The Real Cost of Building a Custom In-Ground Pool in Clarkston, GA — A Line-Item Breakdown

The average custom in-ground gunite pool built in Clarkston, Georgia in 2026 lands between $78,400 and $134,900 installed — a $56,500 spread that almost nobody in the industry will break apart for you in writing. This post does exactly that: every line item, every real dollar range, from the first cubic yard of red clay we haul out to the last run of automation wire into the equipment pad. No vague “it depends.” No “contact us for pricing.” Just the numbers.

Pool contractors hate pricing transparency because the markup is where the margin lives. Our position is different, and it costs us a few jobs a year to buyers shopping for the cheapest bid rather than the most accurate one. Fair trade.

Clarkston is a tight DeKalb County town — roughly 1.4 square miles, about seven miles east of downtown Atlanta, built mostly in the 1960s through 1990s on sloped lots with split-level and ranch homes. Those lots create a specific cost profile: excavation is harder, dirt-haul is pricier than on a flat Cobb County parcel, and Piedmont red clay hides weathered granite bedrock at inconsistent depths that can wreck a neat excavation estimate.

What follows is a seven-stage cost walk-through in the exact sequence money leaves your account on a real project. Each stage: the range, the variables, and the cost-cutting moves that look like savings but compound into repairs five years out.

Stage 1 — Site Prep, Excavation, and Dirt Haul-Off ($8,200 – $18,400)

Every custom in-ground pool starts with a hole. In Clarkston that hole usually involves more complications than the brochure suggests, because the typical backyard here is sloped, partially rocked, or tight against the house — often all three.

1. Surveying, staking, and layout: $600 – $1,200. A licensed surveyor locates property lines, setback boundaries, and the pool footprint. On Clarkston lots narrower than 70 feet this is non-optional — setback violations are the most common reason DeKalb County shuts a pool project down mid-build.
2. Tree removal and clearing: $400 – $3,800. A clean open yard is the low end. A lot with two 50-foot oaks in the pool footprint runs $3,500+ for takedown and stump grinding alone.
3. Excavation (backhoe/excavator + operator): $3,200 – $6,800. A 14×28 freeform with tanning ledge removes roughly 90 cubic yards. A 16×32 rectangular with a 7-foot deep end removes closer to 140 cubic yards. That delta — before finish materials — is about an $11,000 swing between the two shapes once you factor haul-off and base prep.
4. Dirt haul-off to C&D facility: $2,400 – $5,600. The line item almost every homeowner underestimates. Metro Atlanta C&D facilities charge $8 to $14 per cubic yard to dump clean fill. Tri-axle dump trucks carry ~14 cubic yards. A 140-yard excavation is 10 truckloads plus tipping fees plus driver labor plus fuel — which is how you arrive at $5,600 on a deep rectangular before a single piece of steel is placed.
5. Rock/bedrock contingency: $0 – $2,800. Clarkston’s Piedmont soil sits on weathered granite bedrock at 4 to 12 feet. On two of every five projects here we hit enough rock to require a hydraulic breaker rental or a second excavation day. We price this as a visible contingency instead of burying it — so you know before signing whether your lot is high-risk.

Stage 2 — Structural Shell: Steel, Gunite/Shotcrete, and Plumbing Rough-In ($24,000 – $42,500)

This is the single most expensive stage and the one where material choice drives the widest range. Before we break it out, the headline numbers on the three shell types homeowners compare:

• Gunite / shotcrete (baseline): $68,000 – $112,000 total project.
• Fiberglass insert: $55,000 – $95,000 total project.
• Vinyl-liner: $42,000 – $78,000 total project.

We build gunite almost exclusively for Clarkston clients. Reason: gunite is the only shell type that handles Piedmont clay movement without structural concessions. Fiberglass one-piece shells need near-perfect excavation floors to avoid stress cracking, and that precision is harder on sloped Clarkston lots. Vinyl liners are a fine product — they just need liner replacement every 8 to 12 years, which erases the upfront savings across a 25-year ownership window.

