Fontana Pool Builders: Custom Pool Design, Gunite Construction & Remodeling
Custom-designed gunite and fiberglass pools, pebble resurfacing, spa additions, and full remodels across the Inland Empire. Free 3D design, cobble excavation quoted honestly.
- ✓C-53 Licensed & Insured
- ✓15+ Years in the Inland Empire
- ✓Free 3D Pool Design
- ✓Se Habla Español
Why Fontana Chooses Fontana Pool Builders
- ✓Over 15 years designing and building pools across the Inland Empire
- ✓C-53 Swimming Pool and Spa Contractor licensing, CSLB regulated
- ✓3D design first, so you walk the pool before anyone breaks ground
- ✓Cobble and alluvial excavation quoted as an honest range, not billed later
- ✓Designed for 105-degree summers: shade, deck temperature and lounging depth
- ✓Title 20 compliant variable-speed equipment on every build
- ✓Pool Safety Act features designed in, not bolted on before inspection
- ✓Se habla español
How It Works
1. Design & firm quote
We measure the yard, check City of Fontana setbacks and sun angles, and design your pool in 3D so you see it before anyone digs. The quote is itemized down to the tile, with a real range for cobble excavation.
2. Permits, layout & excavation
We pull the permits, mark utilities, and dig. Alluvial cobble from the Lytle Creek wash means breaker work and haul-off on some lots, and you hear about that before you sign rather than after.
3. Steel, shotcrete, tile & finish
Rebar cage, plumbing, shotcrete shell, roughly a 28-day cure window, then tile, coping, decking, equipment, and the interior finish. Same in-house crew from the dig through plaster startup.
4. Startup, safety sign-off & handover
We fill it, brush daily through plaster startup, balance chemistry against hard Inland Empire water, confirm your two Pool Safety Act features for final inspection, and walk you through the automation.
Our Pool Services in Fontana, CA
Gunite & Shotcrete Pool Construction
Custom gunite pool design and construction in Fontana starts on paper, or more accurately on a screen, because the shape and the layout decide how much of the year the pool actually gets used. We design in 3D first, then build the whole thing in house under C-53 licensing: permits, excavation, rebar, shotcrete, tile, coping, decking, equipment, and plaster startup.
Fiberglass Pool Installation
Fiberglass pool installation in Fontana puts water in the ground in three to six weeks instead of the eight to twelve a gunite build needs, and it is a genuinely good fit for the compact, walled backyards that make up most of the Inland Empire's newer tract housing. The shell arrives molded in one piece, gets craned in, and its nonporous gelcoat resists the calcium scale our hard water leaves on plaster.
Pool Remodeling & Renovation
Pool remodeling in Fontana typically costs a quarter to half of a new build, because the shell is almost always structurally sound and the expensive excavation was paid for decades ago. What has aged out is the plaster, the tile, the coping, a deck that is too hot to stand on, and equipment that predates every efficiency rule California has passed since.
Pool Resurfacing & Pebble Finishes
Pool resurfacing in Fontana runs $6,000 to $15,000 for most residential pools and buys another 10 to 20 years of interior finish depending on the material. The signal is usually underfoot: when the floor works like sandpaper, when the plaster has gone from white to a mottled gray map, or when the staining no longer responds to anything you brush at it, the surface is finished.
Waterline Tile & Coping
Waterline tile replacement and coping work in Fontana deals with the band of your pool that hard Inland Empire water attacks hardest. Local supply carries high calcium, it leaves a chalky white line above the water, and once that scale sets no amount of scrubbing takes it off, so bead blasting is the first thing we test rather than the last thing we suggest.
Pool Decks & Hardscape
Pool deck installation in Fontana is a heat problem first and a design problem second, because gray broom-finish concrete at 108 degrees is genuinely unusable barefoot and turns a beautiful pool into something people look at from the patio door. Light travertine, large-format pavers, and cool-deck acrylic overlays all run meaningfully cooler, and choosing one of them changes how many hours a year your pool actually gets used.
