Pool equipment installation for new pools

The equipment pad

We place the equipment pad on the signed site plan, close enough to the pool to keep pipe runs short and far enough from the property line to clear your city's setbacks. Pump, filter, heater, salt cell and the automation panel all sit on that slab. A strainer basket catches hair and lint on the suction side before water reaches the pump, and every valve stays where a hand can reach it. When the pump sits below the water level, it gets valves on both the suction and the discharge side, so it can be serviced without draining anything.

The pump motor is bonded to the rest of the pool with a #8 copper wire, and all of the plumbing is pressure tested and inspected per code before trenches are closed.

Variable-speed pump

Every pool we build gets a variable-speed pump. Federal efficiency rules have, in practice, made variable speed the norm for new inground pool pumps, and Florida Statute 553.909 requires residential pool pumps and motors, along with pool heaters, sold here to meet the state energy code. These pumps use far less electricity than the old single-speed motors.

Filter

We size the filter to the pool's volume and leave written instructions for opening and cleaning it.

Heat pump or gas heater

In Miami's mild climate, most homeowners choose a heat pump. A heat pump does its best work when the air is above about 50 °F, and January in Miami averages around 68 °F, so the air is warm enough to pull heat from almost all year. The Florida energy code also sets a minimum efficiency for pool heaters.

Gas heats faster. It can make sense for an attached spa you want hot on short notice, or for owners who only heat now and then. A licensed gas contractor runs the line under its own sub-permit. During the first days of start-up the heater stays off while plaster dust is brushed out of the water.

Salt or chlorine

Salt pools are still chlorine pools. The salt cell makes chlorine out of salt dissolved in the water, usually around 3,000 to 3,500 ppm. On new white plaster no salt goes in for the first 30 days. Cells wear out after several years and get swapped, and water balance still has to be checked every week. Natural stone around a saltwater pool should be sealed, which we cover under travertine and paver decks.

Automation and LED lights

An automation panel lets you set pump speeds and heat, plus the lights, from a phone instead of walking to the pad. LED lights go into niches that are set with the steel, before the shell is shot, which is why adding them during the build is far simpler than cutting them in later.

Who does the wiring

We set the equipment, plumb it and connect it on the load side. A licensed electrician runs the new circuit from your panel, including the GFCI protection, and that work goes under an electrical sub-permit tied to the pool permit. Where the equipment lands in the build schedule is on how we work.

We install equipment on pools we build. We don't repair, service or replace equipment on existing pools.

Equipment prices

Labor and materials included, in US dollars, October 2026. Spa, sun shelf and equipment upgrades are added at a fixed price each.

The pump and filter are already inside the pool price on the full pool price breakdown, and the heat pump and the salt system are priced as add-ons.

Frequently asked questions