Hear from Our Customers
Most pool projects in this part of South Georgia go sideways for one reason: the homeowner hired someone who treated their yard like a job site and their investment like a transaction. By the time problems showed up a crack in the shell, a plumbing leak under the deck, a permit that was never pulled the contractor was long gone. That is the situation we built Deep Waters Pools to prevent.
When your pool is done right, you are not spending the first summer worrying about it. You are using it. From late March through October, a properly built gunite pool in Nicholls is a fully functional part of your property not a liability. The Wiregrass Region’s sandy loam soils require specific engineering at the shell level to hold up long-term, and we design for that from the start, not after something fails.
There is also the property value side of this. An inground pool that is permitted, inspected, and built by a licensed contractor adds an estimated five to eight percent to your home’s value in a warm-climate market like this one. An unpermitted pool does the opposite it becomes a problem at resale. Every pool we build is fully documented from the first permit to the final inspection, so your investment is protected the day you sign and every day after.
We are based in Douglas thirteen miles west of Nicholls on Georgia State Route 32, the same road most of you drive every day. That proximity is not a coincidence. Our owner started this company in 2014 after more than thirty years of hands-on pool construction experience, specifically because he watched Nicholls and Coffee County families get burned by contractors who overpromised, cut corners, and disappeared. He built Deep Waters to be the company he wished those families had hired.
What that means practically: you deal with one team from the first design conversation to the day you fill the pool. The same crew that excavates your yard installs your gunite shell, runs your plumbing, and sets your deck. There are no subcontractors being handed off a job they did not start. If something needs to be addressed, you call one number and the person who picks up is the same person who built your pool.
Coffee County is our backyard. We know the permit process through Coffee County Code Enforcement, we know the soil conditions that come with building in the Wiregrass Region, and we know what a pool in this area needs to hold up for the next thirty years.
Before anything gets designed, we evaluate your property. Soil conditions, drainage patterns, equipment access, and any site-specific factors on your Coffee County lot are all assessed before a single line gets drawn. This is where most contractors skip a step and where most problems later originate. You know what you are getting into before you sign anything.
Once design is finalized and the permit is pulled from Coffee County Code Enforcement which we handle entirely in-house excavation begins. In Wiregrass Region soils, excavation on a standard residential pool typically takes two to three days. Gunite application follows in the second week, with plumbing and electrical running concurrently through weeks three and four. Decking and finish work carry the project through weeks five and six, and startup and final inspection close out weeks seven and eight. That is a realistic six-to-eight week timeline, not a number pulled from a brochure.
South Georgia’s mild winters mean construction can move year-round. If you want to be swimming by Memorial Day, the ideal window to contract is January through March. Homeowners who sign in the fall often get first priority in the spring build queue which matters when everyone else in Coffee County is calling in February.
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A Deep Waters pool is a gunite build from the ground up. That means the shell is pneumatically applied concrete custom-formed to your specific yard, engineered for your specific soil conditions, and built without the liner replacement cycles that come with vinyl or the size limitations that come with fiberglass. In Coffee County’s sandy loam soils, proper steel placement and gunite thickness are not optional details. They are what separates a pool that holds for thirty years from one that starts showing problems in ten.
Swimming pool plumbing runs in Schedule 40 PVC as a minimum standard, with layout designed to minimize resistance and maximize long-term efficiency. Every metallic component within the required zone is bonded to a common ground per NEC Article 680. Anti-entrapment drain covers are installed on every build as required under federal law. The pool barrier required by Georgia code on all residential inground pools is included in the planning and permitting process so there are no compliance surprises after the build is complete.
Deck installation is part of the full project scope. Material options include brushed concrete, pavers, and travertine, with drainage sloped at a minimum quarter inch per foot away from the pool edge. Equipment pads, lighting, and any water features are coordinated through the same single-team build process. You get one contract, one timeline, and one crew accountable for the finished product.
Yes and skipping this step is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner can make. In Nicholls, pool construction falls under Coffee County Code Enforcement jurisdiction. You need both a building permit and a separate electrical permit before construction begins, and multiple inspections occur throughout the build not just a final walkthrough at the end. The Code Enforcement office under Director Jason Whiddon handles these permits, and the process has specific stages that have to be completed in sequence.