Spa & Hot Tub Installation
Spa and hot tub installation in Fontana gives you the half of the year the pool cannot cover, because Inland Empire winters are mild and clear and a spa gets used from October straight through April. A raised gunite spa spilling into the pool is the most common design we build, and constructing it alongside the pool costs far less than adding one later since it shares filtration, heater, gas line, and automation.
Water Features & Tanning Ledges
Tanning ledge and water feature design in Fontana produces the part of the pool people use on a 108-degree afternoon when swimming laps is the last thing on anyone's mind. A tanning ledge, also called a Baja shelf or sun shelf, is a 6 to 12 inch deep platform at one end of the pool, and two bubblers turn it into the most-occupied square footage in the yard.
LED Pool Lighting
LED pool light installation in Fontana replaces a 300 to 500 watt incandescent fixture with one drawing roughly 40 to 70 watts at the same or better output, and the LED lasts several times longer. In a climate where the pool genuinely comes alive after sunset from June through September, the lights run a lot of hours, and at California electricity rates that difference is money rather than marketing.
Pool Automation & Smart Controls
Pool automation in Fontana is what turns your Title 20 variable-speed pump from a legal requirement into an actual saving, because a variable-speed motor only pays back if it runs long and slow rather than short and hard, and nobody manages that with a mechanical timer. A modern controller schedules the pump at the correct RPM for each task, switches valve actuators between pool and spa, fires the heater from your phone, runs the cleaner, and handles the light shows.
Pool Heaters & Heat Pumps
Pool heater installation in Fontana extends an already long season at both ends, because Inland Empire days warm up fast in March and October while the water stubbornly lags twenty degrees behind the air. We install and service natural gas heaters, electric heat pumps, and solar systems, and the choice comes down to whether you want fast heat or cheap heat.
Variable-Speed Pumps & Filtration
Variable-speed pump installation in Fontana is effectively mandatory rather than optional, because California Title 20 appliance efficiency standards require replacement pool pumps above one total horsepower to be variable speed. The good news is that this is one regulation that pays you back, since running long and slow instead of short and hard typically cuts pump energy use by more than half, and with Inland Empire electricity rates and a pool that circulates most of the year that is a real number on a real bill.
Saltwater Chlorination Systems
Saltwater pool conversion in Fontana costs roughly $70 to $100 a year in salt and ends the routine of hauling chlorine jugs home from the store. A saltwater pool is still a chlorine pool, which surprises people, but the cell generates chlorine on site from water sitting at about 3,200 parts per million salt, roughly a tenth the salinity of seawater and about where you stop noticing it.
Pool Leak Detection & Crack Repair
Pool leak detection in Fontana starts with proving there is actually a leak, because an Inland Empire pool loses roughly a third of an inch a day to evaporation in an August heat wave and that is physics rather than plumbing. Losing an inch a day is a leak.
Weekly Pool Cleaning & Maintenance
Weekly pool service in Fontana runs $120 to $260 a month depending on pool size, tree load, and whether filter cleaning and salt cell descaling are included. A proper visit is not a lap with a net: we test and balance, brush walls and the waterline, empty skimmer and pump baskets, check filter pressure against its clean baseline, inspect the equipment pad, and flag anything trending the wrong way.
Green Pool Cleanup & Acid Washing
Green pool cleanup in Fontana usually takes three to seven days of chemical recovery and rarely requires draining the pool, which is exactly how we prefer to handle it. Draining wastes thousands of gallons at California rates, some jurisdictions restrict where that water can go, and an empty shell baking in 108-degree sun can craze a plaster surface in hours, so chemical recovery is both cheaper for you and safer for the pool.
Pool Safety Fences & Covers
Pool safety fence and cover installation in Fontana is a legal requirement in California, not a preference, and understanding the rule before you build saves real grief at final inspection. Since January 2018 the California Swimming Pool Safety Act has required every new residential pool, and every pool undergoing a permitted remodel, to include at least two drowning-prevention features from an approved list.
Commercial Pool Construction & Service
Commercial pool construction and service in Fontana is judged on turnover rates and compliance paperwork long before anyone comments on the tile. California public pools operate under Title 22 with permits and inspections through county environmental health, which means compliant enclosures, VGB anti-entrapment main drain covers, correct turnover for volume and bather load, working flow meters and gauges, accurate signage, and daily chemical logs that hold up when someone actually reads them.
