Building an Inground Pool in New Orleans: The Complete 2026 Guide

Written by Big Easy Pool Designs

What Makes Pool Building Different Here

Quick Answer: Building an inground pool in the New Orleans area is less about the pool and more about the ground. Groundwater sits high across much of the metro, and the soil is Mississippi delta alluvial, meaning soft and prone to settlement. Those two facts shape excavation, shell selection, backfill, deck construction, and even whether certain designs are practical on a given lot. A builder who treats a metro lot like a lot in a dry region produces problems that show up years later.

The upside is a swim season most of the country would envy. Pools here get used from spring through fall, which changes the return on the investment considerably.

Stage 1: Design and Site Assessment

Before any drawing, the site gets assessed: available space, access for equipment, where utilities run, how the yard drains, and what the ground is likely to do. Setbacks from property lines and structures are checked, along with any easements.

Design then works within those constraints. Shape, depth, and placement all interact with them. Our custom pool design process starts here, and the range of forms is on the pool types page, from a lap pool to an infinity pool.

Stage 2: Permits

Pools require permits, and enclosure requirements apply as a safety matter rather than a preference. Requirements and review times vary between Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, and the other parishes we work in. This stage is frequently the least predictable part of the schedule, so it belongs at the front of planning rather than after design is locked.

Stage 3: Excavation

The dig. On metro lots this is where groundwater becomes everyone’s main character. Depending on the season and the lot, the excavation may need dewatering to stay workable, and the spoil has to go somewhere, which means truck access.

Access is worth emphasizing. On a narrow lot with a side yard barely wide enough to walk, getting equipment to the back is a genuine engineering question and sometimes means removing fencing or working with smaller machines, which costs more and takes longer.

Stage 4: Steel and Shell

For a gunite pool, reinforcing steel is tied to the design shape, then gunite or shotcrete is pneumatically applied to form the shell. It then needs a cure period before the interior finish goes on.

Shell type matters a great deal on this ground, and the comparison is covered in what type of pool material is best.

Stage 5: Plumbing, Equipment, and Electrical

Circulation lines, returns, skimmers, main drain, and any water feature plumbing get installed and pressure tested. The equipment pad is set, and electrical is run by licensed trades with bonding done correctly, which is a safety requirement and gets inspected.

Decide on features now rather than later. Heaters, automation, lighting, and water features are far cheaper to plumb and wire during construction than to retrofit.

Stage 6: Decking

The deck goes in around the shell. In this climate it should be chosen for surface temperature underfoot and slip resistance when wet, not just appearance. Drainage away from the pool and away from the house matters too, since a deck is a large impervious surface on flat ground. Material tradeoffs are covered in landscaping ideas for a pool area.

Stage 7: Interior Finish and Startup

Plaster, aggregate, or tile goes on the interior, then the pool is filled and the water is brought into balance over a startup period. Startup is not a formality; the finish cures in contact with the water, and how the first weeks are handled affects how the surface looks for years.

How Long It Takes

Plan in months. Permitting, weather, inspection scheduling, cure times, and access all add up, and summer thunderstorms reliably cost days. Anyone promising a very short timeline on a metro lot is either not permitting properly or not accounting for our weather.

Then There Is Owning It

A pool is an ongoing responsibility as much as an asset. Water chemistry in our heat and rainfall needs consistent attention, covered in pool water chemistry and care in the Louisiana summer, and storm season has its own routine, covered in hurricane season pool prep. Landscaping around the pool affects maintenance load too, and our post on landscaping ideas for a pool area covers what works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can any lot in the metro take a pool?

Most can, with the design responding to the site. Access, setbacks, utilities, and groundwater set the limits. Small lots often suit a compact design, covered in spools and courtyard pools.

What does it cost?

See choosing the right pool for your needs and budget.

Do I need a fence?

Barrier requirements apply to residential pools and are a safety matter. See our pool services and confirm specifics with your parish.

Will the pool pop out of the ground?

It’s a real risk in high groundwater when a pool is drained improperly. Handled correctly in construction and never drained casually, it’s manageable. See inground pool construction.

Can you work on my existing pool instead?

Yes. See pool remodeling and renovation.

Start With a Site Visit

We’ll look at access, drainage, and what the ground is likely to do, then design to your lot rather than to a catalog.

Big Easy Pool Designs serves the metro and Northshore, including Metairie, Mandeville, and Kenner. See all service areas or call (504) 688-4066.