The pool industry is not operating in the same market it was only a few years ago.

New-pool construction has slowed in many parts of the country. Higher interest rates have raised the threshold for homeowners considering a major backyard project, and builders who spent the pandemic-era boom managing backlogs are now competing for a more deliberate customer.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the opportunities have all dried up. But in a more selective market, builders are increasingly finding opportunity in the millions of backyards where a pool already exists.

With an estimated 10.4 million residential pools already in the United States, compared with roughly 60,000 to 61,000 new in-ground pools being built annually, builders have a much larger installed base to serve through renovation, modernization and equipment upgrades.

The shift is also showing up in industry data. In the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance’s third-quarter 2025 Quarterly Pulse Survey, 42 percent of pool companies reported increased renovation and remodel work, compared with 21 percent that reported a decline.

For Teri Wiltshire, executive director of Master Pools Guild, a global network of independent pool builders, that shift is no longer theoretical. She sees it playing out in conversations with builders operating in markets across the country.

“The shift from new construction to renovation and backyard upgrades is real, and it’s widespread,” Wiltshire said. “I’d say the majority of our members have seen a portion of their business mix move in that direction over the past year.”

Higher interest rates have made a brand-new pool a larger commitment for some consumers. Homeowners who already own pools, however, may still be willing to invest in improving what is already in their backyard.

There is a real difference between those two customers. A homeowner considering a new pool is making a major lifestyle and financing decision. An existing pool owner is often weighing a more immediate question: whether the pool needs resurfacing, whether the equipment should be replaced, whether outdated controls are worth automating or whether the entire backyard has reached the point where an upgrade makes more sense than continued patchwork repairs.

For builders, capturing that work requires more than adding a remodeling service page to their website. It means treating renovation as its own sales and production category, with a different conversation, different customer expectations and often a different path to a signed contract.

“The thriving companies restructured their sales process around renovation and add-on revenue, and they tightened up their operations and overhead and got much more disciplined about lead quality and close rates instead of just focusing on volume,” Wiltshire said. “The ones struggling are largely still running the same playbook they ran back in 2021 and wondering why it’s not working.”

A More Disciplined Business

During periods of rapid demand, inefficiencies can be easier to overlook.

Leads are plentiful. Backlogs stretch for months. Sales teams can afford to spend time with prospects who are not fully qualified because enough work is coming through the door to cover the wasted effort. In that environment, volume can compensate for weaknesses in sales process, follow-up, staffing or overhead.

A more competitive market is less forgiving.

Every unqualified lead, poorly scoped project, delayed delivery and avoidable callback becomes harder to absorb. Builders are taking a closer look at where leads come from, how much time salespeople spend qualifying prospects, which marketing channels produce profitable work and what percentage of proposals turn into signed contracts.

The conversation is shifting away from lead volume alone.

A builder may receive fewer inquiries than during the boom, but if those inquiries are better qualified, better educated and more likely to close, the company can spend less time chasing projects that were never realistic in the first place.

“When times are good, everybody’s a genius,” Wiltshire said. “When times get tighter, you find out which parts of the business are actually working and which ones were being carried by volume.”

Technology can play a role, but Wiltshire sees little value in adopting another platform simply because it promises automation or artificial intelligence.

“Does it save me time or make me money in a way I can actually measure?” she said. “A lot of what’s being pitched right now is a solution looking for a problem.”

That standard applies well beyond software. In the current market, builders are examining which parts of their operation actually contribute to profitable work and which were easier to overlook when demand was doing much of the heavy lifting.

For companies that historically built mostly new pools, that same scrutiny is changing how they approach the customer.

A Different Opportunity in the Existing Backyard

The sheer size of the installed base changes the math for builders willing to pursue it.

A new-pool builder is limited to households prepared to make one of the largest discretionary purchases associated with the home. Remodeling work opens the door to millions of homeowners who have already made that decision and now own a pool that will eventually need work.

