A pool and spa is the anchor of a backyard, and in San Diego it earns its keep nearly every month of the year. What separates a pool that feels like part of the yard from one that feels dropped in is whether the water, the decking, the hardscape and the planting were designed together or bolted on around a finished shell. As pool and spa builders in San Diego who also design and build the whole backyard, we plan the water and everything around it as one project.
New pool and spa construction, plus pool remodels and resurfacing, integrated with decking, hardscape and landscaping across San Diego County, from a simple pool-and-spa combo to a full backyard built around the water.
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The pool, spa, decking and planting planned as one yard, not a shell dropped into a finished space.
Pool and an attached or standalone spa laid out for how you actually swim, soak and entertain.
The shell is built and shaped around your yard and how you'll use it, not dropped in as a finished box.
Resurfacing, new coping and tile, and reworked decking that bring a tired pool back to life.
Excavation, structural work, soils and the permit process, handled under our general contractor's license.
Deck, coping and the hardscape around the water designed to match, not patched in later.
An outdoor shower by the pool to rinse off before and after, plumbed in during the build.
We meet at your home, measure, talk budget and what you want out of the yard. The in-home consultation is free; your written quote follows in 2-3 days.
You get a clear scope and a written quote: what we build, the materials, and the price. No surprises mid-build.
Our own local crew does the work, from grading and hardscape to turf, walls and kitchens, with one point of contact throughout.
We walk the finished yard together and only call it done when you do.
The pools that feel like they belong are the ones drawn together with the yard around them. Before any shell goes in, we plan the pool and spa alongside the decking, hardscape, grading and planting, so the water sits inside the design instead of the design being fit around a finished pool.
Shape, depth and where the spa lives all follow how you actually plan to swim, soak and entertain, and how your specific lot slopes and drains. We walk you through the choices that fit your site and budget when we scope the project, and put the pool, spa and everything around them into one written plan.
That single-plan approach is the difference between a backyard that feels intentional and one that feels assembled from parts, which is why we design and build the water and its surroundings as one project rather than handing pieces to separate trades.
A spa can relate to a pool in a few different ways, and the choice shapes both the look and the plumbing. An attached, raised spa that spills over into the main pool is the most popular pairing, since it shares equipment and heating and reads as a single sculpted feature. A flush, in-line spa sits level with the pool for a cleaner, more minimal edge.
A standalone spa placed away from the pool, tucked near a patio or fire feature, makes sense when you want a quiet soaking spot separate from the swimming area, or when a portable hot tub is the simpler answer. Attached spas generally cost less to run than a fully separate system because they share plumbing and heat, but a standalone can be the better call depending on how you actually plan to use it. We plan the spa into the design from the start so its placement, jets and spillover are deliberate, not improvised around a finished pool.
Pool pricing has more moving parts than almost any other backyard project, but the big drivers are consistent. Size and depth set the baseline, since more water means more excavation, structure, surface and equipment. How the pool is built and finished matters too, since different builds and finishes sit at different price points. Site access is the quiet factor: a backyard an excavator can reach costs far less to dig than one where equipment has to squeeze through a narrow side yard or the work has to be hand-dug.
Slope and soil change the math on hillside and expansive-clay lots, where retaining and extra engineering come into play before the pool itself. The scope around the water is where a design-build approach shows its value: decking, coping, hardscape, an outdoor kitchen, fire feature or planting are all real line items, and planning them together avoids the surprises that come from bolting them on one at a time. We put every one of these into a single written, itemized quote after seeing your yard, so the number reflects the whole backyard, not just the shell.
In much of the country a pool sits covered and unused for half the year. San Diego’s mild, mostly frost-free climate flips that math: with a heated spa and the region’s long warm season, the water is usable across far more of the year than almost anywhere else, which is a big part of why a pool pays off as a backyard investment here rather than a seasonal one.
That year-round use is also why the space around the water matters so much. Coastal yards deal with marine air that is hard on unsealed metal and equipment, while inland lots run hotter and put more of a premium on shade and cool decking underfoot. A poolside outdoor shower to rinse off salt and chlorine, decking that stays cool in August, and planting that suits a low-water climate all turn a pool from a summer novelty into the center of how the backyard gets used, which is the whole point of designing the water and the yard as one.
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Book My Free ConsultationBefore a single paver moves, we build your yard in 3D. The designs below are real ones we delivered to Sunny Builders clients: you see the layout, the materials and the lighting from every angle, and change your mind before anything is poured. The 3D design and rendering are included when you build the project with us.