1. Rebar steel cage: $3,800 – $6,400. Grade-60 #3 rebar on 8-inch centers through floor and walls, doubled at the beam. A tanning ledge, spa spillway, or bench seating adds $800 to $1,400 per feature.
2. Gunite / shotcrete application: $14,500 – $24,000. 10–12 inches thick on floor and walls, pneumatically applied over the rebar cage. A pool with a vanishing edge, spa, or raised wall runs toward the top — each feature requires separate gunite passes.
3. Plumbing rough-in (skimmers, returns, main drain, spa lines): $3,400 – $6,800. Schedule-40 PVC, two skimmers minimum on any pool over 400 sq ft, dual main drains (Virginia Graeme Baker Act), and dedicated spa suction/return lines if applicable. Extra water features — sheer descents, bubblers, deck jets — add $400 to $900 of plumbing each.
4. Curing and structural wait period: $0 cash, 21–28 days on the schedule. Gunite must cure before tile, coping, and finish go in. Contractors promising a “30-day pool” are either skipping this window or building vinyl liner and calling it gunite.

Stage 3 — Waterline Tile, Coping, and Interior Finish ($11,800 – $22,400)

The visible stage — what everyone sees and touches when they walk up to the pool. It’s also where “upgrade your finish” sales pressure hits hardest.

Waterline Tile ($1,400 – $4,800)

1. Standard 6×6 ceramic: $12 – $18 per linear foot installed. A 14×28 pool has ~84 linear feet; a 16×32 has ~96. Standard ceramic: $1,000 – $1,750 installed.
2. Glass mosaic: $28 – $55 per linear foot. Same pool, $2,350 – $5,300. Reads cleaner in photography and lasts longer against chemical wear — roughly 3x the material cost.
3. Natural stone band (travertine, limestone): $22 – $42 per linear foot. Middle ground aesthetically and cost-wise.

Coping ($2,800 – $6,400)

1. Poured concrete cantilever: $12 – $18 per linear foot. Cost-optimized. Integrates visually into a concrete deck.
2. Precast concrete: $18 – $28 per linear foot. Factory-cast units with rolled or bullnose edge.
3. Natural travertine or limestone: $32 – $58 per linear foot. What you see on the white-farmhouse pool above — large-format travertine matching the deck pavers. Reads premium 15 years later.

Interior Finish ($7,600 – $11,200)

1. White plaster: $3.75 – $5.25 per sq ft of interior surface. Low-bid industry standard. Lifespan 7–10 years before re-plaster.
2. Quartz-aggregate (3M Diamond Brite): $6.50 – $8.75 per sq ft. Harder, wider color selection, 12–18 year lifespan. Our Clarkston default.
3. Pebble aggregate (Pebble Tec, Pebble Sheen): $8.25 – $11.50 per sq ft. Top-tier durability, natural texture, 18–25 year lifespan. Recommended for 10+ year owners.

Stage 4 — Decking, Hardscape, and Retaining Structure ($14,200 – $38,900)

The deck is the single largest surface area in the project. A 16×32 pool with a 6-foot perimeter deck covers roughly 980 square feet of hardscape. The per-square-foot spread between the low-cost and high-end deck choice is enormous.

Deck Material Breakdown

1. Broom-finished concrete: $8 – $14 per sq ft. 980 sq ft = $7,840 – $13,720. Cost-optimized. Cracks within 3–5 seasons in Clarkston’s freeze-thaw cycle if control joints aren’t cut correctly.
2. Stamped or textured concrete: $14 – $22 per sq ft. 980 sq ft = $13,720 – $21,560. Better aesthetics, same cracking risk if the substrate isn’t built for clay movement.
3. Large-format paver deck (travertine, porcelain, modern concrete): $22 – $34 per sq ft. 980 sq ft = $21,560 – $33,320. Built on 8-inch compacted open-graded base with geotextile separator. No field cracking because each paver is individually bedded.
4. Natural travertine or bluestone: $28 – $42 per sq ft. 980 sq ft = $27,440 – $41,160. Premium aesthetics and cooler surface under summer sun.