Some of those projects begin with necessity. Interior finishes age. Tile and coping deteriorate. Equipment eventually reaches the end of its service life.

Others begin because the pool simply no longer reflects what the homeowner wants from the backyard.

Older pools may have single-speed pumps, dated lighting, basic controls or equipment that predates many of the conveniences now available. A homeowner may want automation, more efficient equipment or a heating system that extends the swimming season. Others may be ready to change the appearance of the pool, add features or rethink the surrounding outdoor space.

That creates a different sales conversation than new construction.

The builder isn’t necessarily selling the homeowner on the idea of owning a pool. The pool is already there. The opportunity is to understand what they dislike about it, what needs to be replaced and what would make them use it more.

The scope can also grow.

A resurfacing inquiry can lead to new tile and coping. Equipment replacement can introduce automation or other upgrades. Once a homeowner begins opening up an aging pool, the conversation may expand into lighting, decking, water features or a more substantial backyard renovation.

That is where Wiltshire’s point about restructuring sales around renovation and add-on revenue becomes particularly relevant. Builders who approach every renovation as a repair estimate may miss opportunities that become apparent when they look at the entire backyard.

At the same time, renovation requires discipline. Not every aging pool needs to become a complete backyard transformation, and not every customer has the budget or desire to take a project that far.

The companies positioned to capture the work still have to qualify the customer, establish a realistic scope and identify which improvements genuinely make sense.

Adapting to the Market That Exists

The shift toward renovation does not mean new-pool construction is going away.

It does mean builders have a much larger market available to them than the annual number of new-pool starts suggests.

With more than 10 million residential pools already in the country, the number of pools entering a natural cycle of resurfacing, equipment replacement and modernization continues to grow. That installed base is not dependent on the next homeowner deciding whether this is finally the year to build a pool.

For builders accustomed to relying heavily on new construction, serving that market may require changes in estimating, sales, marketing, staffing and production. It may also require a different way of thinking about the lifetime value of a customer.

The company that builds or renovates a pool today can potentially remain involved as equipment is replaced, features are added and the backyard changes over time.

Wiltshire sees the larger lesson as one of adaptation rather than waiting for market conditions to recreate the environment builders experienced several years ago.

“What separates builders who are thriving from those who are struggling is whether they treated the slowdown as a signal to change or decided to just grit their teeth and wait it out,” she said.

The market may eventually produce another surge in new construction. In the meantime, the existing pool inventory represents an opportunity measured in millions of backyards.

For builders willing to adjust how they sell and operate, there is still plenty of work already in the ground.

Ready to Take a Deeper Dive?

Our conversation with Teri Wiltshire explored how Master Pools Guild members are responding to a more selective market, including the shift toward renovation, changing sales strategies, lead quality, operational discipline and where builders are finding opportunity.

Listen to the full conversation with Teri Wiltshire on the Pool Magazine Podcast.

There are luxury pools. And then there are Lucas Lagoons projects.

For more than a decade, Lucas Congdon has built a reputation as one of the most recognizable names in high-end custom pool design. Millions of viewers first discovered him through the hit television series Insane Pools, where elaborate grottos, towering waterfalls, hidden caves, massive rock formations, and resort-style backyards became his trademark.

What separated Congdon from many other celebrity pool builders wasn’t simply the scale of the projects. It was the way his pools felt immersive. The environments Lucas Lagoons created rarely looked like conventional backyard swimming pools. They looked more like private resorts hidden inside residential properties — spaces carefully designed to transport homeowners somewhere else entirely.

Over time, that philosophy evolved well beyond the kind of residential work that first made Congdon famous.

Today, Lucas Lagoons has become one of the industry’s go-to firms for immersive luxury aquatic environments, particularly when it comes to one specialty that very few builders in the country tackle at the same level: custom lazy rivers.

Not just residential lazy rivers either.

Commercial ones too.

