Custom Gunite Pool Builder in Horizon West, FL

Your Horizon West pool builder

Horizon West is one of the fastest-growing parts of Central Florida, a master-planned area of villages between Winter Garden, Windermere and the Lake County line, where new neighborhoods, schools and town centers have filled in over the past two decades. For many families here, the backyard is still a blank slate, and a pool is the first big project after closing. Blue Dream Pools has designed and built custom gunite pools for Central Florida homeowners since 2004. We are locally owned since 2004, and our office at 260 E Plant St in Winter Garden is about 15 minutes from most Horizon West homes, so we know this side of Orange County well.

Building in Horizon West means designing for newer, often compact lots. Many homes sit close to their neighbors, with tight side yards, utility and drainage easements, and back property lines that may border a retention pond or conservation area. Grading was set when the home was built, so the pool and deck have to work with that drainage pattern, not against it. Access matters too: we plan early how excavation equipment and the gunite rig will reach the backyard, and whether a fence section or a side yard has to open up for the build. The soils across the area are typically sandy, and near the lakes and ponds the water table can rise in the summer rainy season, which affects excavation and how the shell is engineered.

Permitting in Horizon West is straightforward once you know the rule: Horizon West is not a city. It is an unincorporated area of Orange County, governed by the county’s Horizon West Special Planning Area. Many homes carry a Winter Garden or Windermere mailing address, but if your parcel is in Horizon West, the pool permit is issued by Orange County, not by the City of Winter Garden or the Town of Windermere. Orange County requires engineered pool plans, a site plan or survey, a lot grading and drainage plan, and a pool safety barrier affirmation, followed by inspections through the final. We confirm the jurisdiction for your parcel, prepare the engineered drawings, and handle the building permit and its inspections. As a Florida certified pool and spa contractor (CPC1460083), we pull the permit in our name.

One step belongs to you: HOA or architectural review board approval. Nearly every Horizon West neighborhood has an HOA with design guidelines covering things like setbacks, equipment placement, screen enclosures and fencing. HOA and ARB approval is the homeowner’s step, and we don’t submit it for you. We do give you a clear set of plans and the details boards usually ask about, so you can submit with confidence. Once your approval is in hand, we move ahead with the permit.

What does a Blue Dream pool in Horizon West look like? On a compact lot, it is often a geometric pool sized to the yard, with a sun shelf for the kids, a spa for cool evenings and a screened lanai that ties into the back of the house. On a larger or lakefront lot, it might be a resort-style pool with a raised spa, sheer descents, fire bowls and an outdoor kitchen. Because we build in gunite, any shape, depth or feature is possible, which is a real advantage when a yard has an unusual footprint or an easement to work around. We finish with quartz plaster, Wet Edge pebble finishes, tile and decking chosen with you. Equipment is Hayward, including variable-speed pumps, automation and LED lighting you can control from your phone.

Every pool is custom, so we don’t publish prices. After your free design consultation, we send an itemized proposal that shows exactly what is included, from excavation and steel to finishes, equipment and decking. Consultations and office visits are by appointment only. You can also see our residential pool services for the full range of what we build.

Because so many Horizon West homes are recently built, timing works in your favor. The pool, deck, lanai, landscape and lighting can be planned together instead of squeezed in later. We think about where the afternoon sun falls, how close the neighbors’ windows are, and where equipment can sit so it stays quiet and out of sight. A screen enclosure, built by experienced screen-enclosure subcontractors and coordinated by our team, keeps out bugs and debris and is popular across the area.

Here is how a Horizon West project usually runs. It starts with a design consultation, by appointment, where we talk about how you want to use the yard, look at the lot and note anything that affects the build, from slope and drainage to access for equipment. Next we prepare a design and send an itemized proposal. When you are ready, you take the plans to your HOA if you have one, and we prepare the engineered drawings and submit the building permit to Orange County. Construction follows the usual sequence: layout, excavation, steel, plumbing and electrical, gunite, tile and coping, decking, equipment, and finally the interior finish and start-up. Inspections happen at the required stages along the way. When the pool is filled, we walk you through the equipment and how to care for your new finish.

If you live in Horizon West and you are ready to start planning, connect with a designer. We will talk through your lot, your goals and your timeline, then put it on paper. We also serve neighboring Winter Garden and Windermere.

How we build

Permits handled, design done right. Locally owned since 2004.

• Weekly photo updates on a fixed day each week, so you see progress even when you’re away.
• Milestone check-ins at layout, steel, gunite, tile and decking, and before the finish.
• A joint punch list we walk together, with your sign-off before we call the job done.
• Pool School: a hands-on start-up session on your equipment, water care and your new finish.