Pool Demolition & Removal
Pool removal in Fontana is a permitted demolition job with two legitimate approaches, and choosing the wrong one costs you either money now or resale value later. A partial fill-in breaks holes through the floor for drainage, collapses the upper walls into the cavity, and backfills with engineered fill placed and compacted in lifts.
What Fontana Customers Say
The 3D design sold us. They talked us out of a deep end and into a bigger tanning ledge with bubblers, and they were completely right. It is where everyone sits all summer.
Warned us about cobble in the dig before we signed and the excavation landed inside the range they quoted. No change orders, which is not what I expected.
Filled in the old deep end during the remodel and added a shade structure over half the deck. The pool actually gets used in August now instead of just looking nice.
They explained the two safety features the state requires up front and built them in, so final inspection took ten minutes. Pebble finish and travertine coping look great.
Variable speed pump and automation set to run overnight on the off peak rate. The August bill was noticeably lower than the year before and the water is clearer.
Skimmer was cracked and losing water. They pressure tested every line first, opened one small piece of deck, fixed it and patched back cleanly. Straight, honest work.
Fontana Pool Builders is a pool contractor with over 15 years of experience designing, building, and servicing swimming pools for residential and commercial properties in Fontana, CA.
Our work covers custom gunite and shotcrete pool design and construction, fiberglass pool installation, pool remodeling and renovation, resurfacing and replastering, waterline tile and coping, pool decks and hardscape, spa and hot tub installation, tanning ledges and water features, LED pool lighting, pool automation, heaters and heat pumps, variable-speed pumps and cartridge or DE filtration, saltwater chlorination, leak detection and crack repair, green pool recovery, safety fencing and covers, weekly cleaning, and commercial pool construction for hotels, apartment communities, HOAs, and swim schools.
We build with #3 and #4 rebar cages, wet-mix shotcrete and dry-mix gunite, pebble and quartz aggregate interiors, glass and porcelain waterline tile, travertine and cantilever coping, and salt cells sized from 20,000 to 60,000 gallons.
Design is where an Inland Empire pool is won or lost, because our lots are hot, often narrow, and sitting on ground that fights you.
Fontana sits on the Lytle Creek alluvial fan, which means sandy soil packed with river cobble and the occasional boulder that turns a routine dig into hammer and haul-off work, and it means we price excavation as an honest range rather than a hopeful flat figure.
With summer afternoons over 105 degrees, deck surface temperature, shade structures, and shallow lounging areas are design decisions rather than upgrades.
Fontana Pool Builders works under C-53 Swimming Pool and Spa Contractor licensing regulated by the Contractors State License Board, installs Title 20 compliant variable-speed equipment, designs the two California Swimming Pool Safety Act features into every project, is insured and bonded, belongs to the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, and backs every build, remodel, and resurfacing job with a written workmanship warranty.
About Fontana Pool Builders in Fontana, CA
Fontana Pool Builders has spent over 15 years designing and building swimming pools across San Bernardino County and the eastern San Gabriel Valley, from Fontana and Rialto through Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, and Upland and out to Pomona, Claremont, and Glendora.
Design is where we start on every project, because Inland Empire lots tend to be rectangular, walled, and hot, and the difference between a pool that gets used every day and one that sits looking nice is almost always a design decision made before anyone dug anything.
The ground here has opinions. Fontana sits on the Lytle Creek alluvial fan, so soil is typically sand and gravel carrying rounded river cobble, and some lots hit a layer that needs breaker work and extra haul-off. That is a real cost and we quote it as a range instead of pretending the dig is uniform.
Seismically, this is active country between the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Cucamonga fault systems, which is one of several reasons California requires engineered steel schedules, flexible plumbing connections, and properly detailed expansion joints. Heat is the third factor: 105-degree afternoons make deck material, shade, and shallow lounging areas central to the design rather than optional extras.