In recent years, Congdon and his team have steadily expanded into boutique resort work, increasingly elaborate luxury residential compounds, and massive custom aquatic environments that blur the line between private backyard and full-scale destination experience. Along the way, Lucas Lagoons has developed a growing reputation for projects that combine entertainment, engineering, and escapism in ways few builders attempt.

That progression is perhaps best represented by Congdon’s newest feature project — a sprawling tropical-inspired backyard centered around an erupting volcano spa and a winding resort-style lazy river.

Before getting to the volcano project itself, however, Congdon reflected on another milestone build that helped establish Lucas Lagoons as a serious player in the commercial aquatic space: the massive renovation project at The Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Bringing a New Focus to Commercial Pools

When Pool Magazine last spoke with Congdon several years ago, the Christmas Place project was still deep in construction. Even then, it was obvious the scale and complexity of the build represented something very different from a traditional residential project.

“This is a hotel that obviously relies heavily on being open, and this is a heavy-duty construction project,” Congdon said.

Unlike a private residential backyard, the resort remained operational throughout much of the renovation process, forcing Lucas Lagoons to carefully phase construction while working around existing guests, infrastructure, utilities, and structural limitations buried throughout the property.

“There was a big water slide pool that was already there, tons of concrete decking, all kinds of infrastructure for the hotel — drainage lines, power — anything you could imagine was underneath the ground there,” he explained.

The completed project now features a large lazy river, multiple spas, extensive hardscaping, fire features, outdoor gathering areas, and naturalistic rockwork designed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding Tennessee mountain landscape. Congdon said the build also pushed the company creatively in several new directions, including the use of artificial snow effects designed to reinforce the property’s Christmas theme.

“We had never done artificial snow before,” he said. “We collaborated with a lot of different people we hadn’t worked with before and a lot of people that we had. But in the end, what an amazing project.”

The scale of the project also required significant logistical coordination. Congdon and members of his team spent extended periods living in Tennessee throughout the build, balancing the demands of construction with the realities of working inside an active hospitality environment.

“One of my partners Ross, the designer, he was there with his family for quite a while,” Congdon said. “A lot of sacrifice to be able to kind of move into Tennessee.”

The project ultimately became a major turning point for Lucas Lagoons because it demonstrated that the company’s immersive design philosophy could successfully translate into commercial hospitality work without losing the naturalistic aesthetic that made the brand famous in the first place.

Lazy Rivers Now Becoming a Hallmark

As the Christmas Place project gained attention, so did another aspect of Congdon’s work that has increasingly become one of the defining specialties of Lucas Lagoons: luxury lazy rivers.

Most commercial pools are designed around function and capacity. Congdon approaches them from an entirely different perspective.

“We’re trying to bring the sexy back,” he said.

That philosophy has become central to the company’s expansion into boutique resort and hospitality work. Rather than pursuing generic commercial projects, Lucas Lagoons has focused on environments that feel experiential — spaces designed to create atmosphere and emotional impact rather than simply serving as recreational amenities.

According to Congdon, creating those experiences in commercial construction comes with a completely different set of challenges than residential work.

“Commercial’s a different beast,” he explained. “There’s so many rules and regulations, and to be creative it takes a lot of thought because there’s just so many rules.”

Even so, Congdon believes too many commercial pools still feel sterile and uninspired.

“Most commercial pools are pretty plain Jane,” he said. “They’re just big bodies of water. There’s nothing really sexy about them.”

Lazy rivers fundamentally change that dynamic because they transform a swimming pool into an experience rather than simply a body of water. That shift has helped fuel increasing demand among both hospitality clients and luxury homeowners looking to recreate the feeling of a destination resort within a private residential setting.

That growing specialization eventually led to one of the company’s most ambitious and visually striking projects to date: the volcano pool.

This Backyard is Erupting With Creativity

At first glance, the volcano project feels less like a residential backyard and more like a private tropical resort hidden somewhere along the Hawaiian coastline. Towering palms surround a winding lazy river while carved tiki features, dramatic rockwork, immersive lighting, and dense landscaping create an environment that feels cinematic without becoming overproduced.

