Two pours make a pool: the gunite shell that holds water and the deck that surrounds it. Both must handle Michigan's freeze-thaw cycles and the weight of a full basin. We pour the structural concrete and coordinate with your pool builder, plumber, and finishing crews so the work flows without delay. Free written estimate on every project.
The pool shell is gunite or shotcrete, pneumatically sprayed against rebar in the excavated cavity. This method bonds the concrete tightly to the reinforcement and shapes it to the engineered profile, creating a monolithic structure that resists water pressure and soil load for decades.
The outdoor living space around the pool starts with the deck pour. It must be slip-resistant, pitched to shed water away from the pool and house, and tied structurally into the shell. Both pours are engineered for the Michigan climate, with proper drainage and rebar placement to survive seasonal freeze-thaw.
We handle the concrete work. The pool builder, plumber, and finishing trades (plaster, tile, equipment) are separate specialties. We coordinate timing so the shell is ready for their rough-in, and the deck is cured and ready when their crews arrive. This approach also applies to patio work and pool deck resurfacing when an existing slab needs renewal.
Recent work
The sequence
How Pool Shell and Deck Get Poured
Review engineered drawings
We work from the pool builder's structural plans, confirming the shell profile, deck layout, rebar placement, and how concrete ties into plumbing embeds, lights, and equipment runs.
Excavate and set rebar
The cavity is dug to profile, rebar is tied per drawing, and all plumbing and electrical embeds are positioned before the first concrete truck arrives.
Spray the gunite shell
Pneumatic concrete placement bonds the shell to the rebar and conforms to the engineered shape, building a strong, watertight structural body.
Pour and finish the deck
The surrounding deck is poured with slip-resistant finish, proper slope for drainage, control joints on layout, and a clean tie into the shell and yard.
Trade coordination
Why Concrete Specialists Work Best With Other Trades
A pool project succeeds when each trade focuses on what it does best. We pour concrete; the pool builder designs the system and manages plumbing, equipment, and finishes. This separation of scope keeps schedules clean and quality high.
We coordinate the timing so the shell cures before the plumber's rough-in, and the deck is ready when the plaster and tile crew shows up. When an older pool has a tired deck but the structure is sound, resurfacing avoids a full tear-out. Many homeowners pair this with walkway or retaining wall upgrades to refresh the whole yard.
What concrete trades cover, gunite shell, deck, and how the project coordinates in Detroit.
We pour the structural concrete, the gunite shell and the surrounding deck. The plumbing, equipment, plaster, tile and pool finishing are pool-specialist trades; we coordinate the schedule with them so each handoff is clean.
Both are concrete sprayed pneumatically against engineered rebar in the pool cavity. The pneumatic placement bonds tightly to the rebar and conforms to the shell profile, giving a strong, monolithic pool body.
Yes. The shell and deck are engineered with proper rebar, mix design and drainage for freeze-thaw, and the pool is winterised by the pool builder so water cannot freeze in the structure or plumbing.
Yes. The pool deck is the second structural pour on a pool project, slip-resistant, sloped to drain away from the pool and the house, and tied into the shell. We pour them as one project.
Yes. We coordinate with whichever pool builder you are using, working from their engineered drawings for the shell and matching the deck layout to their finish plan, so the project sequences cleanly between trades.
Homeowner reviews
What Detroit Homeowners Say About Their Pool Concrete
Shell pour was clean against the engineered rebar. The pool builder commented on how easy our handoff was, and the deck was ready exactly when their plaster crew showed up.
J. O.
Detroit
★★★★★
Built the shell and deck for our pool over one summer. Coordinated with the pool company and the plumber so we never lost a day waiting on concrete.
E. S.
Sterling Heights
★★★★★
They were upfront that they pour the concrete and not the finishes. Made it easy to assemble the right team. Both pours have held perfectly through freeze-thaw.
S. H.
Warren
★★★★★
Slip-resistant pool deck that slopes properly away from the house and the water. Two summers in and not a crack at the joint with the pool.
T. M.
Livonia
From the blog
Concrete Guides & Articles
Practical reading on planning, finishes and caring for concrete in Detroit.
Building a new pool or resurfacing the deck around an existing one, send us the engineered drawings or describe what you need, and we will schedule a site visit with a written, itemised quote.
