This isn't a cost. It's an investment.
The figures on this page are real and we don't hide them — that's how AE operates. But we want to be honest about how to read them. Your new pool build isn't a line-item expense; it's an investment in your home's value, your family's daily experience, and a space you'll use for the next twenty to thirty years.
When you compare bids, compare what you're investing in — the spec, the crews, the warranty, the company that will still be standing in year ten — not just the price tag. The lowest bid is almost always the most expensive build over time.
New pool construction in Arizona, 10 phases, one accountable team, every phase inspected.
A new pool in Arizona is a 10-phase build. Each phase has a spec, an inspection, and a payment milestone. This page walks the full process — design through start-up — with the actual timeline, cost bands, and what your builder should be doing at every step. Everything on this page is how AE builds every pool, whether it's an $80,000 family rectangle or a $500,000 vanishing-edge estate build.
Phase 1 — Design & engineering (3–6 weeks)
Site walk, program brief, concept design, 3D renderings, material selection, engineered plan set (structural, plumbing, electrical, drainage). No shovel breaks ground without a stamped plan set.
Phase 2 — Permit & HOA (2–6 weeks)
City building, electrical, plumbing permits. HOA architectural submittal package. AE handles every submittal in-house — you don't chase paperwork.
Phase 3 — Layout & excavation (2–4 days)
Layout painted and homeowner-verified. Utility locates. Excavation to shell profile plus gunite over-dig. Existing irrigation and drainage captured and rerouted (not cut through). Spoils hauled off-site. Access protection on driveways and hardscape.
Phase 4 — Steel & structural (2–3 days)
#3 rebar minimum on 12" centers. Tighter spacing on bond beams, transitions, and load points. Chairs supporting steel off the sub-grade — this is what stops corrosion later. Steel inspected before gunite scheduled.
Phase 5 — Plumbing rough-in (1–2 days)
2" minimum returns, 2.5" suction, sized for future equipment upgrades. All fittings glued and pressure-tested to 25 PSI for 24 hours before shot. If it doesn't hold, we find the leak now — not after finish is on.
Phase 6 — Electrical rough-in & bonding (1–2 days)
Equipment pad wired, GFCI protection specified, pool bonding grid installed (this is the safety system that ties every metal component together — never skipped). Sub-panel sized for future automation and heater expansion.
Phase 7 — Shotcrete/gunite shell (1 day)
6" wall / 6" floor minimum. 4,000 PSI mix. Slump monitored on-site — dry-shot shell is weak shell. Wet-cure schedule for 7 days after shoot. This is the shell that has to last 30+ years.
Phase 8 — Tile & coping (5–7 days)
Waterline tile set on thinset over shell. Coping (travertine, cast stone, natural stone) set with proper expansion joints. Grout matched to tile and sealed.
Phase 9 — Decking (5–14 days)
Sub-base compacted per spec (2–3" ABC minimum for pavers/travertine, 4–6" for driveway loads). 1" sand bedding. Polymeric joint sand. Never quarter-minus under pavers. Drainage graded away from house and pool.
Phase 10 — Finish, equipment, fill, start-up (5–7 days)
Interior finish (PebbleTec, Wet Edge, plaster) applied and water started immediately. Equipment installed and commissioned. Chemistry balanced. 28-day cure program handed to homeowner in writing. Automation programmed. Walk-through and warranty package delivered.
AE payment schedule during construction
- 15% at contract (design & engineering underway).
- 25% at excavation.
- 25% at shotcrete.
- 25% at tile and coping.
- 10% at final start-up.
Common questions.
Start your new pool construction.
Free site walk, program brief, and 3D concept meeting. Line-itemed proposal in 10 business days.
Start My Project PlanWhy this is an investment, not a cost.
An AE backyard is engineered to add daily livability and long-term home value. We publish honest ranges and build to code with a licensed and bonded Arizona crew. AE provides project-specific workmanship and manufacturer-warranty information in the signed agreement. Website summaries are for planning only.
- Licensed, bonded & insured in Arizona. ROC 340966 (R-62) · ROC 341002 (R-3) · ROC 347738 (KA-5) · ROC 211530 (CR-21). Most Arizona contracting work valued at $1,000 or more — or requiring a permit — must be performed by a properly licensed contractor, subject to statutory exemptions. Verify the legal entity, license status, and classification with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
- Real ranges, itemized scope. You see materials, finishes, equipment models, and a line-item budget before you sign — not a one-line "pool — $90,000."
Related reading
More construction-process questions?
Every homeowner question about the build itself lives in the Pool section of the Homeowner FAQ.