Pool renovation in Naples, FL. Remodel, resurface and redesign the pool you already own.
An older Naples pool is usually sound underneath and tired on the surface. We renovate it as a design-build studio: the pool, the spa, the deck, the kitchen and the lighting are redrawn as one composition and managed as one project, so the finished renovation reads as if the pool had always been that way.
Scope of a pool renovation.
Resurfacing and interior finish
New plaster or a premium interior finish specified for Naples water and sun. The surface you touch every day, chosen for how it reads at the waterline and how it holds up.
Tile, coping and the waterline
Hand-set waterline tile, custom coping profiles, or a downturned mitered porcelain edge in place of conventional tile. The details that decide whether the pool looks renovated or rebuilt.
Equipment, automation and lighting
Pumps, filtration, heating and automation updated as part of the work, and lighting redrawn for the pool, the deck and the planting around it. Equipment chosen to survive a Florida power surge.
Spa, sun shelf and water features
A spa drawn into the pool's geometry, a shallow shelf for lounging, scuppers, laminar jets, bubblers or fire bowls. Added where the composition calls for them, not bolted on.
Deck, enclosure and outdoor living
Travertine, shellstone or large-format porcelain on an engineered base, the screen enclosure, and the outdoor kitchen, pergola, fire feature and planting that make the pool a place to live.
What a pool renovation in Naples includes.
A pool renovation can be four different jobs, and most Naples pools need more than one of them. The first is the interior: a new finish, because plaster roughens and stains in Florida water and sun. The second is the edge: waterline tile and coping, which are the most visible square feet of the pool and the first to crack, powder or lift. At Alfresco Oasis in Naples the renovated pool and spa received porcelain pavers with coordinating coping, and an eight-inch downturned, mitered porcelain edge replaced the conventional waterline tile for a crisp European finish.
The third is equipment. Pumps, filtration, heating, automation and lighting are usually the same age as the plaster, and plumbing, electrical, gas and pool equipment are often updated as part of the work. The fourth is everything around the water: a spa or sun shelf drawn into the pool, a new deck on an engineered base, and the kitchen, shade, fire and planting that turn a pool into an outdoor room. At Boater's Paradise in Cape Coral the renovation added a marble-clad pool deck, glass tile, a sun shelf and water scuppers, and a hexagon spa replaced the old structure. The project earned the HGTV People's Choice Award in 2020.
Naples is hard on pools. The salt air, the summer storms, the humidity and the hurricane season decide which materials last, so the renovation specifies premium tile that does not check in the temperature swings, coping that does not powder, equipment that survives a power surge and a deck that drains in a Florida downpour. The same climate rules that shape a new custom pool design in Naples shape a renovation.
Renovate the pool, or rebuild it?
The honest answer comes from the site walk, not the brochure. If the shell is sound and the shape still suits the house and the view, a renovation of finish, tile, coping, equipment, deck and lighting brings the pool forward without rebuilding the property. That is the focused end of the work, and it is where most Naples pools belong.
Some pools have outgrown their shape. At Resort Worthy in Fort Myers an old kidney-shaped pool was reimagined as a spacious rectilinear pool paired with a perimeter-overflow spa, with a firepit and outdoor kitchen under a louvered pergola on a two-acre property. The 1980's Renovation gave a dated pool and lanai a new clean-lined shape with shallow lounging shelves and LED bubblers, a raised hot tub behind an aluminum screen and a cypress-planked lanai ceiling with skylights.
Some pools are in the wrong place, or the ground under them has moved. At The Grand Retreat, our current featured project on the water in Naples, the original pool, its boulder features, the concrete paver deck and the screen enclosure were removed, and a new rectilinear pool and perimeter-overflow spa were centered on the lanai to frame the waterfront view, on sandblasted Diana Royale marble pavers. At Intracoastal Renaissance the failing pool and uneven decking were caused by shifting soils near the Intracoastal, so the compromised surfaces were demolished, a new structural concrete sub-deck was poured, mud-set travertine pavers went down, and the pool itself was refreshed with new tile and plaster, its infinity edge upgraded with two square basins and oversized fire bowls. Keep the shell when it is worth keeping. Replace it when it is not. The drawing tells you which.
