For Pool Builders
The gunite crew Houston builders call
South Coast Gunite shoots the shell. Builders across greater Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast bring us in for pools, spas, features and structural work, and hand the job to the next trade with the shell done right.
What we shoot
Pool and spa shells
Residential gunite shells of any shape, with steps, benches, tanning ledges, raised walls and attached or standalone spas.
Rock, waterfalls and features
Artificial rock, boulders, grottos, waterfalls and rock slides shaped and carved on site.
Commercial and structural shotcrete
Structural shotcrete for commercial and aquatic work, shot to the engineer's spec.
Retaining walls
Engineered gunite and shotcrete retaining walls, including the ones your pool design depends on.
Renovations and re-shells
Chip-out and re-shoot on existing pools, reshaping, and repair on shells that have moved or cracked.
Why builders call us
The shell is the part nobody sees again
Two decades of Gulf Coast shells
Twenty-plus years shooting gunite in Houston clay, coastal sand and everything between. We have seen how these shells behave after a decade of soil movement and storms, and we build for that.
Five stars on every review
Every review on our Google profile is a five-star review. For a trade where the shell is buried under plaster and nobody sees your work again, that record is the whole reputation.
You talk to the owner
Family-owned and owner-run. When you call about scheduling, access or a change on site, you are talking to the person responsible for the crew, not a dispatcher.
Houston to Beaumont
We cover greater Houston, out to Katy and Fulshear in the west, north to Conroe and The Woodlands, south to Galveston, and east all the way to Beaumont.
How a bid works
Send the plans
Email the plan set, or just the dimensions, depths and features. Tell us the target shoot date and anything unusual about the site.
We check access and scope
Access drives more of a gunite job than most people expect. We confirm how we get the rig and hose to the hole, the yardage, and where the job fits in the schedule.
You get a number
A bid for the shell, with what is in it and what is not, so it drops straight into your estimate without a second conversation.
Where we shoot
16 cities across greater Houston and the upper Texas Gulf Coast. If your job is near the edge of that, call and ask.
Send us the job
Plans, dimensions or a photo of the excavation. Whatever you have, send it and we will come back to you on the shell.
Builder questions
Do you work as a subcontractor for pool builders?
Yes. Subcontract gunite for pool builders and contractors is the core of what South Coast Gunite does. We shoot the shell and hand it back ready for the trades that follow.
What area do you cover for builder work?
Greater Houston and the upper Texas Gulf Coast. That runs from Katy and Fulshear in the west, north through Cypress, Spring, The Woodlands and Conroe, south to Pearland, Friendswood, League City and Galveston, and east through Baytown and Winnie all the way to Beaumont.
What do you need in order to bid a shell?
The plan set is ideal. If you do not have one yet, the pool dimensions, depths, wall heights and a list of features will get you a number. Tell us how a rig and hose reach the excavation, because access affects the price more than almost anything else.
What actually drives the price of a gunite shell?
Size and depth set the volume of material, which is the biggest single factor. After that it is shape complexity, wall height, the number of features like benches, ledges, raised walls, spas and rock, and how hard the site is to reach and shoot.
Do you shoot rock features and waterfalls, or only the pool?
Both. Artificial rock, boulders, grottos, waterfalls and rock slides are shot and hand-carved on site, on the same trip as the shell where the schedule allows.
Do you handle commercial and structural shotcrete?
Yes. Commercial aquatic structures, structural shotcrete and engineered retaining walls, shot to the engineer's specification.
Can you re-shoot an existing pool?
Yes. Chip-out and re-shell, reshaping an existing pool, and repair work on shells that have cracked or moved are all regular work for us.
How soon after the shell is shot can the next trade start?
Gunite needs to cure before it reaches design strength, and it should be kept wet during that window. The shell is walkable well before it is fully cured, but tile, plaster and coping scheduling should account for the cure. We will tell you where a specific job stands when we shoot it.