The Custom Pool Design Process: What to Expect from Consultation to First Swim
Planning a custom inground gunite pool in Winter Garden, Hamlin, Horizon West, or a surrounding Central Florida area? Here’s what to expect from your first at-home consultation and custom pool design through construction and your first swim.
Building a custom inground gunite pool is exciting, but if you’ve never been through the process before, you probably have questions.
How does the pool design process start? When will you see what your new backyard could actually look like? What happens after you approve the design? What does gunite pool construction involve? And, of course, how long before you can swim?
At Kura Design Pools, every custom pool starts with understanding your property, your vision, and how you want to use your outdoor space.
From an at-home consultation and custom 3-D design to detailed CAD drawings, material selections, gunite pool construction, and completion, here’s what homeowners in Winter Garden, Hamlin, Horizon West, and surrounding areas can expect.
HOW DOES THE CUSTOM POOL DESIGN PROCESS START?
The process begins with an at-home consultation.
Seeing your property in person allows the Kura Design Pools team to better understand your backyard and start thinking about how your new pool can work within the space.
During the visit, we’ll look at important factors such as:
- The layout of your backyard
- Where the pool could be located
- What you’d like to incorporate into your poolscape
- How you plan to use the pool and outdoor space
- Your overall vision for the backyard
This is also the time to share inspiration, ideas, and features you’ve been considering.
Maybe you envision a sleek, modern aquatic space.
Perhaps you’d prefer a freeform tropical escape.
Or you may know how you want your backyard to feel but need help turning those ideas into an actual pool design.
Your custom pool should be designed around your backyard and the way you want to enjoy it.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE CUSTOM POOL DESIGN PHASE?
Once the scope of your project has been established, Kura Design Pools gets to work creating your backyard plans.
This is where your ideas begin taking visual shape.
Kura creates a custom 3-D artistic design built around your unique specifications.
Rather than trying to visualize your future backyard from a basic sketch, you’ll be able to see your new pool and outdoor environment come to life before construction begins.
The 3-D design allows you to examine the proposed poolscape from different angles and see how elements such as landscaping and lighting work within the overall design.
This can help answer questions that may be difficult to resolve from a traditional drawing alone.
How does the pool look from the house?
Does its size and placement feel right for the backyard?
How do the different features work together?
Does the overall design create the look and atmosphere you envisioned?
Seeing your pool in 3-D gives you an opportunity to experience the design before construction begins.
WHY CHOOSE A CUSTOM GUNITE POOL?
One of the advantages of gunite construction is the flexibility it provides when creating a custom pool.
Rather than selecting from a limited number of predetermined shapes and sizes, a gunite pool can be designed around the property and the homeowner’s vision.
Depending on your project, that flexibility can allow for features such as:
- Custom pool shapes and dimensions
- Integrated spas
- Sun shelves or tanning ledges
- Steps and benches
- Water features
- Pool lighting
- Custom depths
- Decking and surrounding hardscapes
- Landscaping
- Outdoor entertaining areas
For some homeowners, the goal is a sleek, contemporary pool that complements the architecture of the home.
Others want a freeform design that creates more of a tropical escape.
Families may want a combination of areas for swimming, lounging, entertaining, and spending time together.
Gunite gives Kura the flexibility to design the pool around the backyard rather than trying to make the backyard fit a predetermined pool shape.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU APPROVE YOUR POOL DESIGN?
Once you’re happy with your custom 3-D design, the project moves into more detailed planning.
Official CAD drawings are created to help ensure accuracy during construction.
These drawings translate the approved artistic design into the detailed plans needed to bring it to life.
Kura’s skilled designers will also help you choose materials that suit your needs and create the finished look you’ve envisioned.
This is where the creative and technical sides of custom pool design come together.
You aren’t simply choosing individual finishes.
You’re making selections based on how they’ll work together within the overall backyard design you’ve already seen.
WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE POOL CONSTRUCTION BEGINS?
Before breaking ground, there’s another important step in Kura’s process.
Your pool is positioned and staked out on your property for final approval.
This allows you to physically see where the pool will sit within your backyard before excavation begins.
A pool can look great on a 3-D rendering, but seeing its actual position marked on your property gives you another valuable perspective.
You’ll be able to better understand how the pool relates to your home and surrounding outdoor space before giving final approval to move forward.
It’s one more opportunity to make sure the pool being built is the pool you’ve envisioned.
WHAT DOES GUNITE POOL CONSTRUCTION INVOLVE?
Once the design, plans, and necessary approvals are in place, construction can begin.
This is when the custom pool you’ve seen in your 3-D design begins becoming a physical part of your backyard.
While every project is different, the gunite pool construction process generally progresses through several coordinated phases:
- Layout and excavation – The approved pool design is laid out and the pool area is excavated.
- Steel reinforcement – A steel framework helps form and reinforce the pool’s structure.
- Plumbing and electrical – The necessary plumbing, equipment connections, and electrical components are incorporated into the project.
- Gunite shell – Gunite is applied to create the structural pool shell.
- Tile and coping – The selected tile and coping begin bringing the finished design to life.
- Decking and surrounding features – Decking and other planned elements of the poolscape are installed.
- Interior finish – The selected interior finish completes the inside of the pool.
- Pool filling and startup – The pool is filled, equipment is started, and the water is prepared for use.
- Final details and completion – The remaining project details are addressed as the backyard moves toward completion.
