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Pool, spa, and pergola-shaded patio behind a Redondo Beach custom home by DECOMA Industries

Residential

Pool and Spa Construction in the South Bay

More than 1,000 pools built. Custom gunite pools and spas designed with the rest of the backyard, with soils, engineering, permits, and barrier law handled.

Why pools

Site and Soils Set the Budget

Two pools of identical size on different South Bay lots can differ enormously in cost, and the reason is almost always the site rather than the pool. A flat lot with street access and stable soil is straightforward. A sloped peninsula lot needs retaining and engineered structure to hold the shell; a lot with restricted access may need equipment craned in over the house; and building anywhere in a landslide-sensitive area on the peninsula brings geotechnical investigation into the project before design is finalised.

We get soils and access assessed early, because these are the factors that move a budget by tens of thousands, and finding them after design is the most expensive possible sequence.

Safety Compliance Is Part of the Permit

California requires new residential pools and spas to include drowning-prevention safety features, and the permit will not final without them. Isolation fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates is the most common route; approved safety covers, alarms, and other listed measures also qualify. Suction outlets must meet federal entrapment-avoidance standards. None of this is optional and all of it is cheaper designed in than retrofitted.

Remodels and Equipment

Much of what we do on existing pools is replaster, retile, coping, and equipment replacement. Modern variable-speed pumps are a code requirement for replacements in California and pay back through markedly lower running cost. Older pools frequently need plumbing and bonding brought current at the same time — bonding in particular is regularly found deficient on pools of a certain age.

Layout Costs Nothing Extra

A pool in the right place costs the same to build as a pool in the wrong one. Most of the bad backyards we're asked to fix were laid out badly: a spa too far from the house to use in winter, a pool in afternoon shade, a kitchen you have to walk around everything to reach. We model the pool in 3D with the house and the rest of the yard before engineering, so the layout is right before it's expensive. See how it fits together on our outdoor living page.

What the Work Covers

  • Soils, access, and slope assessment before design is fixed.
  • Structural engineering for hillside and slide-sensitive lots.
  • Excavation, steel, plumbing, gunite or shotcrete shell, tile, coping, and finish.
  • Code-compliant barrier, gate, alarm, and entrapment-avoidance provisions.
  • Variable-speed equipment, heaters, and automation.
  • Replaster, retile, and equipment replacement on existing pools.
  • Permits and inspections through the relevant South Bay jurisdiction.

What you get

Everything we deliver.

  • 01

    Custom gunite pools & spas

    Shell engineered to the soils report, steel, plumbing, tile, coping, and plaster or pebble finish. Vanishing edges, beach entries, and raised spas where the site allows.

  • 02

    Designed with the whole yard

    The pool is placed in the 3D model with the house, kitchen, and lounge, in the right sun and an easy walk from the back door. Layout is where most backyards go wrong.

  • 03

    Water & fire features

    Spillovers, sheer descents, fire bowls, and walkways across the water with fire alongside. Slides and lazy rivers engineered in, not bolted on.

  • 04

    Equipment & automation

    Variable-speed pumps (required by California code), heaters, salt or chlorine, in-floor cleaning, and app control, on a pad placed out of sight.

  • 05

    Safety & barrier compliance

    Isolation fencing, self-closing gates, alarms or covers, and anti-entrapment drains that meet California's drowning-prevention law. The permit won't final without them.

  • 06

    Remodels & multifamily pools

    Replaster, retile, coping, and equipment upgrades on existing pools, including apartment and HOA pools brought up to current safety code.

From the field

Pools we've built.

Recent photos from current DECOMA jobs — in progress and finished, not stock.

  • Custom pool with stone-clad surround, flagstone deck, and palm-shaded patio seating
    Redondo Beach: stone-clad pool with a flagstone deck.
  • Covered patio framing an infinity pool, lawn, and ocean horizon
    Rolling Hills Estates: infinity edge toward the ocean.
  • Rectangular pool and spa with fire-pit seating and turf-lined pavers
    Palos Verdes Estates: pool, spa, and fire-pit lounge.
  • Pool and spa framed by a stucco rear facade and French-door covered porch
    Redondo Beach: spa set right off the covered porch.

How we run it

Scope to sign-off.

  1. 01

    Site, survey & soils

    Access, setbacks, slope, and a soils report. These set the budget before design does.

  2. 02

    Design in 3D

    Pool, spa, decking, and surroundings modeled with the house so the layout works before anything is engineered.

  3. 03

    Engineering & permit

    Structural calcs for the shell, and retaining where there's grade. Then city plan check, worked through to approval.

  4. 04

    Build & startup

    Excavation, steel, shell, tile and coping, decking, and equipment. Then startup, water chemistry, and a walkthrough of how to run it.

Why DECOMA

One license, three disciplines, forty years.

Family-run South Bay general contractor since 1978. We design, build, and manage — under one license — so the team you start with is the team that hands you keys and the team that answers the phone when something needs fixing in year ten.

Years building
48+
Projects delivered
3,000+
Repeat clients
300+
CSLB Class
A/B

FAQ

Common questions.

How many pools has DECOMA built?
More than 1,000, across the South Bay and greater Los Angeles: backyard pools and spas, hillside and vanishing-edge pools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and apartment and HOA pools.
How much does a new pool cost in the South Bay?
A new in-ground pool starts at roughly $100,000, and that's the pool alone, with coping and no decking or other amenities. Site access, soils, slope, engineering, and features like spas, vanishing edges, and fire move it from there. We give you a real range once the design is drawn.
How long does it take to build a pool?
Design, soils, engineering, and permits usually take a few months before excavation. Construction of the pool itself typically runs three to four months, and longer when it's part of a full backyard with hardscape, a kitchen, and landscaping.
Can I fit a pool on my lot?
Setbacks, easements, slope, and access decide that. Bigger lots in Palos Verdes, South Redondo, and South and West Torrance usually fit a full pool and spa. On tight beach lots, a plunge pool or a spa is often the better answer. A survey tells us exactly what fits.
What safety features does California require?
New residential pools and spas need drowning-prevention measures, such as an isolation fence with self-closing, self-latching gates, an approved safety cover, or listed alarms, plus anti-entrapment drain covers. The final inspection won't pass without them.
Do you also renovate existing pools?
Yes. That includes replaster, retile, new coping, equipment upgrades, and bringing bonding and safety features up to current code, for homes and for apartment and HOA pools.
Do you offer pool maintenance?
We design and build. For weekly service, we hand off to a local pool service company and stay involved on anything under warranty.

Service areas

Pools across the South Bay.

Born in Harbor City, working across LA County since 1978. Same crew, same license number, same shop at 25941 Frampton Ave, Harbor City.

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One business day for a scope, timeline, and budget range. CSLB #375508 A/B.

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