Pool & Spa · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to pool and spa
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any pool contractor in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
Tell us about the job.
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Pool & Spa · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Water level dropping faster than evaporation explains
- Plaster rough underfoot, stained or showing the shell beneath
- A pump that is loud, cycling oddly or not priming
- Water that goes green no matter what you add
- Coping or decking cracked, lifting or a trip hazard
- A hot tub that will not hold temperature
Your options
More than one right answer.
A pool contractor who only ever recommends the most expensive option is not giving you advice. Here is the honest range.
Gunite construction
Any shape, any depth, built on site. The long-life option and what most custom pools in this region are.
Fiberglass installation
Faster, less disruption and a smoother surface, within the shapes the manufacturer makes.
Renovation rather than replacement
Where the shell is sound, replaster, new tile, coping and decking transform a pool for a fraction of a new build.
Service only
Weekly chemistry and cleaning with no construction. Frequently the right first step while you decide about the rest.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
We do not quote pool and spa over the phone, because an honest number needs somebody to look at the job. These are the things that move it.
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Gunite or fiberglass
Fiberglass arrives as a shell and installs fast in a limited range of shapes. Gunite is built on site in any shape and costs more in both time and money.
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Access for equipment
A back yard an excavator can reach is a different project from one where everything comes through a gate or over a neighboring lot.
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What is under the yard
Middle Tennessee limestone sits close to the surface in many places, and hitting rock during excavation is the single largest cost surprise in pool building here.
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Decking, coping and finish
The pool shell is only part of it. Decking area, coping material and interior finish are where budgets move most after the shell is set.
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Equipment and automation
Variable-speed pumps, heaters, salt systems and automation each add cost up front, and the pump is the one that pays itself back in running cost.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Design and permit
Two to six weeks including layout, engineering where required, and the permit and any HOA approval.
Excavation and shell
Dig, steel, plumbing and gunite or shell set. The phase most affected by weather and by what is under the yard.
Deck and equipment
Coping, tile, decking, equipment pad and electrical, each inspected where the jurisdiction requires it.
Finish and start-up
Interior finish, fill and water chemistry brought into balance, then a handover of how to actually run it.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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No rock clause in the contract
Excavation is where pool budgets break in this region, and an open-ended allowance is not a price.
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Undersizing the equipment pad
A heater, a salt cell or an automation panel added later needs space and circuits that should have been allowed for at the start.
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Skimping on decking drainage
Water running off the deck toward the house is a foundation problem created by a pool project.
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Chasing chemistry without testing
Adding product without readings is how a pool ends up balanced for nothing in particular and green anyway.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any pool contractor.
Including us. If a pool contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Are you licensed for a job this size, and who does the electrical?
A Tennessee contractor’s license where the value requires it, and a licensed electrician for the bonding and the equipment. Both numbers.
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What is the plan for the clay and the water table on my lot?
A design that accounts for the soil and the groundwater — hydrostatic relief, the right shell for the ground. A brochure pool on Middle Tennessee clay is a cracked pool.
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Will you pull the permits, and is the barrier code in the price?
Yes, and the fence or barrier the code requires is part of the job, not a surprise at inspection.
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Is the price the whole pool — decking, equipment, electrical, fill, start-up?
Itemized. The shell price is a fraction of the finished pool, and the extras are where the number doubles.
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Who services it afterwards, and are they certified?
A service schedule from a certified pool operator, so the water is right from the first week. A builder who hands over the keys and leaves has sold you a hole.
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What is warranted — the shell, the plaster, the equipment — and by whom?
Three warranties from three parties, and the builder explains which covers a crack, a stain or a dead pump.
FAQ
Choosing a pool contractor in Nashville
How do I choose a pool contractor in Nashville?
Every pool crew we run works under the Tennessee contractor’s license the job value requires and carries liability insurance on file with us; the service technicians are certified pool operators. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for pool and spa?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. A Nashville pool is priced by the shell — gunite, vinyl or fiberglass — the size, the equipment and the decking, with the excavation and the site conditions as the line that moves most; weekly service is priced by the visit, and a repair by the part and the hour.
Is the cheapest pool and spa quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. Excavation, access and drainage decide the price, and none of them are visible from a brochure.
Do I need a permit for pool and spa in Nashville?
Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties permits a pool as a structure with a barrier and inspects the electrical bonding; a pool built without one is a pool that cannot be insured or sold with the house.
How far in advance should I book pool and spa?
A pool design visit in Nashville is usually within a couple of weeks; the build runs weeks to months by the shell type; service starts the following week and a broken pump is seen within a day or two.
Free estimate
Need a pool contractor in Nashville today?
Tell Nashville's Pool & Spa what is going on and we will come back with a free written estimate. No obligation, no pressure.