Cristallo Pools designs and builds custom gunite swimming pools across Delray Beach, and Delray is really two backyards in one city. East of the Intracoastal you have the canal homes of Tropic Isle and the oceanfront blocks of Seagate, where a pool shares the lot with a seawall and a dock. West of town along Lyons Road you have the acreage estates of Stone Creek Ranch, Mizner Country Club, and Addison Reserve, where the pool is one piece of a much larger outdoor compound. We are a licensed Florida pool contractor (CPC1458452, CBC 1255924) and a 2025 PHTA International Award winner, and we build for both Delrays.
The two sides of Delray Beach
Where your home sits changes how the pool is built, what it sits next to, and who has to approve it. These are the parts of Delray we serve, grouped the way the city actually splits.
Coast and canals
The deepwater canal lots of Tropic Isle mean designing the pool around an existing seawall and dock, on the highest water table in the city. Oceanfront and barrier-island lots like Seagate add salt air and coastal flood rules that shape the deck height and the equipment placement. Around Lake Ida, larger lots with no HOA give you more freedom in the design itself.
Estates and country clubs
The acreage estates out here, like the 2.5-acre lots of Stone Creek Ranch, have room for a resort-scale pool, spa, sun shelf, and water features designed as one composition. These enclaves run their own architectural review, and several sit in unincorporated Palm Beach County rather than inside the city, which changes who permits the build.
We serve these communities across Delray Beach. We confirm what your specific address and community require in the consultation.
Everything we build is custom gunite. We do not build fiberglass or vinyl. On a Delray lot that means the pool, spa, sun shelf, deck, and screen enclosure are designed together for the setting, whether that is a seawalled canal yard or an open estate parcel out west. The full scope lives on our New Pool Construction page.
Who actually approves your Delray pool
Delray is not one jurisdiction. Which office signs off on your pool depends on which side of the city line your home sits on, and getting that right at the start is what keeps the build moving.
On every Delray pool, the safety barrier has to meet the Florida Building Code and be shown on the plans before a permit is issued.
What the Delray ground demands
Delray sits on sandy soil over a shallow limestone aquifer, and the water table is high, typically two to five feet down and shallower as you near the coast and the Intracoastal. For a gunite pool that means the excavation usually has to be dewatered while the shell is built, and the shell has to be engineered against the groundwater trying to push it back up. On the canal lots of Tropic Isle, the pool also has to work with the seawall and the dock. On the barrier island and in Seagate, salt air and coastal flood rules shape the deck height and where the equipment sits.
These are conditions we design the shell and the deck around from the first drawing, not problems we run into mid-dig.
How we build it, start to finish
Site visit and design
We walk the lot and account for access, the water table, and any seawall, flood, or review-board limits, then design the pool to your home.
3D design you can see
You see the pool in your actual backyard before anything is dug or submitted for approval.
Approvals and permit
Architectural review where your community requires it, and the city or county permit, run together where we can.
Build
Excavation and dewatering, steel, gunite, plumbing, decking, and equipment, on a schedule we give you up front.
Finish and startup
Interior finish, fill, startup, and a walkthrough of how to run the pool.
What a custom pool actually costs in Delray
We quote your design, and we show you why
Most people start by asking whether a quote they already have is normal. The honest answer is that a custom gunite pool has no flat price, because size and depth, a spa and water features, the interior finish, the amount and type of decking, the screen enclosure, and site access all move the number. A deepwater canal lot in Tropic Isle does not cost the same to build as a half-acre estate lot out west. Instead of a sticker price that means nothing for your yard, we walk you through every cost driver on your own design, so the figure you get is one you can actually measure a quote against. Call us or request a consultation and we will price it against your backyard.
Questions Delray homeowners ask
How do I know if a pool quote I got is reasonable?
Get more than one quote, and make sure each covers the same scope: the shell, the deck, the equipment, the screen enclosure, and the permit. That is where two quotes stop being comparable. When you talk to us we break the price down by driver, so you can line it up against anything else you have been quoted.
Can I even build a pool with Delray's high water table?
Yes. A high water table is normal here and it is a build-method question, not a deal breaker. The excavation is dewatered while the shell goes in, and the shell is engineered against the groundwater. It is the reason the engineering matters more than the brochure.
Who issues the permit for my Delray pool?
It depends on your address. Homes inside the city permit through the City of Delray Beach Building Division at 100 NW 1st Avenue. Many west-Delray estate communities sit in unincorporated Palm Beach County and permit through the county. We pull the right one and manage the inspections.
Do I need my HOA or country club to approve it first?
In most gated communities, yes. Boards in places like Mizner Country Club and Addison Reserve review the pool and backyard design before any government permit. We design to their standards and handle the submittal.
Which features are actually worth it?
It comes down to how you will use the yard. On a canal or coastal lot, the add-ons people weigh most are a spa, a heater for the cooler months, a sun shelf, automation, and a salt system. We will tell you which ones earn their place in your design and which can wait.
Do you build fiberglass or vinyl pools?
No, gunite only. Because gunite is built to your design rather than delivered as a mold, it suits the range Delray throws at us, a tight Tropic Isle canal lot or a wide west-Delray estate yard alike.
Can you build around a canal, seawall, or dock?
Yes. On Tropic Isle and other waterfront lots we design the pool to work with the seawall, the dock, and the coastal setbacks. That is its own skill set on top of the build itself.
How long does a custom pool take to build?
From approved design to startup usually runs a few months. In Delray the calendar depends on where the lot sits: a city permit through Development Services for an in-town or canal lot, or a county permit for the west-Delray estates, each on its own review clock, then build and inspections. You get a real timeline at design, not a guess.
Start your Delray Beach pool project
Call or request a design consultation. We will walk the lot, talk through the design, and lay out the path from drawing to first swim, on your side of Delray.
Nearby areas we build
Cristallo builds across the Palm Beaches, from Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens down through Boynton Beach and Delray. Just north of here we build the same way in Palm Beach Gardens, in communities like BallenIsles and PGA National. You can see that work on our Palm Beach Gardens custom pool builder page.
How to reach us
Our office is at 14701 Walgreens Dr, Suite 1, in Jupiter, near the I-95 and Indiantown Road interchange (I-95 Exit 116). Delray Beach sits about 30 miles south, an easy run down I-95 or Florida's Turnpike. For the downtown and waterfront neighborhoods, exit at Atlantic Avenue and head east toward the Intracoastal, Tropic Isle, and Seagate. For the west-Delray estates, take Atlantic Avenue or Linton Boulevard west to Lyons Road, where Stone Creek Ranch, Mizner Country Club, and Addison Reserve sit. You do not need to come to the office to start. We come to you for the consultation, so call (561) 766-0353 and we will route the visit to your address.
Get directions to our office →Cristallo Pool / Backyard Concepts · Licensed Florida pool contractor CPC1458452, CBC 1255924 · 14701 Walgreens Dr, Suite 1, Jupiter, FL 33478 · (561) 766-0353