Pool Builder or General Contractor: Who Should Build Your Pool in Knoxville?

If you are building a new home or doing a big remodel, your general contractor may offer to handle the pool too. Sometimes that works fine. Other times the pool ends up with a company you never met. Here's how to tell which way makes sense for you, and what to ask either way.

The Short Answer

Hire whoever is actually going to build the pool, and know who that is before you sign. If your GC is subbing the pool out, get the pool company's name, go see their work, and know who you call when something's wrong. Hire a pool builder directly and you're dealing with the people doing the dig, the steel, the plumbing, and the finish.

How a GC Usually Handles a Pool

A GC may bring in a pool company as a subcontractor and coordinate its schedule with the house. That can be a good thing on a new build, where the pool, house, grading, and drainage all have to line up.

The tradeoffs:

1. You may not pick the pool company. The GC picks who they work with.
2. Your questions go through a middle person. Shell options, finish choices, and change orders pass through the GC first.
3. Fees. Ask how the GC is paid for the pool. If they manage a pool company, ask whether a management fee sits on top, and see it written on the contract.
4. Warranty gaps. The pool warranty may come from the pool company, the GC, or both. Get that in writing.

What Tennessee Licensing Says

This part surprises people. In Tennessee, a contractor's license is required before bidding or negotiating a price on any project of $25,000 or more (Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance). The state has a license classification specifically for swimming pools, listed as BC-26 Swimming Pools in the state's contractor classification outline.

Here's the catch. A subcontractor working for a GC, not for you, only has to hold a state contractor's license for certain trades, mainly electrical, plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, and roofing when that portion is $25,000 or more, and masonry at $100,000 or more (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors). Pools are not one of the subcontractor trades on that list. So a company building your pool under a GC may not be required to hold a state license for that work. That doesn't make them bad. It just means you should check.

Knox County is also one of the counties that requires a Home Improvement license for residential projects from $3,000 to $24,999, and swimming pools are on that list (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors).

You can look up any contractor's license on the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance website before you sign.

When a GC Makes Sense

1. You are building a new home and want one contract and one schedule for everything.
2. Your GC has a pool company they have used for years, and you have seen that company's pools.
3. The pool is simple and tied closely to the house, like a pool off a lower level walkout.

When Hiring a Pool Builder Directly Makes Sense

1. The home is already built and the pool is the main project.
2. The pool is the expensive, custom part of the job, like a gunite build with a spa, fire, or a lot of decking.
3. The yard is hard. Rock, a slope, or tight access in Knoxville yards calls for someone who digs pools every week. Our post on building a pool on a slope covers that.
4. You want to talk to the people building it instead of waiting on answers passed along.

On a new build, a pool builder and a GC can also work side by side. The GC does the house, the pool builder contracts with you for the pool, and both coordinate grading and utilities. That keeps the pool contract and the warranty in your hands.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

1. Who is actually building the pool, and can I see pools they have built?
2. What license does the company building it hold, and in what classification?
3. Who pulls the pool permit and meets the inspector? See our Knox County pool permit page for what that involves.
4. Who carries the warranty on the shell, the equipment, and the workmanship, and for how long?
5. What is not included? Ask about rock, extra dirt hauling, fencing, and decking. Our post on hidden costs in a pool quote lists the usual ones.
6. Who do I call when something goes wrong, and how fast do they answer?

How We Work

We build pools and the outdoor living around them, and we work directly with homeowners. On new builds we coordinate with your GC on grading, drainage, and utilities. You can read how we run a job on our process and how we communicate pages, and what we stand behind on our warranty page. For the bigger picture on one firm vs several, see design build vs separate contractors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my general contractor build my pool?

It can work if your GC has a pool company they trust and you have seen that company's work. A GC may sub the pool out, so find out who is actually building it and who carries the warranty before you agree.

Do pool builders in Tennessee need a license?

In Tennessee, a contractor's license is required before bidding or negotiating a price on any project of $25,000 or more, and the state has a classification for swimming pools. In Knox County, residential projects from $3,000 to $24,999, including pools, require a Home Improvement license.

Does a pool company working under my GC need its own license?

Not always. Tennessee only requires subcontractors working for a GC to hold a contractor's license for certain trades, like electrical, plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, and roofing when that portion is $25,000 or more, and masonry at $100,000 or more. Ask who is building the pool and what license they hold.

Is it cheaper to have my GC handle the pool?

Not necessarily. Ask how the GC charges for the pool, and whether a management fee sits on top of the pool company's price. Coordination can be worth paying for on a new build, but get a direct pool quote too so you can compare.

Can a pool builder work alongside my home builder?

Yes. On new construction, the pool builder can contract with you directly while coordinating grading, drainage, and utilities with your GC.

Who pulls the permit for a pool?

Whoever holds the pool contract should pull the pool permit and handle inspections. Confirm that in writing before work starts.

Building a New Home With a Pool?

Send us your plans or a few photos of the lot so we can get our eyes on it and make sure it's something we can help with. Then we'll walk it with you and talk through whether the pool should come through your GC or straight through us. Contact us here, or see our Knoxville pool construction page.