Hear from Our Customers
When May hits and the temperature climbs past 90, a backyard pool stops being a nice idea and starts being the reason your family stays home instead of fighting traffic to a crowded public facility. In Tifton, your pool season runs longer than most people in other parts of the country would believe and a pool built to last 25 to 30 years is the only investment that keeps delivering through all of it.
The soil around Tifton is classified in the Tifton series loamy Coastal Plain sediments that vary across individual lots, especially in older neighborhoods near downtown or rural Tift County properties with clay subsoil layers. A pool that was designed after a real site evaluation performs differently than one that wasn’t. It settles predictably, holds its structure, and doesn’t develop the cracks and shifting that show up a few years into a build that skipped that step.
There’s also the equity side of this. In a warm-climate market like South Georgia, a properly permitted, well-built inground pool adds real value to your home. That only works when the pool is code-compliant and fully documented the kind of thing that holds up when a buyer’s agent starts asking questions at resale. A pool built right protects your investment from both ends.
We were founded in 2014 in Douglas, Georgia about 60 miles from Tifton by someone who spent more than three decades building pools across South Georgia before deciding to do it differently. We exist because our founder watched too many families in communities like Tifton get burned by contractors who disappeared mid-project or delivered something that didn’t come close to what was promised.
That’s not a backstory invented for a website. It’s the reason we operate the way we do with one team handling every phase of your build, from the first site visit to the day you fill the pool with water. Homeowners in Olen Heights, Stone Haven, and throughout Tift County have the same concern every buyer has: who is actually going to show up, do the work, and stand behind it when it’s done. That’s the question we were built to answer.
It starts with a site evaluation not a sales pitch, an actual look at your property. Tifton lots vary more than people expect. A home in the historic residential district near downtown has a completely different soil and drainage profile than a newer build in Stone Haven or a rural Tift County property with acreage. That evaluation shapes the design, which means your pool is engineered for your specific yard before a single dollar is committed.
Once design is approved, we handle all permitting. If your property is inside Tifton city limits, that means the City of Tifton Building Division. If you’re in unincorporated Tift County, it runs through Tift County’s Environmental Health and Community Development departments. Either way, you don’t make a single call to a government office. That’s handled in-house, start to finish.
From there, the build sequence runs: excavation typically takes one to three days, gunite application follows within a day or two, then plumbing and electrical run concurrently over one to two weeks, decking takes three to five days, and finish work carries through to water. The full build runs six to eight weeks. One team executes every phase the same people who designed it are the ones building it. That’s how timelines stay real and accountability stays clear.
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Our builds cover the full scope: site evaluation, custom design, permit acquisition and management, excavation, gunite shell construction, swimming pool plumbing and filtration, electrical installation, pool deck installation, and complete project management through to the first swim. You’re not coordinating between a designer, an excavator, a plumber, and a deck crew. One team. One contract. One point of contact.
The gunite construction method matters here specifically. Tifton’s pool season is long and the usage is heavy from early spring through late fall, sometimes beyond. Vinyl liner pools need the liner replaced every eight to twelve years. Fiberglass pools have a functional ceiling of fifteen to twenty-five years before major work is required. Gunite, built correctly, lasts 25 to 30-plus years and can be resurfaced when the interior finish shows wear not replaced. For a homeowner in Tifton who plans to be in their home for the next two decades, that distinction is worth understanding before signing anything.
Every pool we build is fully permitted and inspected whether your address falls under the City of Tifton Building Division or Tift County’s jurisdiction. That documentation matters at resale and matters for your legal protection while the build is happening. It’s not optional, and it’s not something you should have to manage yourself.
Yes, and the permitting process in Tifton depends on where your property is located. If your home is inside Tifton city limits, your pool permit goes through the City of Tifton Building Division, and a separate electrical permit is required for all pool electrical work. If your property is in unincorporated Tift County which covers a large portion of the residential area surrounding the city permitting runs through Tift County’s Community Development and Environmental Health departments instead.
Most homeowners don’t realize there are two separate jurisdictions involved until they’re already mid-process and confused. We handle all of it in-house. You don’t navigate the forms, track the inspections, or figure out which office to call. That’s managed from the day you sign through the day your pool passes final inspection. It’s one of the more practical things a contractor can do for you, and it protects your investment in a way that matters long after the build is done.
