Inground pools
Inground pools in the Chicago suburbs.
An inground pool is a concrete structure in your yard with a fence around it, and the town has an opinion about both. We start with the lot, the setbacks and the barrier rules, then dig.
Where the pool can go
Every village sets how far a pool has to sit from the property lines and from the house, and most count the pool and its deck toward how much of the lot can be paved or built on. Easements matter too. You cannot put a pool over a utility easement, and many suburban lots have one running along the back.
We pull the zoning for your lot and look at the plat of survey before anyone sketches a shape. The shape that fits is often not the shape in the brochure.
The barrier rules
Pool barrier rules in the suburbs here are mostly based on the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the residential code. The usual requirements are a barrier at least 48 inches high, gates that close and latch on their own and open away from the pool, and the latch high enough that a small child cannot reach it. Where the house wall forms part of the barrier, doors that open toward the pool need alarms or other protection.
Your village may add to that or set its own fence height. We confirm the local version before the fence goes on the drawing, because the fence is part of the permit, not an extra.
How a concrete pool gets built
Utility locates first. In Illinois that is JULIE, called through 811 before any digging. Then layout, excavation and hauling the spoil out, which on clay soil is a lot of trucks. Then the steel cage and the plumbing for the drains, returns and skimmer, then inspection, then the concrete shell, then tile, coping and deck, then the equipment, then the fill.
The electrical work around a pool is its own set of rules. Everything metal within reach of the water gets bonded together, and the equipment and lights need ground fault protection. It is inspected separately and it is not optional.
Built for winters here
A pool in northern Illinois spends part of every year closed. The plumbing has to be blown out and plugged before the first hard freeze, and a proper safety cover anchored into the deck keeps leaves, snow and children out until spring.
Clay soil and a high water table also matter in spring. A concrete pool should not be drained without checking the groundwater first, because an empty shell can be pushed up by the water around it.
What the work looks like
From the dig to the first fill.
Example photos of each stage, so you can see what the weeks look like. They are not YMC projects, and each one says so.
Where we do this
Inground pools near you.
Pools are suburban work. These are the towns where the lots and the rules make room for one.
Do I need a permit for an inground pool?
Yes, in every suburb we work in. Expect a building permit that covers the pool, the fence or barrier and the electrical, and a zoning review of where the pool sits on the lot. We prepare the submission and pull it in our name.
Do you build pools in the City of Chicago?
We focus our pool work on the suburbs, where the lots have room for one. Most Chicago lots are narrow and the yard behind the house is short, so we spend our Chicago time on kitchens, bathrooms, basements and additions.
How long does an inground pool take to build?
Construction is a matter of weeks once the permit is issued, with time for the concrete to cure built in. The permit and the weather decide the start. Many people plan in winter so the dig can start as early in spring as the ground allows.
Free walkthrough
Twenty minutes at your house.
We look at what you want to change, tell you what the house and the town will allow, and roughly what it involves. Nothing to sign.
Call (773) 900-4815