Pool renovation as design-build.
Most Naples pool renovations are bought one trade at a time: a resurfacing company, a tile setter, a paver crew, a pool equipment company, a lighting installer, each working to its own idea of the finished pool. The result reads as a sequence of upgrades. Knaak Design Group is a design-build firm led by a Registered Landscape Architect (RLA #6666903), a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects with CLARB certification, and the practice also holds a Certified Building Contractor license (CBC #1256813). The renovation is drawn first, as one composition, and then managed as one project by the firm that drew it.
That means the pool, the spa, the deck, the coping, the hardscape, the outdoor kitchen, the pergola, the lighting and the planting are decided together, so the seating faces the water, the shade falls where you sit and the deck drains away from the house. It also means engineering, City of Naples or county permitting and any architectural review board submittal are handled inside the project. A renovation moves through the same four phases as a new pool: site walk, design, build and install. How a project runs and the firm explain the method; Rob personally reviews every inquiry and leads every project.
Pool renovations in the portfolio.
Six renovations of existing pools are on the site, each with its photographs: Alfresco Oasis, The Grand Retreat and Intracoastal Renaissance in Naples, Resort Worthy in Fort Myers, Boater's Paradise in Cape Coral, and the 1980's Renovation in Miami. New pools, infinity edges and the rest of the pool work live on the custom pool design page, and the full portfolio has the rest. Naples is home; we also renovate pools in Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Estero and Fort Myers.
What a pool renovation costs in Naples.
Our published planning range for the renovation of an existing pool and its surround is $30,000 to $150,000. An existing pool often has more potential than its present condition suggests. At the focused end, a project may renovate the pool itself through new finishes, tile or coping. As scope grows, it may involve structural changes, a spa, new decking and a broader reconsideration of the space around the water. Plumbing, electrical, gas, automation and pool equipment are often updated as part of the work, and access, protecting the existing landscape and the condition of what is under the old deck all move the number.
For comparison, a new pool and the environment around it runs $150,000 to $300,000, a single focused addition such as an outdoor kitchen or pergola runs $25,000 to $75,000, and a whole-property outdoor environment runs $250,000 to $500,000 and above. These are planning ranges, not estimates. The full breakdown by element is on the investment page, and the figure for your project is confirmed in the written proposal after the site walk.
Common questions.
What does a pool renovation include?
It depends on what the pool needs and what the property is for. At the focused end a renovation is the pool itself: a new interior finish, new tile and coping, and updated equipment and lighting. As scope grows it adds structural changes to the shell, a spa or sun shelf, a new deck on an engineered base, and the kitchen, shade, fire and planting around the water. We draw the whole scope before any of it is priced.
How much does a pool renovation cost in Naples?
Our published planning range for the renovation of an existing pool and its surround is $30,000 to $150,000. The low end is a pool renovated through new finishes, tile or coping. The high end involves structural changes, a spa, new decking and a broader reconsideration of the space around the water. A new pool and the environment around it runs $150,000 to $300,000, and a whole-property rework runs $250,000 to $500,000 and above. These are planning ranges rather than estimates, and the figure for your project is confirmed in the written proposal after the site walk.
Should I renovate my pool or build a new one?
If the shell is sound and the shape still suits the house, renovate: finish, tile, coping, equipment, deck and lighting bring it forward without rebuilding the property. If the shape is wrong for the way you live, the shell or the deck is failing, or the pool sits in the wrong place for the view, a structural renovation or a new pool is the honest answer. At The Grand Retreat in Naples the original pool and its boulder features were removed and a new rectilinear pool and perimeter-overflow spa were centered on the lanai. At Intracoastal Renaissance the pool was kept, refreshed with new tile and plaster, and the failing deck around it was replaced with a new structural sub-deck. The site walk is where that call gets made.
Do you resurface pools?
