Shotcrete Pools in Knoxville, TN

We build with gunite, not wet-mix shotcrete. Both are pneumatically sprayed concrete and both cure into the same kind of steel-reinforced concrete shell, so the pool you end up with is the custom concrete pool you are picturing. Gunite is the sprayed-concrete method used by nearly every pool builder across East Tennessee, and it is what we have built with since 2017.

Both are concrete applied through a hose under pressure over steel reinforcement. Shotcrete arrives at the nozzle already mixed with water (wet-mix); gunite arrives dry and the nozzleman adds water right at the nozzle (dry-mix). Once cured, a properly placed gunite shell and a properly placed shotcrete shell are both steel-reinforced concrete of comparable strength. The difference is mostly regional terminology, shotcrete out west, gunite across the Southeast, not a difference in the finished pool.

Not meaningfully, when the work is done right. Both methods depend on a skilled nozzleman controlling rebound and packing concrete tightly around the steel. A poorly placed shotcrete pool can end up weaker than a well-placed gunite pool, and the reverse is just as true. Long-term strength comes down to crew technique, the steel schedule, and proper curing time, not which pneumatic method sprayed the concrete.

It is mostly regional habit. Dry-mix gunite has been the dominant custom-pool construction method across Tennessee and the Southeast for decades, while wet-mix shotcrete is more common in California and other western markets. If you moved from a state where "shotcrete" is the local word for it, you are still looking for the same thing here: a custom, sprayed-concrete pool built entirely on site.

Custom gunite pools run $95,000 - $350,000+ installed. A standard custom build starts around $95,000 - $155,000, most premium projects with a spa land in the $155,000 - $250,000 range, and resort-level builds with vanishing edges and water features run $250,000 - $350,000+.

Yes, this is exactly where sprayed-concrete construction earns its keep. Because gunite is formed in place over engineered steel rather than dropped in as a pre-made shell, it adapts to slope, rock, and irregular terrain that would rule out other pool types. We assess your site during the free consultation and design the shell and drainage around your actual grade.