Everything goes in under C-53 Swimming Pool and Spa Contractor licensing regulated by the Contractors State License Board, with licensed electrical and plumbing trades, Title 20 compliant variable-speed pumps, and the two required California Swimming Pool Safety Act features designed into the project rather than added the week before inspection.
Our service technicians hold the Certified Pool Operator credential from the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, we are insured and bonded, and every construction, remodel, and resurfacing project carries a written workmanship warranty. Se habla espanol and the 3D design is free.
Recent Projects Across the Inland Empire
Service Areas
Fontana Pool Builders serves Fontana, CA and surrounding communities including:
Commercial Pool Design & Construction in Fontana & the Inland Empire
We design, build, remodel, and maintain commercial pools for hotels along the I-10 and I-15 corridors, apartment and condo communities, HOAs, swim schools, fitness centers, and municipal aquatic facilities across San Bernardino County and the eastern San Gabriel Valley.
California public pools operate under Title 22 with permits and inspections through county environmental health, which means VGB-compliant drain covers, correct turnover for the bather load, working flow meters and gauges, and daily chemical logs that survive an inspection. Our CPO-certified techs keep that current so your amenity stays open through a 108-degree August instead of taped shut.
- ✓Hotels along the I-10 and I-15 corridors
- ✓Apartment, condo & HOA communities
- ✓Swim schools, gyms & municipal aquatic centers
- ✓Built to California Title 22 public pool standards
- ✓VGB-compliant main drains & anti-entrapment covers
- ✓CPO-certified weekly service & chemical logs
- ✓ADA pool lifts & zero-entry ramps
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a custom pool cost in Fontana?
Most inground gunite pools in the Inland Empire land between the mid-$55,000s and the low $90,000s once decking, equipment, permits, and the safety features California requires are counted. What moves that number here is rarely the shell.
It is decking square footage, because in a climate with weeks over 105 degrees you want enough shaded, comfortable surface to actually use, and it is excavation, because cobble on the Lytle Creek fan can add real hours. We itemize both so you can see where the money goes and where to trim.
What is the cobble issue people mention with Fontana excavation?
Fontana sits on an alluvial fan built up by Lytle Creek washing material out of the San Gabriel Mountains over thousands of years, so a lot of local soil is sand and gravel packed with rounded river cobble and occasional boulders. Most digs are fine. Some hit a cobble layer that needs a breaker and extra haul-off.
It is not exotic and it is not a disaster, it is time and disposal, and we price it as a range after looking at your lot and any grading history rather than pretending it does not exist.
What are the two safety features California requires?
Since January 2018 the California Swimming Pool Safety Act has required new residential pools, and pools undergoing permitted remodels, to include at least two drowning-prevention features from an approved list. That list includes a compliant enclosure, removable mesh fencing, an ASTM F1346 safety cover, exit alarms on doors leading to the pool, self-closing and self-latching devices on those doors, and pool alarms. We design your two into the project during planning so final inspection is paperwork rather than a scramble.
How hot does it actually get, and does that change the design?
Fontana regularly runs 100 to 110 degrees through July, August, and into September, and that changes several decisions. Deck material matters, because gray broom concrete at those temperatures is unusable barefoot. Shade structures get used more than water features. A tanning ledge with bubblers is worth more here than a waterfall. And equipment sizing matters, because evaporation and chemical demand run high across a season that starts in April and does not really end until November.
Does hard water cause problems on Inland Empire pools?
Yes, and it is worth planning around rather than fighting. Local groundwater and imported supply both run high in calcium and dissolved solids, so scale builds on waterline tile, inside salt cells, and in heat exchangers faster than in soft-water regions. The practical answers are periodic bead blasting of the tile band, descaling the salt cell on a real schedule, and choosing a pebble or quartz interior over plain white plaster because both handle it better and last longer.
Do you service pools you did not build?
Most of our service and remodel work is on other people's pools, including plenty of 1980s and 1990s shells across Fontana, Rialto, Ontario, and Rancho Cucamonga that are structurally sound and simply need new plaster, new tile, and equipment from this decade. Design work, remodels, resurfacing, leak detection, and weekly service are all available whether or not our name is on the original permit.