At the center of it all sits the feature that immediately commands attention: a massive erupting volcano spa designed to look and behave like a natural volcanic formation.

Surprisingly, Congdon says the project did not originally begin with that concept.

“It was starting out kind of a typical Lucas Lagoons with a grotto and a lazy river,” he explained. “The clients had just gone to Hawaii and got all inspired by volcanoes and the tikis and all the faces and stuff.”

Around the same time, Congdon himself had recently traveled to Hawaii and found inspiration in the islands’ volcanic terrain and dramatic natural stone formations. That shared inspiration gradually evolved into one of the most technically ambitious features Lucas Lagoons has ever attempted.

Building a Volcano Spa That Actually Feels Real

The volcano spa sits elevated above the lazy river system like a natural landform emerging from the landscape. Creating something believable, however, required careful restraint.

“We’re very careful not to have things look too themey or fake or contrived,” Congdon said. “Disney’s cool and everything, but we’re not Disney. We like things to really feel authentic.”

The project began with the construction of a raised spa shell positioned roughly five feet above grade. From there, the team built a massive artificial rock structure around it designed to convincingly replicate volcanic stone formations.

Interestingly, the project represented one of Lucas Lagoons’ first major departures from relying almost exclusively on natural stone.

“We’re best known for our natural stone,” Congdon explained. “But the same artist who helped us with the snow in Tennessee helped us carve that rock.”

The realism comes from an enormous amount of detail work. Water from the spa spills through carefully carved lava channels illuminated with embedded red lighting and crushed red glass to simulate glowing molten lava flowing down the surface of the volcano.

“We used this red glass and red lights,” he said. “As the water’s flowing down, it kind of looks like lava moving.”

The volcano even erupts.

A custom blower system periodically builds pressure before releasing bursts of water through the crater opening while integrated misters simulate rising volcanic smoke.

“Every so often it kind of erupts and pushes extra water out of the spa,” Congdon said.

Even the pathway leading to the spa was designed with realism in mind. Rather than using conventional stairs, the team created a winding artificial turf ramp designed to resemble a volcanic trail cutting through the terrain.

“I didn’t want to do stairs coming up because you would never see stairs on a volcano,” he explained.

The result is immersive and dramatic without becoming cartoonish, something Congdon clearly views as an important distinction.

“It looks so real, so authentic,” he said. “It’s not cheesy.”

Engineering the Ultimate Backyard Lazy River

While the volcano spa may be the visual centerpiece of the project, the lazy river itself remains equally impressive from an engineering standpoint.

Congdon says Lucas Lagoons continues taking on increasingly large and sophisticated lazy river projects, including one current build exceeding $10 million that features a 5,000-square-foot grotto, interconnected multi-level pools, acrylic viewing panels, cliff-jumping areas, plunge pools, and extensive resort-style hydraulic systems.

At that scale, the projects function more like private waterparks than traditional residential pools.

For the volcano project, Lucas Lagoons once again utilized Riverflow pump systems to achieve the aggressive current effect that gives the river its authentic resort feel.

“We’ve had a lot of luck with the product,” Congdon said. “It pushes a lot of water.”

According to Congdon, maintaining proper current flow throughout a lazy river requires far more planning than most people realize.

“If people really want the water moving, you really want a pump closer to every 50 to 75 feet,” he explained.

That attention to detail is one of the reasons Lucas Lagoons has increasingly become associated with luxury lazy river design at the highest level of the market.

The Next Evolution of Lucas Lagoons

As Lucas Lagoons projects have continued growing in both complexity and visibility, Congdon says he began noticing a recurring comment online from fans and prospective clients.

“‘If I ever hit the lottery, I’m calling you to build my pool.’”

That recurring sentiment helped inspire the company’s newest initiative: Designer Series Pools.

“These pools are pre-designed,” Congdon explained. “The idea is that all our custom jobs take a while to design and engineer.”

