The steps, and how long each takes
| Step | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| The visit and the design | A free visit, then your written price | Jason walks the yard, checks crane access, setbacks and easements, and helps you pick the shell. |
| Drawings | About 2 weeks | A drafter who specializes in pools draws the site plan and equipment, including gas sizing for a heater. |
| City review | 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the city | Most cities take about two weeks; corrections add about two more. Your HOA approves first if you have one. |
| The shell | Days to about 8 weeks | If the dealer has your model, days. If it's ordered on its own, up to about eight weeks. |
| The dig | A few days | Every utility line located first, including private sprinkler and power lines Blue Stakes won't mark. |
| The crane set | One day | The shell is lifted in, set on a level bed of crushed stone, and checked for level. |
| Fill and backfill | Days | Water goes in while stone or sand goes around the outside, rising together so the walls stay straight. |
| Plumbing, equipment, deck | A week or two | Licensed electricians and gas fitters do the electrical and gas work, and the bonding is inspected before the deck covers it. |
| Cover, inspection, handover | The last piece | The automatic cover is usually the last thing installed. Then final inspection and a family walk-through. |
Timing is our own experience and plan, not a promise for every yard. Most of the calendar is paperwork and delivery; the work in your yard takes weeks.
How the shell goes in
We follow Latham's installation guide and the shell's independent code evaluation (ICC-ES ESR-2014). In outline:
- The hole is dug larger than the shell, so there's room to bed and backfill it properly.
- The base is about 4 in. of clean, crushed angular stone or sand, leveled before the shell arrives. Latham's guide also describes a sump at the deep end: perforated pipe to an 8-in. standpipe, a way to check and relieve groundwater later.
- The set. The shell is lifted in by crane, using a spreader bar for wide shells, and reset as many times as it takes to sit right and level.
- Fill and backfill together. Water goes into the pool while backfill goes around it, kept a few inches below the water as both rise. Doing this right keeps the walls straight, which also matters for the cover track.
- Plumbing in 2-in. Schedule 40 PVC on most pools, designed to the drain-entrapment standard.
- The bond beam and deck go in after the backfill, on a gravel base and sloped away from the pool.
When the ground is wet or clay
ESR-2014 lets a shell go in without a site soils investigation only if the dig finds none of these: groundwater, uncompacted fill, expansive clay, an unstable slope, or a risk to a nearby structure. If it finds one, the work stops until a design professional has looked at the site. Parts of the Salt Lake Valley have exactly these conditions, so we don't promise "no engineering" before we've seen your ground. Some cities want an engineer regardless: Herriman asks for stamped plans and a soils report after the dig, while Bluffdale accepts the ICC-ES report in place of a stamp.
Getting a 16-ft shell to your street
Anything wider than 8½ ft is an oversize load in Utah and needs a state permit. A 16-ft shell needs a pilot car on the freeway, can only move in daylight, and can't travel during weekday rush hours (6–9 a.m. and 3:30–6 p.m.) in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties or in Utah County north of I-15 Exit 261, and never in snow or ice. The hauler handles the permit; we schedule the dig and the crane around it.
What slows a pool down
- City corrections. Each round adds about two weeks. Clean drawings are the best defense.
- Shell lead time. Picking a shell the dealer stocks can save weeks.
- The cover. It's made to your pool's actual measurements, so it's usually the last piece in.
- Weather. Snow stops deliveries, and cold rules apply to the concrete deck.
- Change orders. Wanting a built-in spa or a different shell after yours is ordered can mean starting over, and a slide added late means re-planning the deck. Decide before you sign.