Yes, as part of a designed renovation. At the focused end of our range a project renovates the pool itself through a new interior finish, tile or coping. Most of our renovations go further than the surface, because the deck, the equipment and the space around the water are usually from the same era as the plaster, and renovating them together costs less than renovating them one contractor at a time.
Can you add a spa, a sun shelf or water features to an existing pool?
Yes. At Boater's Paradise in Cape Coral a hexagon spa replaced the old structure and a sun shelf and water scuppers were added to the renovated pool. Resort Worthy in Fort Myers paired the reworked pool with a perimeter-overflow spa. The 1980's Renovation added shallow lounging shelves and LED bubblers. Alfresco Oasis in Naples added laminar deck jets. Each was drawn into the pool's geometry rather than bolted on.
Can you change the shape of my pool?
Yes. Resort Worthy reimagined an old kidney-shaped pool as a spacious rectilinear pool. The 1980's Renovation gave a dated pool a new clean-lined shape. Reshaping is structural work and sits at the upper end of the renovation range, so we only recommend it when the existing geometry is genuinely wrong for the property.
How long does a pool renovation take?
Scope decides it. Our published process for pool work runs from the site walk to a signed master plan in two to three weeks, from master plan to permits in hand in six to ten weeks, and from permits through construction in two to six months. A focused renovation sits at the short end of each of those, and a renovation that reshapes the pool, adds a spa and rebuilds the deck sits toward the long end.
Do I need a permit to renovate a pool in Naples?
Structural changes, a new spa, equipment, electrical and gas work generally require permits through the City of Naples or Collier County, and many communities add an architectural review board submittal. Engineering, permitting and any review board submittal are handled inside the project as part of the design phase.
Will you renovate the deck and the outdoor living around the pool at the same time?
That is how we prefer to work. The pool deck, the coping, the kitchen, the pergola, the fire feature, the lighting and the planting are drawn with the pool as one composition, so the renovation reads as one place rather than a sequence of upgrades. Pool decks are built on a reinforced four-inch concrete slab with a waterproofing and crack-suppression membrane under a dry-pack mortar bed, with drainage solved once for the whole property.
Who designs the renovation and who builds it?
Knaak Design Group is a design-build firm led by a Registered Landscape Architect who also holds a Certified Building Contractor license. The renovation is drawn by the same firm that manages its construction, so there is no handoff between a designer and a separate builder, and the detail that was drawn is the detail that gets installed.
Where do you renovate pools?
Naples first, including Port Royal, Pelican Bay, Grey Oaks, Mediterra, Olde Naples, Park Shore and Aqualane Shores, and across Southwest Florida: Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. The studio takes a small number of projects each year, almost all within thirty miles of the Naples coast.
What are the signs a pool needs renovation?
A rough or stained interior finish, waterline tile that is cracked or missing, coping that is powdering or lifting, a deck that has settled or holds water after a storm, equipment that is loud, inefficient or fails after a power surge, and a shape or layout that no longer fits the way the family uses the property. In Naples the salt air, the summer storms and the humidity bring these on sooner than in most places.
Eleven consecutive Best of Houzz awards · 2020 HGTV People's Choice Award for the Boater's Paradise pool renovation, Cape Coral
Our warranty.
Knaak warrants all construction work to be free of defects in material and workmanship for one year from substantial completion. If a defect appears within that year, we remedy it at no cost to you, provided the terms of your agreement have been met.
Plant material is warranted as follows: one year on trees, palms, shrubs, and ground cover; six months on perennial flowers; and thirty days on sod. Annual flowers, roses, container plantings, and existing plants relocated on site are not warranted. Warranty does not extend to damage from circumstances beyond our control, such as freezing, drought, pests, fire, wind, flood, vandalism, or governmental water-use restrictions.
Assemblies, accessories, and installed equipment carry their manufacturer's warranty, which we assign to you. We compact surface and sub-base density to meet or exceed specification, though we are not responsible for natural settling. Beyond the warranties stated here and in the Standard Pool Amenities Warranty provided with your agreement, no other warranties are expressed or implied. Full warranty terms are provided in your written agreement.
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