The Designer Series program offers pre-designed Lucas Lagoons pools ranging from roughly $250,000 to $750,000 while utilizing a growing network of authorized contractors around the country to build them locally under Lucas Lagoons guidance and standards.

The model significantly reduces travel, engineering, and logistical expenses while allowing the company to expand nationally without sacrificing quality control.

“When I was dragging my team all around the country building these pools, by the time you pay all the guys and the per diem and the travel, it’s an average of over $100,000 per job,” Congdon said.

The company currently has several authorized contractors operating within the program, with additional builders preparing to join in the near future.

“We started it just over a year ago,” Congdon said. “We already have five authorized contractors, and we’ve got almost ten more ready to go.”

Congdon says the program has allowed Lucas Lagoons to create a system where clients can still experience the company’s signature style and design philosophy while working with trusted builders in their own markets.

“We do our best to vet them all,” he said. “We go through their financials, make sure they’re not going to take a deposit and not be able to finish the job.”

For Congdon, the Designer Series represents more than simply scaling the Lucas Lagoons brand. It represents a way to bring the company’s immersive design philosophy to more homeowners while still maintaining the creativity and authenticity that helped make the brand successful in the first place.

And judging by the volcano pool now gracing the cover of Pool Magazine, Lucas Congdon is still finding new ways to push the boundaries of what luxury pool design can become.

Ready to take a deeper dive?

Listen to our entire discussion with Lucan Congdon on the Pool Magazine Podcast.

In Austin, Texas, a city known for its competitive pool and outdoor living market, Bo Barnett has carved out a reputation for pushing boundaries. As the founder of GBIV Designs, Barnett combines artistry with engineering precision, blending design sensibility with technical know-how.

His introduction to the pool industry came somewhat unexpectedly. “I actually started in the pool business about 24 years ago,” Barnett said. “At the time, I didn’t know much about swimming pools, but I had always been into design and drawing. I got my first job at a big box company that paid me to sell pools, and that’s where I fell in love with the industry.”

After moving to Austin, Barnett co-founded a pool company in 2007. Within a decade, his firm KB Custom Pools ranked among the Top 50 Builders in the U.S. and collected multiple industry awards. But Barnett wasn’t satisfied with simply excelling in the residential market. He wanted GBIV to become a design firm that architects and builders could collaborate with on a national scale.

“As a builder with ‘custom pools’ in the company name, it was hard to get architects and design firms to see me as a peer,” he explained. “That’s when I decided to pivot. With GBIV, we could offer everything from conceptual design to structural and hydraulic engineering—not just builds in central Texas, but resources for projects all over the country.”

This broader vision opened the door to exploring innovative materials, and it was around this point in time that Barnett began championing the use of large-format porcelain tile panels.

Why Porcelain?

At the Coverings trade show in Orlando earlier this year, Barnett’s panel on porcelain drew a crowd of builders eager to hear his perspective. It’s easy to understand why: porcelain is challenging to master, but its potential is enormous.

Barnett’s interest was sparked by limitations he saw in conventional materials. “I got really bored with the one-by-one or one-by-two tiles,” he admitted. “I’d visit these amazing homes, see porcelain panels in the bathrooms, and think—why can’t we use this outside?”

Manufacturers were skeptical, arguing that porcelain wasn’t durable enough outdoors. But Barnett’s curiosity led him overseas. “In Italy, they showed me thin veneer porcelain that looked just like marble but was almost impenetrable to water, resistant to thermal expansion, and built to last,” he said. “That’s when I knew it had potential.”

He tested it on two projects. The results were visually stunning—but the process was riddled with errors. Without the right tools or methods, Barnett and his team faced broken panels, failed adhesion, and financial setbacks. Still, he saw enough promise to keep going.

Lessons From Failure

Barnett doesn’t shy away from recounting those struggles. “The first project was a financial disaster,” he said bluntly. “We broke panels just carrying them into the backyard. We used the wrong blades, the wrong adhesion methods. Out of 11 panels, seven broke. But the end result still looked incredible.”