A standard residential inground pool in the Tifton area typically runs between $55,000 and $100,000 depending on size, shape, and features. Custom gunite builds with premium finishes, water features, or larger footprints can go above $150,000. That range is wide because no two properties or designs are the same and any contractor who quotes you a firm number before seeing your lot and understanding what you want is guessing.
What’s worth understanding is what that investment actually buys you over time. A gunite pool built to proper specifications lasts 25 to 30-plus years. Compared to a vinyl liner pool that needs a $3,000 to $5,000 liner replacement every eight to twelve years, or a fiberglass pool that hits its ceiling in fifteen to twenty-five years, the cost-per-year math on a quality gunite build tends to look very different by year fifteen. In a market like Tifton, where you’re realistically using your pool eight or nine months a year, that durability is not a luxury it’s the practical choice.
Gunite is the right answer for South Georgia, and the reasons are specific to this region. Tifton sits on Coastal Plain soil loamy marine sediments that can vary significantly from one lot to the next, especially in older neighborhoods or rural Tift County properties where subsoil conditions aren’t uniform. Gunite is applied as a structural shell that conforms to the shape of your excavation and is engineered to the specific conditions of your site. That matters in soil that doesn’t behave identically across every yard.
The climate factor is equally important. Tifton’s pool season runs from roughly March through November, sometimes longer. That’s eight to nine months of real use, heat, and humidity cycling through the pool structure every year. Vinyl liner pools degrade faster under that kind of sustained exposure. Fiberglass can work, but the shape options are limited and the lifespan has a ceiling. Gunite holds up to long-season use, can be resurfaced when the interior finish wears, and gives you complete freedom in shape and size from the start. For a Tifton homeowner making a long-term investment, it’s the construction method that actually keeps pace with how you’ll use it.
A standard residential gunite pool build with us runs six to eight weeks from excavation to water. That’s not a vague estimate it’s a sequence with specific phases: one to three days for excavation, one to two days for gunite application, one to two weeks for plumbing and electrical running concurrently, three to five days for deck work, and finish work through to water. The reason that timeline holds is because one team is executing every phase without waiting on outside subcontractors to show up and pick up where someone else left off.
For Tifton homeowners, timing matters. If you want to be swimming by Memorial Day, you need to be in contact with a contractor by January or February at the latest. Spring construction slots fill quickly because most buyers start planning in winter with a summer deadline in mind. Homeowners who wait until March or April frequently find that the contractors they want are already booked into June or July. If a summer pool is the goal, the planning conversation needs to happen in the winter.
The core difference comes down to longevity, flexibility, and what you’re actually buying for the long term. A vinyl liner pool is the lowest upfront cost, but the liner itself needs to be replaced every eight to twelve years that’s a recurring expense of $3,000 to $5,000 each time, on top of the original build. A fiberglass pool comes as a pre-formed shell, which limits your shape options and has a functional lifespan of fifteen to twenty-five years before major repairs become necessary. Gunite is a permanent structure. It’s built in place, conforms to any shape, and lasts 25 to 30-plus years with proper maintenance.
For a homeowner in Tifton who’s been in their home for a few years, has equity building, and is thinking about the next twenty years not just the next five gunite is the construction method that doesn’t require a major reinvestment before the mortgage is paid off. It’s also the only method where the interior finish can be resurfaced rather than replaced when wear shows up. That’s a meaningful distinction when you’re running a pool hard for eight or nine months a year in South Georgia heat.
Start with the basics: a valid Georgia contractor’s license, general liability insurance, and workers’ compensation coverage. These are verifiable you can check contractor license status through the Georgia Secretary of State’s licensing portal before signing anything. A contractor who makes that easy to verify is showing you something about how they operate. One who gets defensive about it is showing you something too.
Beyond credentials, the question worth asking is who is actually building your pool. Some contractors sell the project and hand it off to a rotating group of subcontractors who may never have spoken to each other. When something needs adjustment mid-build and in a $75,000 construction project, something always does the question of who’s responsible becomes a real problem if there’s no single accountable party. In a community the size of Tifton, ask who’s managing the build, who’s doing the work, and who you call in year three if a question comes up. The answers tell you a lot about what you’re actually buying.
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