Retaining and Grading on Sloped Clarkston Lots

Many Clarkston backyards sit on meaningful slopes, so a retaining wall is frequently required to level the pool pad. Nobody puts this line on their initial web quote:

1. Segmental block (Belgard, Techo-Bloc): $32 – $58 per face foot. A 40-ft long, 4-ft tall wall = 160 face feet = $5,120 – $9,280.
2. Natural stone: $55 – $95 per face foot. Same wall: $8,800 – $15,200.
3. Poured concrete or ICF (walls over 6 feet): $85 – $140 per face foot. Required by DeKalb County for any wall supporting a pool deck load above 6 feet.

Stage 5 — Equipment Pad: Pump, Filter, Heater, Sanitization ($6,800 – $18,400)

Every pool has an equipment pad — a 4×8 or 5×10 concrete slab tucked against the house or fence where the mechanical guts live. This is where Pentair and Jandy equipment choices drive real dollar differences, and where cost-cutting contractors substitute off-brand equipment to hit a lower bid.

1. Variable-speed pump: $1,400 – $2,800 installed. Pentair IntelliFlo3 VSF ($1,900–$2,400 equipment) or Jandy VS FloPro ($1,400–$1,700). Variable-speed is non-negotiable — DOE mandate phased out single-speed for pools over 30,000 gallons, which is essentially every residential in-ground. Single-speed also burns $650–$1,100/year more in electricity.
2. Cartridge or DE filter: $800 – $1,600. Pentair Clean & Clear Plus cartridge runs $900–$1,200 equipment; DE slightly more. Cartridge is lower-maintenance; DE polishes finer but needs periodic regrid.
3. Heater — natural gas or heat pump: $2,800 – $6,400. Pentair MasterTemp 400K BTU gas ($2,400–$2,900 equipment) is the Clarkston workhorse; Pentair UltraTemp heat pump ($4,200–$5,400) runs quieter and cheaper long-term but takes longer to heat.
4. Saltwater chlorine generator: $1,400 – $2,200. Pentair IntelliChlor IC40 or Jandy AquaPure — in-line electrolytic conversion instead of tablet dosing.
5. Automation controller: $1,400 – $3,800. Pentair IntelliCenter or Jandy iAquaLink — app-based control of pump speed, heater, lights, and water features. Detailed in Stage 6.
6. Gas line from meter to pad: $600 – $2,400. Site-dependent. Short runs are cheap; trenching across deck or around retaining wall is not.
7. Electrical sub-panel and bonding: $1,200 – $2,800. Required by NEC. Dedicated sub-panel, GFCI on every circuit, bonding grid tied to all metallic pool components.

Stage 6 — Lighting, Automation, Water Features & Fire Elements ($4,800 – $22,800)

The widest-ranging stage, and the one that most determines whether the pool reads as “a swimming pool” or “an outdoor entertaining space.” The photos above show the upper end — multi-color LED, sheer descents, illuminated fire/water bowls, and linear fire features. Each has a specific cost.

Pool Lighting

1. Single-color LED (Pentair IntelliBrite 5G white): $900 – $1,400 per fixture. One fixture covers ~400 sq ft of pool surface.
2. Color-changing LED (Pentair GloBrite, Jandy WaterColors): $1,200 – $1,800 per fixture. What you see cycling green and blue in the aerial shot, controlled from the automation panel.
3. Deck LED strip + step/wall well lights: $1,800 – $3,400 full package. Low-voltage, transformer-driven, astronomical-timer controlled.

Automation

Pentair IntelliCenter with app: $1,800 – $3,200 (controller + wireless module + relays). Jandy iAquaLink: $1,400 – $2,600. Both integrate with Alexa and Google Home. Both let you adjust pump speed, heater, and lighting from a phone while sitting at dinner inside.

