Custom gunite construction only. No vinyl, no fiberglass, no prefab shells. Engineered for the Northeast climate, hand-finished by a steady team, and built to look as right in thirty years as it does the day water first hits the tile.
Direct answer: Gedney Pools is a high-end gunite pool builder and contractor serving Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. We design and build custom gunite pools exclusively for luxury residential properties near Fairfield County and throughout the Gold Coast. John C. Gedney III has been building pools since 1989 — 37 years of hands-on luxury pool construction. Gedney Pools LLC is fully licensed and insured (CT HIC #0704131, CT SPB #SPB.0000169).
Searching for "gunite pool contractors near Fairfield County" or "gunite pool builder near me"? You're on the right page. We are both — gunite pool builder and gunite pool contractor are interchangeable terms for the same trade, and Gedney Pools is licensed to do both throughout Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY.
A high-end gunite pool builder is a contractor whose entire practice is organized around custom-engineered, site-specific gunite construction at a level of quality that matches the architecture of luxury homes. The distinction matters because "pool builder" covers an enormous range — from crews installing pre-made vinyl shells in suburban backyards to engineering-led firms designing one-of-a-kind structural pools for waterfront estates. A high-end gunite pool builder lives at the second end of that spectrum.
The work is defined less by what gets installed and more by what is refused. We do not install vinyl liners. We do not drop fiberglass shells. We do not subcontract structural shotcrete to whichever crew is cheapest that week. Every pool is poured by a nozzleman we know personally, finished by masons who have set stone for us for years, and engineered for the soil, water table, and microclimate of the specific property.
Gunite — also called shotcrete when applied pneumatically — is a steel-reinforced, monolithic concrete shell sprayed into a hand-shaped excavation. It is the only pool construction method that gives the architect and homeowner complete freedom of shape, depth, and integrated features. Vanishing edges, raised spas integrated into the bond beam, sun shelves with bubblers, custom water features, deep ends, shallow lounging zones, and curves that follow the contour of the land are all only possible in gunite.
Vinyl-liner pools are constrained to a small library of stock shapes and need full liner replacement every seven to ten years. Fiberglass shells arrive as factory-molded units, limited by what fits on a flatbed — generally a maximum of about 16 feet wide. Both are reasonable products in their own market segments, but neither belongs on a property where the pool needs to do architectural work.
The structural longevity of a properly engineered gunite shell is measured in decades. We routinely service and renovate gunite pools from the 1970s and 1980s that are structurally sound and only need cosmetic refresh. That kind of durability requires the rebar schedule, the bond beam, the waterproofing layer, and the shotcrete itself to all be specified correctly from day one.
"High-end" is one of the most abused words in residential construction. We define it concretely:
Our process is sequenced so each phase informs the next:
Gedney Pools serves the luxury residential markets of Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. Our core service area covers the towns where high-end custom construction is the norm — places where homeowners and architects expect the pool to match the standard of the rest of the property:
Connecticut: Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Weston, Wilton, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Easton, Redding, Rowayton, Stamford, Norwalk.
New York: Rye, Bedford, Scarsdale, Pound Ridge, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Chappaqua, Armonk, Katonah, North Salem, Bronxville, Harrison, New Rochelle, White Plains, and surrounding Westchester towns.
A significant portion of our work is collaborative. We are regularly brought in as the pool specialist on luxury custom-home projects by architects, landscape architects, and general contractors. We are comfortable joining at the concept stage to shape the pool's relationship with the architecture, or taking over an existing design and engineering it for buildability. The collaborative model — where the pool builder is treated as a peer trade alongside the architect and landscape architect, rather than as a late-stage subcontractor — produces the best results.
John C. Gedney III has been building pools personally since 1989 — 37 years of hands-on luxury gunite construction in Fairfield County and Westchester County. That tenure shows up everywhere: in the steady tradespeople who have worked with John for decades, in the gunite shells from the 1990s still performing without renovation, in the architects and landscape architects who call Gedney Pools first when a project demands a real pool builder. Gedney Pools LLC is John's own firm and is the entity that builds every pool you see on this site.
Gedney Pools is a high-end gunite pool builder serving Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. Our service area covers Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Stamford, Ridgefield, Easton, Fairfield, Rye, Bedford, Scarsdale, Pound Ridge, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Chappaqua, and the surrounding luxury markets. John C. Gedney III has been building pools in this region since 1989. Call (203) 302-9920 for a site consultation.
A high-end gunite pool is defined by engineering precision, finish quality, and the integration of architectural design with the home and landscape. The structural shell uses higher-grade rebar schedules, properly designed bond beams, and shotcrete applied by an experienced nozzleman rather than a crew rotating in and out. Finishes are hand-polished plaster or aggregate with stone coping cut and set by experienced masons. Equipment is sized for thirty-year operation, not lowest bid. Above all, the pool is designed in dialogue with the architecture rather than dropped onto the property as a stock rectangle.
High-end gunite pool construction in Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY typically starts around $250,000 for a well-equipped custom installation and ranges to $1,500,000 or more for complex projects with vanishing edges, extensive hardscape, automatic safety covers, pool houses, ledge rock excavation, and challenging site conditions. We provide detailed proposals with transparent pricing after a thorough site evaluation and design consultation.
Gunite is the only construction method that gives you complete freedom of shape, depth, and integrated features such as vanishing edges, raised spas, sun shelves, and custom water features. Vinyl liners are restricted to a small library of pre-made shells and need replacement every seven to ten years. Fiberglass shells arrive as factory-molded units that limit design and cannot exceed roughly 16 feet wide due to transport constraints. For luxury residential construction in the Northeast, gunite is the only material that combines structural durability with architectural freedom.
From signed contract to first swim, a high-end gunite pool typically takes 5 to 9 months. The timeline depends on permitting (which varies by town), site conditions (ledge rock, wetlands, slope), structural complexity (vanishing edges, raised spas, pool houses), and finish selection lead times. We sequence each phase carefully so the property is never sitting idle waiting on a single trade.
Yes. Gedney Pools LLC holds Connecticut Home Improvement Contractor license HIC #0704131 and Connecticut Swimming Pool Builder license SPB #SPB.0000169. We carry full general liability and workers compensation insurance and provide certificates of insurance on request. Verify our licenses at the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection eLicense portal.
Yes. A significant portion of our work is collaborative with architects, landscape architects, and general contractors who bring us in as the pool specialist on luxury custom-home projects. We can come into a project at the concept stage to shape the pool's relationship with the architecture, or take over an existing design and engineer it for buildability. We are comfortable working as a sole pool consultant or as part of a larger design-build team.
Site consultations, design conversations, and collaboration with your architect or landscape architect.
CT HIC #0704131 • SPB #SPB.0000169 • Darien, CT 06820