We had a great experience with Sunny Builders. They just completed the first project for us, revamping our front yard. They were very efficient; just 2 days ago, our yard had was all weeds and dirt. We left the design to Sunny Builders and they made it look better than we imagined. They did the job quickly and at a very reasonable price with no surprise fees. I would definitely recommend them and we'll be using their services again.
We recently had our side yard completely redone, and the experience with Sunny's Builders was incredible from start to finish. I was a bit nervous at first about hiring a company I found online, but I'm so glad I did. They exceeded every expectation! Our side yard looks incredible, and the entire process was smooth, professional, and stress-free. The team was professional, communicative, and truly cared about every detail. They transformed a space we had ignored for years into something beautiful and functional. We couldn't be happier with the results and highly recommend them to anyone looking for quality work and a stress-free process!
We had a GREAT experience with Sunny Builder's Group! From Rachel, our first contact, to Roei and his crew of workers, these folks did an amazing job accommodating us on short notice and transforming our side yard into a beautiful outdoor living space. They completed the job in only 8 days, from first call and appointment to assess the project, to finishing the job! Roei and his men were honest, professional, and paid great attention to detail in creating a lovely functional area for us to get the most out of our small yard. We would highly recommend them for any job, large or small and will definitely contact them in the future for additional projects!
From the coast to the foothills. Find your city on the plan, or in the list below.
We build across all of San Diego County and Temecula Valley.
A pool-only company builds the shell and leaves the deck, hardscape and planting around it to someone else, which is where a lot of backyards end up looking disconnected. Because we design and build the whole backyard, the pool, spa, decking, hardscape and landscaping are drawn as one plan and built by one accountable team. That means the coping, deck material, planting and grading all relate to the water instead of being fit around a finished shell after the fact.
Yes. We build custom in-ground pools and spas designed around your yard rather than dropped into it, and we plan the water together with the decking, hardscape and planting so the whole backyard reads as one project. When we scope your project we walk you through the options that fit your site, budget and how you want to use the space.
Your project is contracted, scheduled and warranted by us as the general contractor, so there is one company accountable for the whole backyard. The pool itself is built by our crew together with the licensed pool specialists a build like this calls for, all coordinated under our contract. Everything around the water, the decking, hardscape, planting and outdoor living, is built by our own crews.
Yes. Alongside new construction we take on pool remodels: resurfacing a worn plaster or pebble finish, replacing coping and waterline tile, reshaping steps or benches, and rebuilding the decking and hardscape around a pool that has aged out of the yard it sits in. A remodel is often where the biggest visible change per dollar is, especially when the shell is structurally sound and it is the surfaces and the surroundings that have dated. We look at the actual condition of the shell, surface and equipment before recommending a resurface over a rebuild.
Both. We build the spa as part of the pool build rather than dropping it in afterwards. A spa can be attached to the pool, often raised with a spillover into the main water so it shares equipment and reads as one sculpted feature, or it can stand alone as a separate soaking spot elsewhere in the yard. Attached spas are the more common choice with a new pool since they share plumbing and heating, but the right answer depends on your yard's layout and how you plan to use each one. Either way the spa is planned into the design from the start.
Yes. A poolside outdoor shower is one of the most practical add-ons to a pool project, giving swimmers a place to rinse off chlorine or salt water and sand before heading inside. Because it needs a water supply and drainage, it is far easier to plumb during the build than to retrofit later. We can plan an outdoor shower into the deck or an adjacent wall as part of the overall design.
Yes, and it is the core of how we work. The deck, coping, surrounding hardscape and planting are designed alongside the pool as one backyard, not handed off to separate trades. The pool decking itself, cool underfoot and slip-resistant when wet, is planned with the pool from the first sketch so the surface, drainage and edge details all work together. Designing the water and everything around it together is the difference between a backyard that feels intentional and one that feels assembled from parts.
Yes. A new in-ground pool is permitted, engineered work, and the requirements scale with your site: structural design, soils considerations and setback rules all come into play, and hillside or sloped lots can add engineering beyond a flat yard. Barrier and safety-fencing rules also apply. We handle the permit and engineering process as part of the project and confirm what your specific lot and jurisdiction require before design is final.
Yes. San Diego has no shortage of sloped and hillside backyards, and pools get built on them regularly with the engineering, retaining and grading the grade calls for. A slope changes the structural and drainage approach and usually the cost, but it also often comes with the kind of view that makes the pool worth building there. We evaluate the actual grade on-site before scoping the structural and retaining work.
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