You’re not just adding a pool. You’re creating the place where your kids learn to swim, where summer evenings actually feel worth the work week, where your backyard stops being wasted space.
When the job’s finished, you’ve got a complete outdoor setup that doesn’t need a redo in three years. The coping sits flush. The concrete doesn’t crack after one winter. The grading keeps water where it belongs.
You’ll use it more than you think—Memorial Day through October if you add heat. And when it’s time to sell, you’re looking at an 8-15% bump in home value in Nassau and Suffolk County markets. That’s not a guarantee, but it’s what the data shows when the work is done properly.
This is what happens when the excavation accounts for Shirley’s soil conditions, the permits clear without delays, and the masonry work is handled by people who’ve done this more than a few times.
We’ve worked on over 200 homes across Long Island. We started with masonry—chimneys, patios, retaining walls—and moved into complete backyard poolscapes because the work overlaps more than you’d think.
Shirley sits in Suffolk County, where soil conditions vary block by block. Sandy soil shifts. Groundwater shows up when you don’t expect it. We’ve dug enough holes here to know what’s coming before the excavator arrives.
You’re not getting a national franchise or a crew that learned the trade last summer. You’re working with people who pull permits in Suffolk County every month, who know which inspectors want what, and who’ve laid enough pool coping to spot a problem before it becomes your problem.
First, we walk your property. We’re looking at grade, drainage, soil type, and how close you are to setback lines. Most Shirley properties can fit a pool, but some need retaining walls or grading work before we dig.
Then comes permitting. Suffolk County requires site plans, surveys, and sometimes variance approvals depending on your lot. This takes four to six weeks if everything’s in order. We handle it.
Once permits clear, excavation starts. We’re pulling out dirt, setting grade, and installing drainage if your water table runs high. Then the pool shell goes in—gunite, fiberglass, or vinyl depending on what you picked.
After that, it’s masonry and hardscaping. Custom pool coping and tile around the edge. Concrete pool surrounds or pavers for the deck. Any retaining walls or landscape grading to tie it all together.
Start to finish, you’re looking at 12-16 weeks. We don’t rush it. You don’t want us to.
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You get design, permitting, excavation, pool installation, and all the masonry work that makes it look finished. That means custom coping, tile, concrete surrounds, and any grading or retaining walls your property needs.
In Shirley, most jobs need some level of drainage work. The South Shore sits close to the water table, and if you don’t account for that during excavation, you’ll have problems later. We handle dewatering, proper backfill, and drainage systems that keep your pool where you put it.
We also coordinate the trades—plumber, electrician, mason. You’re not calling six different people to show up on time. One crew manages the whole project.
Pool patio masonry in Suffolk County isn’t just decorative. It’s structural. The coping has to handle freeze-thaw cycles. The concrete has to be poured at the right thickness with proper control joints. If it’s not done right the first time, you’re looking at $5,000-plus in repairs within two years.
We’ve seen what happens when corners get cut. You don’t want that.
Most custom in-ground pools in Suffolk County run between $50,000 and $90,000 depending on size, shape, and what you’re adding around it. A basic rectangular gunite pool with standard coping and a concrete deck sits closer to $50,000-$60,000. Add waterfalls, custom tile, a pool house, or extensive hardscaping and you’re pushing $80,000-$100,000.
Shirley properties sometimes need extra grading or retaining walls, especially if your lot slopes or you’re near wetlands. That adds cost. Same with high groundwater—if we need dewatering equipment during excavation, that’s another line item.
The people who think they’re getting a pool for $20,000 are either looking at above-ground options or they’re about to get burned by a contractor who’s going to cut every corner possible. You’re better off waiting another year and doing it right than spending $30,000 on something that needs $15,000 in repairs before you hit year three.
Plan on 12-16 weeks from contract signing to swimming. Four to six weeks of that is permitting—Suffolk County doesn’t rush approvals. Once permits clear, excavation and installation take another 6-8 weeks depending on weather and how complicated your site is.
