Illinois · Gunite & Concrete Pool Builders · Updated 2026
24 gunite pool builders across Illinois — 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. City lists cover 36 Illinois markets.
The order uses a weighted mix of customer rating and review count; open a city below for the full local list. Confirm current credentials, availability and scope directly.
Choose a local list for customer ratings, review counts, 2026 prices and the questions to ask. Cities are sorted by listed company count.
A mid-size gunite pool (about 16×32) with a standard plaster finish in Illinois typically runs $82,500–$132,000. Spas, premium finishes, features and decking are where custom pools climb from there:
| Job | Typical Illinois price |
|---|---|
| Small gunite pool (about 12×24), plaster finish | $60,500–$88,000 |
| Mid-size gunite pool (about 16×32) | $82,500–$132,000 |
| Large or elaborate custom pool | $132,000–$275,000+ |
| Attached gunite spa with spillover | $16,500–$38,500 |
| Pebble or quartz finish upgrade | $5,500–$13,000 |
| Tanning ledge or beach entry | $3,500–$9,000 |
| Water features, lighting, fire bowls | $2,000–$16,500 |
| Decking and coping | $9,000–$27,500 |
| Rock or hard-dig excavation allowance | $3,500–$16,500 |
| Permits, engineering, soils report | $900–$4,400 |
Illinois pricing is above the national baseline used for these estimates, mainly on labor and permitting. 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.
PoolPad tracks 24 gunite pool builders across Illinois, with city lists for 36 markets. 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.
Heavy clay dominates the region — it holds water and moves with moisture, so drainage design, compacted backfill, and proper deck sub-base separate clean builds from heaved concrete. Frost-depth plumbing is standard, and older-suburb lots put a premium on access planning. Vinyl liner leads on value; gunite owns the North Shore and western estate corridors. Automatic covers are close to standard on new builds, and fiberglass keeps growing for speed inside the short season.
The largest listed markets are Arlington Heights (13 companies), Bartlett (13 companies), Carol Stream (13 companies).
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. Illinois licenses trades such as plumbing and electrical at the state level while general residential licensing runs through municipalities. Chicagoland suburbs keep different permit schedules, so ask for recent projects in your village. Residential-code barrier requirements are checked at inspection.
A mid-size gunite pool with a plaster finish in Illinois, IL typically runs $82,500–$132,000; small pools run $60,500–$88,000 and large custom designs $132,000–$275,000+. An attached spa adds $16,500–$38,500, a pebble or quartz finish $5,500–$13,000, and decking $9,000–$27,500. Illinois pricing is above the national baseline used for these estimates, mainly on labor and permitting.
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. Freezing weather pauses shell and plaster work, so most builds are scheduled for the warm months.
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 outdoor season in Illinois runs late May through mid-September — about 4 months unheated. A full professional winterization each fall protects plumbing and equipment through the freeze, and spring openings cluster into the same few weeks. Late May through mid-September unheated; heaters are near-universal because owners want their money's worth. Winters are long and hard-freezing, with lake-effect intensity near the shore — the fall close is sacred here.
Icon Outdoors has the highest customer rating on this Illinois list at 5 stars across 17 reviews. Barrington Pools Inc. has the largest review count (96 reviews at 4 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.
Illinois licenses trades such as plumbing and electrical at the state level while general residential licensing runs through municipalities. Chicagoland suburbs keep different permit schedules, so ask for recent projects in your village. Residential-code barrier requirements are checked at inspection.
If your property is near a state line, check the neighboring directories too.
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