living in Hazlehurst and the surrounding area. When your pool is built correctly from the start, those nine months are yours to enjoy. When it’s not, they become a reminder of what went wrong.
We were founded in Douglas about 25 miles from Hazlehurst down US 221 by someone who spent over 30 years building pools before ever putting his name on a company. We started Deep Waters Pools in 2014 because we watched South Georgia families get taken advantage of by contractors who overpromised, collected deposits, and disappeared or delivered work that didn’t hold up. That’s why we exist.
When you hire us, you’re not getting a project manager who hands your job off to a rotating crew of subcontractors. The same team that designs your pool builds your pool excavation, plumbing, gunite, electrical, decking all of it. One phone number. One accountable crew. Whether your property is inside Hazlehurst city limits or out in the county, that doesn’t change.
In a community as connected as Hazlehurst and Jeff Davis County, reputation travels fast. The folks at Jeff Davis Hospital, the families near the school district, the homeowners who’ve put down roots here for generations they talk. We build every pool like the neighbors are watching, because they are.
Before any design work starts, we evaluate your site. That means looking at your soil conditions, drainage patterns, utility locations, access routes for equipment, and anything specific to your property that could affect cost or timeline. In Jeff Davis County, where lots can range from established in-town parcels in Hazlehurst with mature trees to larger rural acreage, that site evaluation isn’t a formality it’s how we catch issues before they become problems on your bill.
Once the design is locked and permits are pulled we handle all of that, whether it’s through the City of Hazlehurst or the county excavation typically takes one to three days. From there, pool plumbing and electrical run concurrently over the next week or two, followed by gunite application, which usually takes one to two days. Decking comes last, typically three to five days depending on the scope. Start to finish, a standard residential gunite build runs six to eight weeks.
You’ll know what’s happening at every stage. No wondering if the crew is coming back. No chasing someone down for an update. The same team that started your pool finishes it and when we hand it over, it’s permitted, inspected, and ready to fill.
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We build custom gunite pools from the ground up and gunite is worth understanding if you’re comparing options. Unlike a fiberglass shell that gets dropped into a hole or a vinyl liner pool that needs replacement every eight to twelve years, a gunite pool is built on-site, shaped to fit your exact yard, and engineered to last 25 to 30-plus years. It can be resurfaced when the time comes. It doesn’t get replaced. For a Hazlehurst homeowner making a long-term investment, that distinction matters.
Every build includes full pool excavation, swimming pool plumbing, electrical bonding and grounding to NEC Article 680 standards, gunite shell application, and pool deck installation. We also handle all required barrier fencing compliance under Georgia state law and manage every permit and inspection required by the City of Hazlehurst or Jeff Davis County depending on where your property sits. You don’t navigate that process. We do.
The scope of your pool size, shape, depth, features is determined by your property and what you actually want, not by what fits a pre-set package. If your yard near the Altamaha River corridor has specific drainage considerations, we account for that in the design. If you’ve got mature timber on your lot that affects excavation access, we plan around it. The build is yours, not a catalog selection.
Yes and anyone who tells you otherwise is asking you to absorb their risk. Pool construction in Hazlehurst requires a building permit from the City of Hazlehurst if your property is within city limits, or from the Jeff Davis County Commissioners if you’re in the unincorporated county. Electrical work requires a separate permit and inspection. Georgia state law also mandates barrier fencing around all residential pools, which has to meet specific height and gate requirements.
We handle all of it. We pull the permits, schedule the inspections, and make sure everything is documented before your pool is filled. This isn’t just about compliance a properly permitted pool is a legal asset when you sell your home. An unpermitted pool creates disclosure problems, inspection failures, and buyer hesitation. We’ve seen it happen in Hazlehurst. It’s not a situation you want to be in.
A standard custom inground gunite pool in this area typically runs between $55,000 and $100,000, depending on size, shape, depth, and the features you include. More complex builds larger footprints, extensive decking, water features, custom lighting can push beyond that range. That’s a number to plan around honestly.
What affects cost in Jeff Davis County specifically: your lot conditions matter. Sandy Coastal Plain soils are generally favorable for excavation, but properties near river corridors or with higher water tables may require additional drainage or structural considerations that affect the budget. Mature trees on larger rural lots around Hazlehurst can also affect excavation access and add to prep time. We evaluate all of that before quoting, so the number you get from us reflects your actual project not a low-ball figure designed to get you to sign.
A standard residential gunite pool build with us runs six to eight weeks from the start of excavation to the day you fill it. That timeline assumes normal South Georgia summer weather afternoon thunderstorms can cause brief delays during gunite application or deck work, but they don’t derail a project. We sequence the build to minimize weather-related disruption.
The bigger variable is what happens before excavation starts: site evaluation, design, and permitting. That process can take a few weeks depending on how quickly decisions get made and how the permitting office is running. We manage that phase proactively so it doesn’t drag out. Once we’re on your property with equipment, the six-to-eight-week clock is real not a guess we pad to manage expectations.
Gunite is built on-site using pneumatically applied concrete, shaped to fit your exact yard. It’s the most structurally durable option available and lasts 25 to 30-plus years with proper care. When the surface eventually shows wear, it can be resurfaced not replaced. Fiberglass pools come as a pre-manufactured shell and have a functional lifespan of roughly 15 to 25 years before major repairs are needed. Vinyl liner pools require liner replacement every 8 to 12 years, and those liner costs add up over time.
For a Hazlehurst homeowner making a long-term investment in their property, gunite is the option that holds its value and holds its structure. In South Georgia’s climate with nearly nine months of active use per year a pool that’s in the ground for three decades is a pool that earns its cost. Gunite also gives you complete design flexibility. Your yard, your shape, your depth. Nothing about your pool has to conform to a manufacturer’s catalog.
In warm-climate markets like South Georgia, a properly built inground pool adds an estimated 5 to 8% to residential property value. In Jeff Davis County, where median home values sit around $93,000, that’s a meaningful improvement to your equity position and in higher-value homes in Hazlehurst’s established neighborhoods, the absolute dollar impact is greater.
The key word is “properly built.” A permitted, inspected, structurally sound gunite pool is a documented asset that helps your home sell. An unpermitted pool or a pool with known structural issues becomes a liability something a buyer’s inspector flags, something that kills deals or forces price reductions. The contractor you choose determines which category your pool falls into. We build pools that are assets at resale, not disclosures waiting to happen.
Start by asking the right questions of any contractor you talk to. Can they show you completed projects in South Georgia not stock photos, but real pools built in this region’s soil and climate? Do they pull their own permits, or do they leave that to you? Is the same crew building your pool from start to finish, or are they coordinating subcontractors whose schedules they don’t control? Those questions separate builders who are serious from ones who are just available.
We’re based in Douglas, 25 miles from Hazlehurst. We’ve built pools in South Georgia’s Coastal Plain environment sandy soils, flat terrain, river-adjacent lots, the full range of what this region presents. We carry Georgia state contractor licensing and full insurance, and we’ll hand you proof of both before you sign anything. If you want to talk through your property, your budget, and what a realistic build looks like for your yard, that conversation costs you nothing.
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