We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
Some pool projects need more freedom than a pre-moulded shell can offer. The garden may have unusual dimensions, different levels or a design that calls for a particular depth, shape or feature.
Cape Pools builds custom concrete and gunite swimming pools for homes, estates, guest houses and hospitality properties across Cape Town and surrounding areas. Because the shell is constructed on site, it can be planned around your property, how you want to use the pool and the outdoor space you want to create.
Cape Pools brings the layout, shell, plumbing, finish and agreed surrounding work together as one complete pool project.
A site-built concrete pool is useful when the property needs a tailored solution. It may be a compact courtyard where every metre counts, a long garden suited to swimming lengths, a sloping site or a view-facing property where the water should become part of the outlook.
The pool does not have to follow a standard shape or depth. Entry steps, benches, shallow lounging areas, deeper swimming space, integrated spas and overflow edges can all be incorporated into the design.
Cape Pools’ broader swimming pool construction options include custom site-built and fibreglass pools. A fibreglass pool remains a practical choice when an available shell suits the space and preferred layout. Concrete or gunite becomes especially valuable when the property calls for something more individual. The right choice comes from the result you want and how the completed pool will be used—not from treating one pool type as universally better.
A gunite pool is a type of concrete pool. The difference lies mainly in how the concrete is prepared and placed, rather than in two completely separate categories of swimming pool.
Gunite is the dry-mix form of shotcrete. Dry materials travel through a hose, water is introduced at the nozzle and the mixture is applied at high velocity over the reinforced pool structure. With wet-mix shotcrete, the concrete is mixed with water before being pumped and sprayed into position. Other concrete construction methods may also suit a particular design or site.
For the homeowner, the important issue is not simply whether a contractor uses the word concrete or gunite. Structural design, reinforcement, concrete specification, placement, curing and workmanship all contribute to the finished shell. Cape Pools chooses the construction method around the project rather than treating one method as right for every property.
Whether you call it a concrete or gunite pool, the goal is the same: a well-built pool customised around your home.
The best starting point is what you want the pool to add to your property. A family pool may need generous steps, shallow areas and room for play. A pool intended for exercise may favour a longer swimming line, while an entertainment-focused design may include seating, a ledge or an adjoining spa.
The pool should connect naturally with the house, patio and garden while leaving comfortable routes around the water. Views from living areas, afternoon sun, prevailing wind and existing trees can all influence its position.
Concrete construction allows these decisions to be resolved together. Curves, geometric forms, different depths and distinctive edges can be shaped around the property so the pool feels like part of the home and garden.
Cape Town properties vary considerably. Hillside and view-facing homes may need level changes, retaining work or an elevated edge, while established suburban properties may already have walls, paving, mature planting and entertainment areas to work around.
Access also deserves early attention. Excavated material must leave the property while steel, concrete, plumbing and equipment must reach the pool area. A wide driveway creates a different project from a home with narrow side access, and existing surfaces may need to be opened and reinstated.
On coastal properties, the position should account for wind, sand and garden debris as well as the view. Salt-laden air can influence exposed metalwork, equipment and surrounding finishes. Lower-lying or poorly draining areas also require careful attention to water movement and ground conditions.
Cape Pools works the position, access, levels, drainage and exposure into the construction plan from the beginning.
A custom pool works best when the shell, equipment and surrounding area are planned together. Features affecting the structure or water circulation should be considered early so the necessary support, pipework and connections can be incorporated neatly.
An infinity or rim-flow edge changes how water is collected and returned. A glass viewing wall must work with the structure and selected transparent panel system. Pool water features, adjoining spas, covers, heating, lighting and filtration also need space and suitable connections.
Coping, pool decking, paving and drainage affect movement around the water and how the finished space meets the garden. Equipment should remain accessible without dominating the entertainment area.
A Cape Pools concrete-pool and composite-deck project on a sloping Hout Bay property shows the value of coordinating the pool and surrounding levels. Planning them together creates a more complete result than treating the shell and outdoor area as unrelated jobs.
The internal finish changes the colour, texture and character of a concrete pool. Marbelite creates the familiar smooth plastered surface and is available in different tones, while pool tiling and mosaics can be used for selected details or a more extensively tiled design.
The choice should suit the appearance you want and the care you are comfortable with. Water colour is influenced by the finish, depth, light and surroundings, so a sample will not look exactly the same as the completed, filled pool.
Coping forms the transition at the pool edge, while paving or decking connects the water with seating and entertainment areas. Colour, texture, drainage and comfort underfoot should work together around wet feet.
The project begins by bringing the pool’s purpose, position, size, depth and features into one workable design. Access, existing structures, levels and services are considered alongside the preferred appearance before construction is scheduled.
Within the City of Cape Town, swimming pools require building-plan approval. Estates, homeowners’ associations and managed properties may have additional design and construction rules. Cape Pools helps coordinate what is needed before work moves ahead.
Construction brings together setting out, excavation, reinforcement, plumbing, filtration and the selected concrete-placement method. Once the shell is completed and properly cured, the interior finish, coping and agreed surrounding work follow before the system is checked and handed over.
Your quotation and programme reflect the property’s access, design, approvals, selected finishes and connected outdoor improvements rather than relying on one generic timeline.
The price of a concrete or gunite pool is shaped by the complete design rather than the shell alone. Size and depth matter, but so do the shape, structural requirements, excavation conditions, access and the work needed to create the correct levels around the pool.
A straightforward pool on an open, level property is different from an elevated design with an infinity edge or restricted access. Finishes, filtration, heating, lighting, covers, water features, viewing panels, decking and paving also influence the price.
Before work begins, you should be able to see how excavation and removed material will be handled, which equipment and finish are included, and whether coping, paving, decking or reinstatement form part of the price. Clear inclusions help you compare complete projects rather than unlike quotations.
Cape Pools prices each custom pool around the property and chosen design so the quotation reflects the intended pool and surrounding finish.
Not every concrete-pool enquiry involves a new build. Existing pools can develop cracks, leaks, hollow or rough marbelite, damaged tiles, worn coping or a layout that no longer works well for the property.
The right solution starts by identifying whether the visible problem is limited to the surface or connected to the shell, plumbing or surrounding structure. Cape Pools provides structural pool repairs, leak detection, marbelite pool resurfacing, retiling and broader renovation work for concrete and gunite pools.
Renovation can also change how a pool is used. Steps may be altered, a pool can sometimes be resized, equipment can be upgraded and the surrounding area can be renewed. When the existing structure remains worth retaining, improving it may make more sense than starting again.
Cape Pools builds custom concrete and gunite pools across Cape Town and surrounding parts of the Western Cape, including but not limited to the areas mentioned below.
Along the Atlantic Seaboard and nearby coastal suburbs, this includes Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, Sea Point and Green Point, as well as Hout Bay. In the Southern Suburbs and southern peninsula, Cape Pools works in areas such as Constantia, Bishopscourt, Newlands, Claremont, Rondebosch, Tokai, Fish Hoek and Noordhoek.
Northern and western coverage includes Durbanville, Bellville, Plattekloof, Brackenfell, Kuils River, Milnerton, Table View, Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand, covering established gardens, newer estates and coastal properties.
Beyond the Cape Town metro, Cape Pools also undertakes pool construction in Somerset West, Strand, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek. West Coast coverage includes Langebaan, Yzerfontein, Darling, Vredenburg, St Helena Bay and Jacobsbaai.
These locations are examples rather than the limits of Cape Pools’ coverage. Cape Pools also assists with projects beyond the places named above.