Different crews and trades may be involved at different stages, and certain phases may depend on inspections, scheduling, or completion of earlier work.
Gunite pool construction is a coordinated sequence of steps that gradually turns your approved design into your finished backyard.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A CUSTOM GUNITE POOL IN WINTER GARDEN?
Custom gunite pool projects are measured in months rather than days, and every project is different.
At Kura Design Pools, most clients can be swimming within approximately 12 to 16 weeks.
The exact timeline for your pool can vary based on factors such as:
- The scope and complexity of the project
- Design details
- Permitting and required approvals
- Site conditions
- Weather
- Material availability
- Inspections
- Changes made during the project
A more elaborate backyard environment may have different requirements than a more straightforward pool project.
If you have a particular date or season in mind for enjoying your new pool, it’s always a good idea to begin the planning process early.
Your Kura Design Pools team can help you understand what to expect based on your specific property and project.
WHAT SHOULD HOMEOWNERS IN WINTER GARDEN, HAMLIN, AND HORIZON WEST KNOW ABOUT BUILDING A POOL?
Every property is different, even within the same community.
That’s one reason Kura begins the custom pool design process with an at-home visit.
Homeowners throughout Winter Garden, Hamlin, Horizon West, and surrounding Central Florida areas may have different backyard layouts, property considerations, community requirements, and ideas for how they want to use their outdoor space.
Rather than designing around assumptions about a neighborhood, Kura can evaluate your actual backyard and create a custom plan around the space you have.
This is especially important when you’re considering more than the pool itself.
Placement, decking, landscaping, lighting, entertaining areas, and other features all contribute to how the finished backyard looks and functions.
The goal is to create a custom gunite pool and poolscape that feel like a natural extension of your home.
WHEN SHOULD YOU START PLANNING YOUR CUSTOM POOL?
Earlier is usually better, especially if you have a particular season, celebration, or family event in mind.
Remember that building a custom gunite pool involves much more than the construction phase.
The complete process includes:
- At-home consultation
- Project scope
- Custom 3-D design
- Design review and approval
- CAD drawings
- Material selections
- Required approvals
- Onsite pool positioning and staking
- Gunite pool construction
- Finishing and startup
- First swim
Starting early gives you time to thoughtfully work through the design process and make decisions about the backyard you’ll be enjoying for years.
And in Winter Garden and the surrounding Central Florida area, outdoor living is a year-round part of the lifestyle.
FROM YOUR FIRST POOL CONSULTATION TO YOUR FIRST SWIM
A custom gunite pool starts long before excavation.
It starts with understanding your property and how you want to use your backyard.
Those ideas become a custom 3-D artistic design that lets you visualize the space before construction begins.
Once you approve the design, detailed CAD drawings are created, materials are selected, and the pool is positioned and staked on your property for final approval.
Then the vision begins becoming a reality.
At Kura Design Pools, we design and build custom gunite pools for homeowners throughout Winter Garden, Hamlin, Horizon West, and surrounding Central Florida areas.
From classic pool designs to more elaborate outdoor environments, our goal is to create a poolscape designed around your property, your style, and how you want to enjoy your home.
From the first at-home consultation to the first swim, Kura Design Pools is here to help bring your backyard vision to life.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CUSTOM INGROUND GUNITE POOLS
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE KURA DESIGN POOLS TO BUILD A CUSTOM INGROUND GUNITE POOL?
Every project is different, but Kura Design Pools can have most clients swimming within approximately 12 to 16 weeks. The actual timeline can vary depending on the project scope, design, approvals, site conditions, weather, inspections, and other factors.
WHY CHOOSE A GUNITE POOL FOR A CUSTOM BACKYARD?
Gunite provides significant design flexibility, allowing the pool’s shape, dimensions, depths, and features to be customized around the property and homeowner’s vision rather than being limited to predetermined pool shapes.
DOES KURA DESIGN POOLS PROVIDE 3-D POOL DESIGNS?
Yes. Kura Design Pools creates custom 3-D artistic designs that allow homeowners to visualize their proposed pool and backyard environment from different angles, including landscaping and lighting.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I APPROVE MY CUSTOM POOL DESIGN?
Once the design is approved, Kura Design Pools creates official CAD drawings to help ensure accuracy during construction. Kura’s designers also assist with selecting materials to help achieve the look you’ve envisioned.
WILL I SEE WHERE MY POOL WILL BE LOCATED BEFORE CONSTRUCTION STARTS?
Yes. Before breaking ground, Kura Design Pools positions and stakes out the pool on site for final approval, allowing you to see where the pool will sit within your actual backyard.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE FIRST POOL DESIGN CONSULTATION?
Kura begins with an at-home visit to better understand your backyard, including its layout, where the pool may be located, what you’d like to incorporate into the poolscape, and the overall scope of your project.
DOES KURA DESIGN POOLS BUILD CUSTOM GUNITE POOLS IN HAMLIN AND HORIZON WEST?
Kura Design Pools serves homeowners throughout Winter Garden, Hamlin, Horizon West, and surrounding Central Florida areas, creating custom pools designed around each property and homeowner’s vision.
WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT KURA DESIGN POOLS IF I WANT TO BE SWIMMING BY A CERTAIN DATE?
It’s best to begin the conversation as early as possible. While Kura Design Pools can have most clients swimming within approximately 12 to 16 weeks, every project is different, and factors such as design, approvals, site conditions, weather, inspections, and project scope can affect the final timeline.