Water Features

1. Sheer descent waterfall (12–48 inches wide): $1,400 – $3,200 per unit. The linear sheets cascading off the raised wall in the dusk photo. Each includes dedicated plumbing, equipment-pad valve, and optional back-lighting.
2. Bubbler or deck jet: $280 – $650 per unit. Low-cost accents, usually paired into a tanning ledge or pool edge.
3. Spillway spa or raised spa with overflow: $6,400 – $14,800 built. The attached spa spilling into the pool in the white-farmhouse shot — separate shell, dedicated heater line, jets, controls, acrylic or tile-faced spillway lip.
4. Stacked-stone water wall or scupper wall: $4,800 – $12,400 built. 4–8 feet long, 30 inches tall, cultured or natural thin-veneer with brass scupper sheets.

Fire Features

1. Fire/water bowl: $1,800 – $3,400 per unit. Cast-concrete or GFRC bowls on stacked-stone piers with a gas flame ring and spillway lip. Two-bowl flanking layout is common.
2. Linear fire feature (36–72 inches): $4,400 – $9,800. What you see along the raised spillway wall in the dusk shot — stainless burner tray with lava rock or fire glass, automation-controlled ignition.
3. Freestanding fire pit adjacent to deck: $1,800 – $6,400. Separate feature, stacked-stone or poured-concrete, natural gas or propane.

Stage 7 — Permits, Engineering, Soft Costs & What Contractors Leave Off Bids ($3,400 – $9,600)

Every bid should include this stage broken out. Many don’t. What belongs on the list before a shovel hits the ground:

1. DeKalb County pool permit: $220 – $440. Filed through DeKalb Dept. of Planning & Sustainability. Fee scales with project valuation. Required before excavation.
2. Engineered drawings and structural stamp: $800 – $1,800. Required by DeKalb for any pool with a deep end over 5’6″ or a retaining wall tied into the pool structure. Licensed PE stamp.
3. Plumbing and electrical sub-permits: $180 – $380 combined. Pulled by the trade contractors, not the GC.
4. Fencing / barrier upgrade to code: $1,800 – $4,800. Georgia state code and DeKalb both require a minimum 4-foot barrier with self-closing, self-latching gates. If your existing fence isn’t code, it has to be brought up before final inspection. Many bids silently exclude this.
5. Landscape restoration: $1,200 – $3,400. The lawn around the pool gets compacted or torn up and needs regrading, topsoil, and sod or seed. Another line homeowners assume is included.
6. Startup chemistry, initial fill, 30-day balance: $400 – $900. A 20,000-gallon fill at Clarkston municipal rates runs $240–$360 for water alone, plus startup chemistry and first-month monitoring.

Add all seven stages together and here’s where you land:

The gap between entry-level and mid-range isn’t a bigger pool — it’s a better-specified pool at roughly the same size. Quartz instead of plaster. Paver deck instead of broom concrete. Pentair automation instead of manual timers. Color LED instead of one white fixture. That’s the difference between a pool you replace components on every 8 years and one that still looks and runs the same at year 20.

What a Good Bid Actually Looks Like

If you’re comparing two bids and one is $18,000 cheaper, check four things before signing the lower one:

• Shell type in writing? “Gunite 10–12 inches, grade-60 rebar on 8-inch centers” vs. vague “structural shell.”
• Equipment by brand and model? “Pentair IntelliFlo3 VSF, MasterTemp 400, Clean & Clear Plus 520” vs. “variable-speed pump, gas heater, cartridge filter.”
• Dirt haul-off included? If the word “haul-off” isn’t there, it’s extra.
• Code-compliant barrier included? If not in the bid, it’s coming in a change order.

Two bids at the same size and deck footage can be $20,000 apart and both legitimate — if the cheaper bid uses white plaster, broom concrete, off-brand equipment, and excludes the fence. That’s not a better deal. It’s a different project.