If your Highland pool is 15+ years old, chances are the plaster’s rough, the tile’s chipping, or the equipment’s started making noise it didn’t used to. None of that means you need a new pool. A well-scoped remodel gets it feeling new again, without the cost or disruption of a full tear-out.
What gets remodeled in Highland.
Pick one scope or bundle several. Bundling usually saves on mobilization and drain-down charges.
Refinish / replaster
Strip old plaster, repair shell, resurface with pebble, quartz, or classic plaster. 5–10 day scope. $10k–$22k typical.
Waterline tile replacement
Pop chipped or dated tile, clean the bond beam, install new in glass mosaic, ceramic, or natural stone.
Coping replacement
Swap cracked or outdated coping for travertine, bullnose tile, cantilevered concrete, or natural stone.
Deck remodel
Tear-out and replace concrete, pavers, travertine, or tile. Deck-drain and expansion-joint work coordinated.
Equipment upgrade
Variable-speed pump, modern filter, automation, LED lighting, heat pump or gas heater. Usually pays for itself in electricity savings.
Saltwater conversion
Remove or bypass the chlorinator, add a salt cell. Easier maintenance, softer water, better for your skin.
Leak detection & shell repair
Pressure testing, dye testing, cracked-shell repair. We diagnose before we propose.
Full gut remodel
New shape, new depth contours, new features. Sometimes the shell is still sound, and rebuilding everything on top of it makes more sense than starting over.
Highland pool considerations.
We engineer every Highland pool shell to the actual conditions of the lot, not to a generic spec. East Highland and Greenspot hillside lots get engineered shells, proper drainage planning, and retaining-wall integration where slopes warrant it. Valley-floor Highland closer to the Base Line corridor runs more alluvial with isolated clay pockets that vary lot to lot. Foothill terrain runs decomposed granite, weathered bedrock, and caliche pockets. We pull soil data on any project where site conditions don't match what we'd expect from a careful walk-through.
Remodel permits in Highland.
Cosmetic work (replaster, tile, coping) usually needs no permit; gas, electrical, and any shell or plumbing change does. How approvals run here:
The City of Highland Building & Safety Division issues pool and spa permits. Engineering plan check is required on every project. Hillside lots and any project with significant cut-and-fill get separate grading review. Drainage from elevated lots is a standard part of the review. Highland takes runoff seriously. We plan deck drainage and pool overflow routing at design time, not as a permit afterthought. We prepare engineered plans, handle plan check corrections, pull the permit in our name, and coordinate every inspection: excavation, steel, plumbing, deck, and final.
East Highland
Elevated residential with foothill soil and mountain views. These are the Highland lots where a vanishing edge or a raised-wall spillover really pays off. Plan on soil engineering and grading review here.
Greenspot
Established foothill residential with moderate-to-larger lots and a mix of view and non-view orientations. Hillside builds here usually end up built around terraced decking and an outdoor living space.
Highland Springs
Mixed residential character spanning newer tract development and older established blocks. Family pools, raised spas, and remodels of 1980s–90s pools are the typical project mix.
Lower Highland / Base Line corridor
Valley-floor Highland with flatter lots, more alluvial soil, and standard family-pool footprints. HOA pressure is generally lower than foothill master-planned communities.
What to expect from a remodel in Highland.
- Scope proposed around what actually needs work
- Itemized pricing, no vague package remodels
- Lifetime structural warranty on shell repairs
- 3-year Pentair on the equipment set, 1-year California contractor warranty on workmanship
- Most remodels ballparked within a day of seeing photos
- No payment ahead of work completed
Looking to build a brand new pool in Highland rather than remodel? See Highland new construction.
Highland pool remodel, frequently asked.
How much does a pool remodel cost in Highland?
Pool remodel pricing in Highland varies by scope. The actual quote is itemized, written after we walk the property and see what the existing shell, equipment pad, and hardscape are working with. Our ballpark estimator gives you a working range to start from.
How long does a pool remodel take in Highland?
Most Highland remodels take 2 to 4 weeks depending on scope. A refinish/replaster is 5–10 days. Add tile and coping and you're at 10–14 days. A full gut remodel runs 4–8 weeks. We give you a milestone schedule at signing.
Do I need a permit for a pool remodel in Highland?
Cosmetic work (replaster, tile, coping) generally does not require a permit in Highland. Equipment changes usually do if you're modifying gas lines or electrical. Any change that alters the pool shell, depth, or plumbing layout requires a permit. We handle any required submittals in our name.
Can you remodel a pool that's 20+ years old in Highland?
Yes. Most Highland pools we remodel are 15–35 years old. At that age, the shell is almost always still structurally sound. What wears out is the plaster surface, the tile, the coping, and the equipment. A remodel makes a 20-year-old pool look and run like new for a fraction of the cost of replacing it.
Should I remodel or replace my pool in Highland?
If the shell is sound (no major structural cracks or chronic leaks), remodel. The shell was built to last 50+ years and resurfacing every 10–15 years is normal pool ownership. Replace only if the shell has repeated structural failures, the pool is in the wrong place for how you use the yard, or you want a fundamentally different size and shape.
Do you handle equipment upgrades as part of a remodel in Highland?
Yes. We install Pentair variable-speed pumps, modern cartridge or DE filters, IntelliBrite color-change LED lighting, IntelliCenter automation, and IntelliChlor salt systems. Standardizing on the Pentair platform keeps integration clean and warranty paths simple. Equipment upgrades can run as a standalone job (no drain-down required) or bundled into a larger remodel to save on mobilization.
