The honest 2026 answer: most custom gunite pool projects we build across Southeast Michigan land between $80,000 and $200,000. Smaller, simpler builds come in below that. Signature designs with full outdoor-living build-outs run higher — sometimes well into the mid-six figures. The real number depends on your yard, your features, and your finishes, which is exactly what your free in-home consultation is for.
This guide breaks down where the money actually goes, what moves you up the price ladder, and the site-specific factors most builders don’t mention until after you’ve signed.
What “custom gunite” actually means — and what it doesn’t
Three things people sometimes lump together that are not the same thing:
- Gunite (shotcrete) pools — a steel-rebar grid is sprayed with a dry-mix concrete, hardened into a one-piece monolithic shell, then plastered. Custom shape, custom depth, lasts decades. This is what we specialize in.
- One-piece pre-formed shells — a different category entirely. Faster install, lower entry price, but you’re locked into the manufacturer’s molds.
- In-ground kits — vinyl-liner DIY-friendly packages. Lowest entry price, the most ongoing maintenance.
This article is about custom gunite — the build that lets you put a pool of any shape and depth, with any features, in any yard.
Where the money actually goes
A useful way to think about it: roughly 60% of a custom gunite price is the structural work most homeowners never see — excavation, plumbing rough-in, the steel cage, the gunite shoot, and the equipment pad. The visible 40% is finishes — plaster, tile, coping, decking, lighting, landscape restore.
For a typical $120,000 SE Michigan project, the line items roughly look like:
| Phase | Approx. share |
|---|---|
| Excavation, hauling, grading | 10–15% |
| Steel, plumbing, gunite shoot | 25–30% |
| Tile, coping, plaster | 15–20% |
| Mechanical (pump, filter, heater, automation) | 10–15% |
| Decking | 15–20% |
| Permits, inspections, water-fill, startup | 5–8% |
| Landscape restore | 5–8% |
None of those line items get cheaper if you swap to a discount builder — they just get done with cheaper labor or rented equipment, and the difference shows up ten years later in the form of a leak, a settlement crack, or a plaster failure.
What moves you up the price ladder
Spillover spa
A spa shoots into the same gunite shell, shares your equipment, and adds a meaningful evening- and shoulder-season experience to the pool. Plan on $15,000–$25,000+ depending on size, jets, and finish.
Automation & salt chlorine
Smartphone control of your pool/spa equipment, automated cleaning, and a salt chlorine generator (no more daily chlorine routine) typically run $5,000–$12,000 added to a base build. We think automation pays for itself fast in actual usage — people use pools they don’t have to think about.
Lighting packages
Color LED underwater lights are inexpensive ($1,500–$3,500). Fiberoptic perimeter lighting, color-changing zones, and integrated deck/landscape lighting can push the lighting line item to $10,000+. Worth it for evening use.
Water features
Sheer descents, laminar jets, and rock waterfalls range from $3,000 (a single bolt-on jet) to $25,000+ for a designed waterfall feature with stone work and integrated lighting.
Premium decking
Standard brushed concrete deck is the baseline. Stamped concrete, brick, slate, travertine, and large-format porcelain pavers each add. A 1,200 sq ft travertine deck can be $25,000–$40,000+ on its own.
Premium plaster / aggregate finishes
Standard white plaster is the baseline (and lasts 8–12 years before it’s time to refinish). Pebble or quartz aggregate finishes add $5,000–$12,000 on a typical pool but often last 50% longer and look noticeably better.
Specialty shapes & features
Vanishing edges, beach entries, sun shelves, tanning ledges, integrated planters, raised walls, vanishing-edge troughs — each adds engineering complexity and finishing material. Budget another $8,000–$30,000 per major specialty feature.
Site-specific factors most quotes don’t mention until after you sign
The same pool design at one address can cost $20,000 more at the address next door. The reasons:
- Excavation access. A backyard with a side gate that fits a mini-excavator is cheap. A backyard you have to crane equipment over the house to reach is not.
- Soil & water table. Sandy SE Michigan soils are easy to work with. Heavy clay, high water table (common near our many lakes), or buried fill from old construction add cost.
- Slope. Walkout-basement grade or a hillside lot needs retaining walls and engineered grading. We do a lot of these — they’re some of our best-looking pools — but they’re not the cheap quote.
- Mature tree preservation. Working around protected trees, root zones, or HOA-required canopy adds equipment and time.
- Septic field workarounds. Common in less-developed townships. We can usually engineer a path that protects the field; it just adds a few thousand to the dirt work.
- Permit complexity. Bloomfield Hills’ aesthetic review is more involved than Wixom’s straightforward residential permit. Historic-district overlays add review steps.
Why “what’s it cost” on the phone never gives you a real answer
If a pool company quotes you a number over the phone without seeing your yard, it’s a sales-funnel number, not an estimate. The honest version of “how much” requires a 30-minute walk of your property. We measure access, look at slope and soil, talk through what you actually want, and follow up with a real proposal — not a high-pressure pitch.
Financing
We work with HFS Financial, a national pool-lending specialist, for homeowners who want to finance the build. Pre-qualifying takes a few minutes and doesn’t affect your credit. The terms typically beat what a HELOC offers for the same project size, and we fold the payment into your design conversation so you know exactly what your monthly looks like before you commit. More on financing here.
What to do next
If you’re researching: keep researching. Talk to two or three builders. Ask about who’s actually swinging the gunite hose (subcontractor or in-house?), how many MI pools they’ve built, and whether they handle the permits. The honest builders will be straightforward.
If you’re ready to talk: schedule a free in-home consultation. Same conversation we’ve been having with SE Michigan homeowners since 1958.
Frequently asked questions
Is $80,000 really the starting point for a custom gunite pool?
For a properly engineered, structural-gunite pool with quality plaster, coping, mechanical equipment, decking and a permit-pulled install — yes, that’s a realistic floor in our market. You can find lower numbers, but typically by cutting corners on shell thickness, rebar density, plaster quality, or by skipping the equipment pad cover. Pool budgets that look “too good” usually catch up with you in years 5–15.
What’s the most common mistake on pool budgets?
Forgetting decking and landscape restore. The shell quote is part of the project. A pool you can’t walk around without standing on dirt is not a finished project. Budget the deck and the planted area when you budget the shell.
Does a pool add value to my home?
In SE Michigan it depends heavily on neighborhood. In communities where a pool is expected (Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, parts of West Bloomfield, certain Troy and Rochester subdivisions), a quality pool helps resale. In neighborhoods where pools are rare, the value is to your family, not the next buyer. We talk through the resale conversation honestly during the consultation.
Thinking about a pool of your own?
Free in-home consultation across Southeast Michigan. Real design, real number, no high-pressure pitch.