Instead of giving up, Barnett treated those failures as tuition in a new discipline. He invested in the proper equipment: cutting tables, racks, suction cups, and scoring systems. “It cost us about $6,000 to outfit ourselves to handle the panels correctly,” he recalled. “But once we did, everything changed. Now, breaking a panel is rare. If one breaks, it’s because someone did something wrong.”

The same lesson applied to adhesives. Cementitious methods failed within 60 days, even under ideal conditions. “We followed every guideline—temperature, mixing, application—and still had delamination,” Barnett explained. “Switching to an epoxy system solved everything. Since then, we haven’t had a single failure.”

The Aesthetic Advantage

Beyond durability, porcelain’s biggest appeal lies in aesthetics. It opens creative doors that other materials simply can’t.

“You can create illusions—walls that look like wood, steel, or marble emerging from the water,” Barnett said. “People look at it and can’t believe it’s porcelain. That sense of wonder is part of the storytelling we’re trying to achieve in design.”

He has used porcelain to clad spas, pools, furniture, privacy walls, and even curved surfaces. A standout example is a perimeter overflow pool raised nine feet above grade.

“The entire exterior was wrapped in a three-millimeter Italian porcelain,” Barnett explained. “It almost looks like slate, paired with green glass and gold epoxy grout. The porcelain even flexed around a bow-front radius. From ten feet away, it looks like one solid piece with almost no visible grout lines.”

This visual fluidity is what sets porcelain apart. Large panels eliminate the grid of grout lines that dominate traditional tile installations, giving pools a sleek, monolithic look.

Raising the Industry

What distinguishes Barnett from many of his peers is his willingness to share what he’s learned. “If I hadn’t had mentors early on, I would’ve failed,” he said. “That’s why I’m open about the mistakes we made. If I can help another builder avoid those pitfalls, it lifts the whole industry.”

He encourages builders interested in porcelain to start with education. “The NTCA [National Tile Contractors Association] offers regional classes specific to large-format panels. That’s where I’d begin,” Barnett advised. “After that, reach out to vendors directly. Many of them will help connect you with training and the right products.”

His collaborative mindset extends even to competitors in Austin. “I get calls from builders a mile away asking for advice,” he said. “That’s fine with me. If they get it wrong, it hurts the client and reflects poorly on all of us. There’s enough business out there. We’re better off raising the bar together.”

The Road Ahead

So, will porcelain become mainstream in pool construction? Barnett thinks so—but it won’t happen overnight. “For large-volume builders, the learning curve and upfront investment can be intimidating,” he acknowledged. “But for those who take the time to train their crews, it’s one of the most dynamic materials available. I think within the next decade, we’ll see it adopted much more widely.”

He’s quick to add that porcelain isn’t reserved for high-end builds. “We’ve proven you can use it on an $80,000 pool just as effectively as a $500,000 one,” he said. “That’s why its potential impact is so broad.”

Looking forward, Barnett is intrigued by other materials, like acrylic, and concepts involving optical illusions in water features. But porcelain remains his central focus. “Porcelain works at every level of pool construction,” he emphasized. “That’s why I think it will have a bigger impact than almost anything else coming down the pipeline.”

Redefining What’s Possible With Porcelain

For Barnett, continuous learning is non-negotiable. “If I’m not sharpening my sword, I don’t feel like I’m doing justice to the industry,” he said. “Education has to be the foundation. That’s what allows us to innovate and redefine what’s possible in the backyard.”

As GBIV continues to blend artistry with technical expertise, Barnett’s work with porcelain is proving that luxury pool design is about more than building beautiful spaces—it’s about pushing the industry forward.

“We’re just scratching the surface of what can be done with porcelain,” he said. “And I think that’s what makes this moment so exciting.”

Ready to take a deeper dive?

Listen to our entire conversation with Bo Barnett, owner of GBIV Designs, on the Pool Magazine Podcast.

Photography Credit: Ethan Cooper Photography