Astorga is a custom pool builder serving Houston and the communities around it. We design and build gunite pools, pool and spa combinations, and the decking and outdoor living that go with them. Every one is designed for a specific lot, engineered for Gulf Coast clay soils, and delivered under a written scope with one accountable point of contact. We carry the permit and HOA review for you, and we publish what a pool costs in Houston so the budget conversation starts honest.
Designed for your lot, not a catalog
Geometric or freeform, tanning ledge or bench seating, integrated spa or clean lap lines. The right design starts with setbacks, easements, trees, drainage, sun path, and how your family actually uses the yard. That’s why our process starts with design, not a price sheet. If you are still weighing shell types, our gunite vs. fiberglass comparison explains the tradeoffs honestly, and smaller yards should see our small and plunge pools page. The styles we build toward are in the design gallery.
Built for Houston conditions
- Expansive clay soils call for structural engineering that accounts for seasonal soil movement. What Houston clay does to a pool explains the engineering, with sources.
- Rain and drainage mean deck slope, area drains, and swales designed for Gulf Coast storms.
- Heat shapes surface materials, shade, and equipment, all selected for August afternoons.
- Access gets measured first: gates, side yards, easements, and utilities, before anything is promised.
- Permits and HOAs are sequenced into the plan with honest expectations.
Why we build gunite exclusively
Gunite is concrete applied in place over an engineered steel cage, which means the shape, depth, ledges, and spa are designed for your exact lot instead of chosen from a factory catalog. On Gulf Coast clay that matters twice: the structure is engineered per site for seasonal soil movement, and the shell is generational, with an interior finish that renews instead of a mold that ages.
Fiberglass has honest advantages, mainly speed, and we say so plainly in the comparison. We build gunite because our work is custom design, and a catalog shell cannot be one.
The choices that make a pool custom
Custom means the decisions are yours, which is only useful if you know what the decisions are. These are the ones that change how a pool looks, how it runs, and what it costs.
- Shape and depth. Geometric lines suit the newer Houston-area architecture; freeform suits a family lot where lawn stays in the picture. Depth follows use. A pool built for standing around in with friends is a different structure from one built to dive into.
- How you get in. A tanning ledge, an entry bench, or steps taken across a corner. On most family pools this is the most-used square footage in the whole yard, and it is the easiest thing to under-size on a plan that looks fine on paper.
- The spa. An integrated spa shares the pool shell and its equipment and usually spills into the water. That is the arrangement we plan toward by default, because the engineering and the running costs both work out better. Sizes and edge details are on the pool and spa page.
- Interior finish. Plaster is the traditional surface. Aggregate and pebble finishes cost more at the start and go longer before they need renewing. It is also the one choice you feel underfoot on every single swim, which is worth more thought than it usually gets.
- Waterline tile and coping. The band at the water and the edge you sit on. Tile ranges from standard ceramic through glass and stone, and the coping profile changes how the pool reads when you look at it from inside the house.
- Decking. Product, finish, and square footage. Decking is often the largest single surface in the project, so the material decision moves the budget further than people expect, and the square footage beyond any included area is worth pinning down in writing.
- Water and fire features. Spillways, sheer descents, bubblers, water walls, fire bowls, linear fire features. Each one needs its own plumbing, gas line, or electrical run, so they belong in the plan early. Added later, they mean opening finished work back up.
- Equipment and automation. Pump, filter, heater, sanitizing method, and the controller that runs them. This is the part of a pool where model numbers matter more than categories, because two pools described with identical words can carry very different hardware. Astorga is a Pentair Partner, and Pentair is the equipment we specify.
- Lighting. In-water and landscape lighting decide whether the yard is usable after dark, which in a Houston summer is when most people actually want to be outside.
None of this has to be settled at a first consultation. It does have to be settled before a contract, in writing, which is what the design phase is for. The process page shows where each decision falls, and the cost page covers what each one does to the number.
From design to first swim
Design and construction are one job here, run by one team, in this order:
- Consultation. A site walk and an honest conversation about goals, constraints, budget expectations, access, drainage, trees, and utilities.
- Design. The layout is developed for your lot, working from setbacks, easements, sun path, sight lines, and how your family will use the space. You approve the design and the written scope.
- Engineering and permits. Structural engineering for Houston soils, permit applications to the city or county, and the HOA submission, sequenced and tracked.
- Construction. Excavation, steel, plumbing, gunite, tile and coping, decking, equipment, and plaster, with a walkthrough at each milestone.
- Startup and orientation. Water chemistry, equipment and automation setup, and a full walkthrough of your system.
- Aftercare. Documentation, warranty registrations, and the same point of contact after the first swim.
The process page shows what you decide at each phase and what can extend it.
Work it out before you call
Most of the questions that decide a pool can be answered before you talk to any builder. These are the ones homeowners ask us most:
- How much does a pool cost in Houston? Published ranges with sources, and what moves them.
- What does adding a spa cost? Pool-only against pool and spa, honestly.
- What size pool fits my backyard? How to measure your buildable area.
- Who approves a pool here? Permits and HOA review, by jurisdiction.
- What should a quote include? Inclusions, and the exclusions that matter more.
- When should I start? What the weather record and permit calendars say.
Everything else is in the Houston pool building FAQ.
What shapes the design
Size and perimeter, interior finish, decking, equipment and automation, water features, and the spa decision all move the budget. Published Houston-area builder pricing in 2026 generally starts around $45,000 to $65,000 for entry-level gunite pools and passes $125,000 with spas, premium finishes, and outdoor living. Our own pool and spa packages start at $60,000. We break down what moves the number, with sources, on our Houston pool cost page.
What happens when you reach out
A consultation is a site walk and a conversation about your goals, your lot’s realities, and whether we’re the right fit. Read how the full process runs, phase by phase, including what you decide at each step.
Common questions
Why gunite instead of fiberglass?
Gunite (concrete) pools are built in place, so shape, depth, ledges, and spas are fully custom, and they handle Houston’s expansive clay soils well when properly engineered. Fiberglass shells install faster but come in fixed shapes and sizes. We build gunite because our work is custom design.
Is Astorga the right fit for my project?
We’re the right fit for homeowners who want a designed, engineered custom pool with a written scope and one accountable point of contact, and who value clear communication over the lowest teaser price. If a consultation shows we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so.
What does ongoing pool maintenance involve?
Weekly chemistry and cleaning, seasonal equipment checks, and periodic filter service, done yourself or by a service company. At startup we walk you through the system, set the automation, and hand over documentation so you know exactly what your pool needs.
Flexible Financing for Your Backyard Vision
Astorga Outdoor Living is working to provide financing options for qualified homeowners through independent third-party financing providers. Financing may be available for custom pools, remodeling, landscaping, patios, outdoor kitchens, and complete outdoor living projects.
Financing is provided by independent third-party lenders and is subject to credit approval, lender terms, project eligibility, and contractor approval. Astorga Outdoor Living is not a lender and does not guarantee financing, rates, terms, loan amounts, or approval.
Start with your lot, not a price sheet.
A consultation is a site walk and an honest conversation about your goals, your lot’s realities, and whether we are the right fit. You leave with the next step, even if the next step is not us.
Prefer to ask a question first? Use the contact page.
Where we build
We work across Greater Houston: Cypress, Tomball, Katy, Fulshear, Kingwood, Humble, Memorial, League City & Clear Lake, Pearland, and Richmond. Each area page covers the local permitting, soil, and neighborhood realities that shape a project there. See all service areas.