Gunite and Concrete Pools in Chattanooga
The format with no shape limit and the longest schedule. Market range is $50,000 to $120,000+, and most builders in this market work inside $100 to $280 per square foot.
What gunite actually is
A rebar cage is tied inside the excavation. A dry mix of cement and sand is then blown through a hose and hydrated by the operator at the nozzle, so the material arrives on the steel already at working consistency. Crews trowel it to shape by hand, the shell cures, and then it is finished in plaster, pebble or tile.
The shell is formed in place. That is the whole reason the shape is unrestricted: there is no mold and no panel kit setting the outline, only steel and a nozzle.
$50,000–$120,000+ and $100–$280 per square foot are published market ranges for this region, not our quote. Where a specific job lands depends on depth, shape, finish grade and what the excavator hits.
Eight to twelve weeks, stage by stage
Each line below is a different crew with its own scheduling window. Rain, inspections and cure time sit between several of them.
1. Excavation
Dig to the staked shape and depth; haul spoil off.
2. Steel
Rebar cage tied to spec through the floor, walls and any bench or step.
3. Plumbing rough-in
Skimmers, returns, main drains and any spa lines set and pressure-tested.
4. Shoot
Dry mix hydrated at the nozzle, shot against the steel, then hand-troweled to shape.
5. Cure
The shell is watered and left to gain strength before anything is set on it.
6. Tile and coping
Waterline tile and the perimeter edge that the deck ties into.
7. Deck
Concrete or pavers poured or set around the shell.
8. Interior finish
Plaster, pebble or tile applied to the cured shell.
9. Start-up
Fill, equipment commissioning and the first weeks of chemistry.
Why gunite handles a Chattanooga excavation best
Gunite tolerates an irregular or rocky hole better than the other two formats, because the shell is built to the hole rather than the hole to the shell. A fiberglass shell has fixed dimensions and needs the excavation to match them. A panel pool needs square, plumb walls on a footing.
On a Talbott or Ramsey soil lot in Hamilton County, where rock appears between 20 and 40 inches down, an excavation rarely comes out clean. Gunite absorbs that. Excavation in rocky soil runs about $4,500 in the Tennessee dealer survey, against roughly $1,294 in clay, and a hoe-ram day typically adds $3,500 to $5,500.
What it costs to keep
Resurface every 10–15 years
$6,000–$15,000. Plaster is porous and wears out; it is a scheduled expense, not a repair.
$2,000–$4,000 a year to run
The highest of the three formats. A porous surface makes water chemistry less forgiving and brushing non-optional.
What moves a gunite number
- Depth — deeper means more excavation, more steel, more material and more water.
- Freeform shape complexity — curves, benches, tanning ledges and vanishing edges.
- Tile and coping selection, which ranges from stock to stone.
- Interior finish grade: standard plaster, then pebble, then glass bead.
- Rock, which is the driver nobody can quote accurately from the driveway.
Gunite questions
- Why does gunite take three times longer than fiberglass?
- Because the shell is built on site, not delivered. Excavation, steel, plumbing rough-in, the shoot, the cure, tile and coping, deck, interior finish and start-up are separate stages run by separate crews, and several of them cannot start until the one before it is signed off. Fiberglass skips all of that with a shell made in a factory.
- Is gunite better on a rocky lot?
- It handles one badly. A gunite shell is built to the hole rather than the hole to the shell, so an excavation that came out irregular after hitting rock can still be finished to the drawn shape. On Talbott or Ramsey soils, where rock shows up between 20 and 40 inches, that flexibility often saves more than the format costs.
- How often does a gunite pool need resurfacing?
- Every 10 to 15 years, at $6,000 to $15,000 in current market pricing. Plaster is porous, so it wears, stains and eventually delaminates. Pebble and glass finishes last longer than standard plaster and cost more up front. That resurface cycle is the single number people leave out when they compare gunite to fiberglass.
Talk through the shape and the ground
Send the address and the shape you want, and you'll learn what the excavation is likely to hit and where a gunite schedule realistically lands.