Luxury pool builder in Phoenix: custom pools and remodels

Phoenix spans every kind of setting, from mid-century homes in Arcadia to hillside properties along the mountain preserves. Morris Pools designs and builds custom concrete pools for Phoenix homes, and transforms existing ones, many of them decades old, into pools that suit the way the house is lived in today. We have done it since December 2010 as a family-owned team based in the East Valley of Arizona, about 30 minutes from central Phoenix.

Pool remodeling in Phoenix

Many Phoenix pools were built decades ago. A remodel can restore a mid-century pool's geometric lines while replacing everything behind them, or change the pool entirely: depth conversions, structural changes, new decking and coping, a modern interior finish and tile, water features, lighting and automation.

A remodel can combine several services, each with its own page: resurfacing with a pebble or premium finish, tile and coping replacement, a new pool deck and equipment and automation upgrades. Every remodel is evaluated on site, quoted individually and pressure-tested, and we'll tell you honestly when removing the pool and starting fresh is the better path. Explore pool remodeling in Phoenix.

Older pools and today's barrier rules

Phoenix lets pools permitted before May 4, 1990 keep an existing inner barrier at least 4 feet high, but any newly installed barrier must meet the current 5-foot standard. Once a barrier is approved it stays for the life of the pool, and enlarging, altering, removing or replacing it requires a new permit. If a remodel touches any part of the barrier, the new work has to meet today's code, so we check it before you commit to anything.

Between the house and the pool, the City allows three approaches: an inner barrier fence around the pool, the house wall itself with compliant doors and windows, or a motorized safety cover that meets ASTM F1346. We know covers well: one of our pools won a PHTA Bronze for automatic covers in 2023.

New custom pools

For new construction, we design with the architecture and the site: vanishing edges toward the mountain preserves, raised spas with sheer descents, reflecting pools, fire features and complete outdoor living spaces. We collaborate with architects, interior designers, home builders and landscape teams, and we build only in concrete, to a dead-level bond beam, tile set to laser-checked elevations and a final wet test.

Geometric design suits much of Phoenix, from mid-century Arcadia to modern homes in the north. It is also where our work has been recognized most often: four PHTA awards for geometric pools, most recently the 2026 Silver for a geometric pool in dark water and stone.

Across the city

Phoenix is not one market. Mid-century homes in Arcadia, Encanto-Palmcroft and central Phoenix look right with geometric pools, clean tile lines and simple coping, which often means a remodel that restores the pool's original character while replacing its equipment. Larger lots in North Central and Moon Valley have room for a pool that anchors a full outdoor living space, with a spa, shade and an outdoor kitchen. Hillside properties beside the Phoenix Mountains Preserve suit a vanishing edge and need hillside review first, and newer homes in Desert Ridge and Tatum Ranch are often ready for their first custom pool. We design for the house and the lot in front of us.

Signature work

• Vanishing-edge and perimeter-overflow pools
• Raised and infinity-edge spas, sheer descents and water walls
• Geometric pools that suit mid-century and modern architecture
• Fire features, cabanas, outdoor kitchens and shade
• Lighting, equipment and automation

Permits, inspections and hillside lots

Permits. Phoenix handles residential pool and spa permits through its Planning & Development Department, and the application can be submitted by email. A plot plan and, in many cases, a property survey are part of it. We prepare the submittal for you.

Inspections. The City inspects every new pool before gunite and again before plaster, when barrier compliance is checked. The perimeter fence must be 5 feet high, measured from the outside.

Hillside lots. The Phoenix Hillside Ordinance, adopted in 1972, applies to properties with a slope of 10% or more. Hillside review covers height, lot coverage and disturbance, and an approved grading and drainage plan is required before building plans are reviewed.

Soil. Caliche is common in Valley soils and can make excavation slower, so we allow for it in the schedule.

We handle the permits, inspections and HOA approvals, and build each of these steps into the timeline from day one.

Neighborhoods we serve: Arcadia, North Central, Encanto-Palmcroft, Moon Valley, the neighborhoods around the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Desert Ridge, Tatum Ranch and Ahwatukee. Next door, we also remodel and build pools in Tempe.

Award-winning work

Before you choose a builder, look at what they have built. Read the story of our 2026 PHTA Gold-winning freeform pool, a resort-scale design with an island spa, a lazy river and two hidden water slides, or browse the pool gallery.

Why Phoenix homeowners choose Morris Pools

• Nine PHTA International Awards of Excellence in five consecutive years (2022–2026), four of them for geometric pools
• Remodels evaluated on site, pressure-tested and backed by a workmanship warranty of at least two years
• Permits, barrier inspections and hillside review handled for you
• Owner-led: founder Daniel Morris was named to PoolPro's 30 Under 40 (2021); featured by Luxury Pools Magazine and Wet Edge Technologies
• Licensed under Arizona ROC #320987

Phoenix pool FAQs