Spring is the best time to start if you want the pool ready for summer. Most crews book up by March, so if you’re calling in May, you’re probably looking at a late summer or fall completion.
Weather delays happen. You can’t pour concrete in freezing temps, and you can’t excavate in a downpour. If we hit a wet April or a cold snap in May, the schedule shifts. We’ll keep you updated, but you need to know going in that this isn’t a four-week turnaround.
If your property has complications—ledge rock, high groundwater, or zoning variances—add time. It’s better to know that now than to get surprised halfway through.
Yes. Suffolk County requires permits for any in-ground pool, and depending on where your property sits in Shirley, you may also need approvals from the Town of Brookhaven. You’ll need a site plan, a survey, and sometimes a variance if you’re close to setback lines.
Most residential pools also trigger requirements for fencing, self-closing gates, and alarms under New York State pool safety laws. The permit process ensures all of that gets documented and inspected.
We handle permit applications as part of the job. You’ll need to sign off on documents and provide a property survey if you don’t have one, but we manage the submissions, follow-ups, and inspection scheduling. It’s not complicated if you’ve done it before. It’s a nightmare if you haven’t.
Skipping permits isn’t an option. If the county finds out, they can make you remove the pool or bring it up to code at your expense. And good luck selling your house with an unpermitted pool in the backyard.
Gunite pools hold up best in Suffolk County’s freeze-thaw cycles, but they cost more upfront. Vinyl liner pools are cheaper and faster to install, but you’re replacing the liner every 7-10 years at $4,000-$6,000 a pop. Fiberglass is the middle ground—durable, low maintenance, but you’re limited on shape and size.
About 70% of Long Island pools are gunite. It’s the most customizable option, and it handles winter better than vinyl. The concrete shell can crack if the ground shifts, but that’s rare if the excavation and backfill are done right.
If you’re planning to heat the pool and use it May through October, gunite makes the most sense. If you’re only swimming in July and August and want to keep costs down, vinyl works fine.
Shirley’s soil is mostly sand, which is easier to work with than clay but also more prone to shifting if drainage isn’t handled correctly. Whatever pool type you pick, the excavation and grading matter more than the shell material.
It can, but it’s not automatic. The National Association of Realtors says in-ground pools can add 8-15% to home value in the right markets, and Long Island qualifies. But that assumes the pool is well-maintained, properly permitted, and doesn’t eat up your entire backyard.
In Shirley and surrounding Suffolk County areas, pools are common enough that buyers expect them in certain price ranges. If you’re selling a $500,000+ home without a pool and the neighbor has one, you might be at a disadvantage.
The return depends on execution. A pool with cracked coping, stained concrete, and a deck that’s falling apart doesn’t add value—it’s a liability. Buyers see that and either walk away or knock $20,000 off their offer to cover repairs.
If you’re building a pool purely as an investment, the math doesn’t always work. If you’re building it because you’ll actually use it and enjoy it for the next 10-15 years, and it happens to help resale value down the line, that’s the better way to think about it.
Hiring based on price alone. The lowest bid is almost always missing something—proper drainage, adequate rebar in the gunite, experienced masons for the coping, or half-decent project management.
You’ll find contractors in Suffolk County who’ll quote you $35,000 for a full install and then hit you with change orders that push the final cost to $55,000. Or worse, they’ll stick to the $35,000 and cut every corner possible to make their margin.
Check licensing. Verify insurance. Ask for references and actually call them. Look at completed projects in person, not just photos on a website. If a contractor won’t show you recent work or give you contact info for past clients, that’s a red flag.
The other big mistake is not clarifying what’s included. Does the bid cover permits? Excavation? Electrical and plumbing rough-ins? Final grading and landscaping? If it’s not in writing, assume it’s not included. We’ve seen too many jobs stall out halfway because the homeowner thought X was covered and the contractor says it’s extra.
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