Texas · Gunite & Concrete Pool Builders · Updated 2026
12 gunite pool builders serving Dripping Springs — custom concrete, shotcrete and gunite construction — ordered by customer rating and review count, with 2026 prices for a standard pool, a spa and the finish upgrades.
Ordered by customer rating and review count across the Dripping Springs area. Listings include the available rating, contact details and location; confirm current credentials and scope directly.
Planning a new pool as well? The Dripping Springs pool builders directory ranks all 17 builders in the area.
A mid-size gunite pool (about 16×32) with a standard plaster finish in Dripping Springs typically runs $75,000–$120,000. Spas, premium finishes, features and decking are where custom pools climb from there:
| Job | Typical Dripping Springs price |
|---|---|
| Small gunite pool (about 12×24), plaster finish | $55,000–$80,000 |
| Mid-size gunite pool (about 16×32) | $75,000–$120,000 |
| Large or elaborate custom pool | $120,000–$250,000+ |
| Attached gunite spa with spillover | $15,000–$35,000 |
| Pebble or quartz finish upgrade | $5,000–$12,000 |
| Tanning ledge or beach entry | $3,000–$8,000 |
| Water features, lighting, fire bowls | $2,000–$15,000 |
| Decking and coping | $8,000–$25,000 |
| Rock or hard-dig excavation allowance | $3,000–$15,000 |
| Permits, engineering, soils report | $800–$4,000 |
Texas pricing is close to the national baseline used for these estimates. Gunite bids vary more than any other pool type because every element is custom — compare the shell thickness, steel schedule, finish, feature and equipment lines, not just the bottom number.
Spas, ledges, benches, lighting niches and water features are cheapest when they are shot into the shell — adding them later means cutting concrete.
Dripping Springs market
4.8 average customer rating · 560 reviews · 12 companies
See All on the Map →12 gunite pool builders serving Dripping Springs. The ranked companies average 4.8 stars across 560 customer reviews. PoolPad orders the list with a weighted score that combines customer rating and review count, so a long track record counts for more than a handful of scores.
Dirt decides budgets here. Blackland clay through Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin's east side, and San Antonio swells and shrinks enough to crack a shell that isn't properly engineered, while the Hill Country and much of Central Texas sits on limestone that turns excavation into a rock-hammer job. A builder who works your side of town prices it right the first time. Gunite dominates, and Texas practically invented the modern tanning ledge — expect beach entries, splash pads for kids, swim-up bars, and full outdoor kitchens. Fiberglass is growing fast in the suburbs for its speed, and plunge pools are having a moment on smaller urban lots.
For statewide rankings, city counts and Texas prices, see the Texas gunite pool builders directory, or check the nearby cities below.
Ask for the shell engineering and the gunite crew's track record, read the structural, finish and equipment warranties separately, and compare at least three itemized bids for the same design. Texas has no statewide license for swimming pool contractors, so contractor checks fall on you: confirm general liability and workers' comp certificates, and make sure a licensed electrician pulls the electrical permit. Cities and counties enforce their own pool permits and barrier or fence ordinances, and since the 2021 freeze most builders specify freeze protection on equipment.
A mid-size gunite pool with a plaster finish in Dripping Springs, TX typically runs $75,000–$120,000; small pools run $55,000–$80,000 and large custom designs $120,000–$250,000+. An attached spa adds $15,000–$35,000, a pebble or quartz finish $5,000–$12,000, and decking $8,000–$25,000. Texas pricing is close to the national baseline used for these estimates.
Both are concrete sprayed over a steel cage. Gunite is a dry mix with water added at the nozzle; shotcrete is wet-mixed concrete pumped through the hose. Each produces a strong shell when applied by a good crew — the nozzleman's skill, the mix design and proper curing matter more than which method is used. Ask which your builder uses and what thickness is specified.
Plan on eight to sixteen weeks from excavation to swimming: dig and steel in the first week or two, the shell shot and cured for about four weeks, then tile, coping, plumbing, equipment, decking and finally the plaster and fill. Permits add two to eight weeks before the dig. Builders here work year-round; weather delays are mostly rain.
The concrete shell can last 50 years or more. The plaster finish lasts about 10 to 15 years (quartz and pebble 15 to 20 or more), waterline tile and coping 15 to 25 years, and equipment 8 to 15 years. Balanced water, especially calcium hardness and pH, is what protects the finish.
The prime outdoor season in Dripping Springs runs March through October — roughly 7 months of comfortable unheated swimming — and pools stay open and running year-round rather than being winterized. Summers run 95–105° for weeks at a stretch, and most of the state swims from March into late October. Pools stay open and running through winter — the trade-off is that chlorine demand and evaporation in July and August are among the highest in the nation.
Howdy Pool Co. has the highest customer rating on this Dripping Springs list at 5 stars across 24 reviews. Fossil Creek Pools has the largest review count (222 reviews at 4.9 stars). PoolPad orders the list with a weighted score that combines customer rating and review count, so a long track record counts for more than a handful of scores.
Usually, for the same size: the shell is built on site, the finish is a separate trade, and custom features add up. The gap narrows for large pools and designs with spas and ledges, where fiberglass models are limited. Over 20 years a gunite pool also needs at least one resurfacing, which is part of its true cost.
Texas has no statewide license for swimming pool contractors, so contractor checks fall on you: confirm general liability and workers' comp certificates, and make sure a licensed electrician pulls the electrical permit. Cities and counties enforce their own pool permits and barrier or fence ordinances, and since the 2021 freeze most builders specify freeze protection on equipment.
Check gunite pool builders in cities near Dripping Springs, or open the Texas directory for every listed market in the state.
Claim your free PoolPad listing, check gunite among the pool types you build, and show Dripping Springs homeowners planning a custom pool what you construct.