We manage the entire permitting process in-house. You do not have to navigate the county office, track inspection dates, or wonder whether your documentation is complete. Every pool we build exits the project fully permitted and inspection-documented. That paper trail matters at resale an unpermitted pool can become a liability that a buyer’s inspector flags and a seller has to resolve before closing. Getting it done right from the start protects you on both ends.
A standard residential gunite pool built by us takes six to eight weeks from excavation to water. That timeline assumes permits are in hand, weather cooperates which South Georgia generally allows year-round and the project runs with a single coordinated crew rather than multiple subcontractors waiting on each other. The breakdown is roughly this: excavation takes two to three days in Wiregrass Region soils, gunite application happens in week two, plumbing and electrical run through weeks three and four, decking and finish work carry through weeks five and six, and startup with final inspection closes out the project.
Where timelines fall apart in this industry is almost always a coordination problem a subcontractor who does not show up, a permit that was not pulled on time, or a crew that is managing five other jobs simultaneously. Our single-team model exists specifically to eliminate those gaps. One crew, one schedule, one person accountable for keeping it on track.
Gunite is the right answer for Coffee County, and the reasons are specific to this area. The Wiregrass Region’s soils are predominantly sandy loam different from the dense red clay you find in Piedmont Georgia. Sandy soils have lower bearing capacity, which means the pool shell needs to be engineered with adequate gunite thickness and correct steel placement to maintain structural integrity over time. A fiberglass shell dropped into sandy soil without proper engineering support can shift. A vinyl liner pool avoids the structural issue but introduces a replacement cycle liners need to be replaced every eight to twelve years at a cost of three thousand to five thousand dollars each time.
A properly built gunite pool in this climate lasts twenty-five to thirty-plus years. It can be resurfaced when wear occurs rather than replaced entirely. For a Nicholls homeowner who is making a significant investment in their property and wants a pool that performs through thirty South Georgia summers without major structural intervention, gunite is the only construction method that delivers that.
A custom gunite pool in the Nicholls and Coffee County area typically runs between fifty-five thousand and one hundred thousand dollars or more, depending on size, shape, depth, water features, decking material, and equipment selections. A straightforward rectangular or freeform pool with a concrete deck and standard equipment package will sit in the lower end of that range. Add a spa, travertine decking, LED lighting, or a water feature and you move up accordingly.
What matters as much as the number is what is included. A quote that looks lower because it excludes permits, decking, or electrical work is not actually a lower price it is an incomplete scope. We provide transparent, full-scope pricing so you know exactly what the final number covers before anything gets started. For a Nicholls homeowner making one of the largest single investments in their property, that clarity is not a small thing. Ask any contractor you speak with to itemize what their quote includes. The answer tells you more than the number does.
If your goal is to be swimming by Memorial Day, you need to be contracting in January through March at the latest. We can begin excavation in late winter South Georgia’s mild climate means construction is not weather-blocked the way it is in northern states but the design, permitting, and scheduling process takes time before a shovel hits the ground. Coffee County Code Enforcement processes permits in a specific sequence, and that timeline needs to be factored into your start date.
The fall window September through December is actually the smartest time to sign a contract if you can plan that far ahead. Homeowners who contract in the fall often get first priority in the spring build queue, which means they are swimming in May while neighbors who called in February are still waiting on a start date. The Nicholls area’s eight-month swim season makes that early positioning genuinely worth it you are not saving a few weeks, you are potentially gaining an entire season.
It comes down to what actually serves the homeowner long-term. Fiberglass pools are manufactured in a factory and come in fixed shapes and sizes if your Coffee County lot has an irregular shape, a slope, or specific drainage requirements, fiberglass either does not fit or requires significant workarounds. Vinyl liner pools fit any shape but require liner replacement every eight to twelve years, which adds recurring cost over the life of the pool. Gunite is custom-formed on-site to your exact yard, engineered for your specific soil conditions, and built to last without a replacement cycle.
We build in gunite because it is the construction method that holds up best in Wiregrass Region soil conditions, offers the most design flexibility for the varied lot sizes you find in and around Nicholls, and delivers the longest functional lifespan of any residential pool type. Offering all three methods would mean building some pools we know will need costly repairs or replacements within a decade. That is not a trade-off we are willing to make for a homeowner investing sixty thousand dollars or more in their property.
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