Gunite pool repair for the Jackson metro
Cracked shells, worn plaster, popped tile and leaks, repaired in place across Jackson, Madison, Ridgeland, Brandon and the rest of the metro.
- Written quotes before work starts
- Published pricing on every repair
- Repair only, no rebuild pressure
- One point of contact from quote to completion
Repair work, start to finish
Structural crack repair
Epoxy and polyurethane injection, carbon staples across moving cracks, full shell assessments on Yazoo clay.
Details and pricingReplastering and resurfacing
White plaster, quartz and pebble finishes over sound gunite, with a supervised startup so the finish cures right.
Details and pricingLeak detection
Pressure testing, dye testing and listening equipment find the leak before anyone cuts concrete. Written findings either way.
Details and pricingTile and coping repair
Waterline tile reset, loose coping stones rebedded, mastic joints recut, with the deck movement behind them diagnosed first.
Details and pricingGunite pool repair in Jackson: the numbers, before anyone visits
Gunite pool repair in the Jackson metro runs $400 to $900 for a single crack injection, $1,500 to $4,500 for structural crack repair with carbon staples, and $6,000 to $9,500 for a full white plaster resurface, with quartz and pebble finishes reaching $8,000 to $15,000. A diagnostic inspection costs $150 to $250 and is credited toward the repair if you hire us. Most crack and tile jobs take one to three days, and a full replaster takes about a week plus startup. Jackson Gunite Pool Repair is a repair-only gunite pool contractor serving Jackson, Madison, Ridgeland, Brandon, and the rest of the metro. Much of that metro sits on Yazoo clay, so our structural repairs use flexible injection and carbon staples that move with the soil instead of cracking beside the old fix. Every range here comes from the table we quote against, published in full on the cost guide.
The problems gunite pools develop around Jackson
Cracks in the shell
Step cracks in the deep end, diagonal cracks from corners or skimmers, or a crack that opens every summer. In this soil, cracks rarely stay small.
Losing water
More than a quarter inch a day is usually a leak, not evaporation. Every day it runs, it costs water, chemicals, and sometimes the soil under your deck.
Rough or stained plaster
Plaster that scrapes skin, gray patches showing through, stains that come back after every acid wash. That finish is at end of life.
Tile and coping problems
Waterline tile popping off, coping stones loose or tilted, mastic joint split. Often the first visible sign the shell or deck has moved.
Hollow spots
A drumming sound when you tap the wall means plaster has separated from the gunite behind it. Left alone, it breaks through and spreads.
Skimmer separation
A gap or crack where the skimmer meets the pool wall. One of the most common failures on older pools around Jackson, and very fixable.
Gunite, shotcrete, and what that means for repairs
Gunite and shotcrete are both concrete shot from a hose against a rebar cage; the difference is whether the mix gets its water at the nozzle or in the truck. Either way, what’s in your backyard is a steel-reinforced concrete shell, usually 6 to 12 inches thick, with a thin waterproof finish (plaster, quartz, or pebble) troweled over it. That two-layer construction is why diagnosis matters so much: a problem in the finish is a resurfacing job, while a problem in the shell is structural work, and the two have very different price tags.
It also means most “ruined” pools aren’t. The finish is a wear item, designed to be replaced every decade or two. The shell underneath is the same class of concrete used in foundations and retaining walls, and with the steel intact it can be repaired more or less indefinitely. Vinyl liner and fiberglass pools fail differently and we don’t work on them, though many older metro pools shopping for vinyl liner replacement in Jackson turn out to be gunite shells wearing a liner, and those we can bring back to plaster through resurfacing. Full pool remodeling in Jackson builds on that same resurface, and the coping, deck and slide calls that come with it are in pool coping: repair or replace. Gunite is its own trade, and around here it comes with a soil problem attached, which is the next section.
Updated: August 5, 2026
Jackson pools sit on Yazoo clay. That changes the repair.
Much of the Jackson metro sits on Yazoo clay, an expansive soil that swells when wet and shrinks hard in dry summers. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Geology has documented the damage this formation does to foundations across central Mississippi, and a pool shell is just a foundation that holds water.
A rigid patch on a shell that moves twice a year fails by the second summer. Our structural repairs use flexible polyurethane injection and carbon staples so the fix moves with the soil instead of cracking beside the old repair. When drainage is feeding the problem, we tell you that too, because otherwise you will be calling someone again in three years.
The seasonal cycle
- Spring: heavy rain, clay swells, cracks squeeze closed. Pools look fine and leaks slow down.
- Late summer: drought, clay shrinks and pulls away, cracks open. This is when most Jackson pools start losing water.
- Every year it repeats: each cycle works the crack a little wider. Catching it early is the whole game.
What repairs cost in the Jackson metro
These are the ranges we actually quote. Your written estimate lands inside them unless the inspection turns up something unusual, and if it does, you see why.
| Repair | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic inspection (credited if hired) | $150 to $250 |
| Crack injection, per crack | $400 to $900 |
| Structural crack repair with staples | $1,500 to $4,500 |
| Skimmer separation repair | $800 to $2,500 |
| Tile and coping repair | $1,200 to $5,000 |
| Leak detection visit | $350 to $650 |
| Full replaster (white plaster) | $6,000 to $9,500 |
| Quartz or pebble resurface | $8,000 to $15,000 |
Full breakdown with what moves each number up or down is on the cost guide.
Three steps from first call to a repaired pool
- 1
Request a quote
Call or send the form with a few photos. First questions are answered on that call at no charge.
- 2
On site assessment
A diagnostic visit runs $150 to $250 and is credited toward the repair. We test, tap and measure instead of guessing.
- 3
Work completed to the written scope
The scope lists the findings, the method and a firm price. The crew completes that scope, then supervises startup when there is new plaster.
About Jackson Gunite Pool Repair
We repair gunite and shotcrete pools across the Jackson metro and nothing else. No new construction, no vinyl or fiberglass, so there is never a reason to talk a fixable pool into a rebuild. Every repair we do has a published price range on this site, and every job starts with a written scope that lists the findings, the method and the number.
More about how we work- Repair only, gunite and shotcrete shells
- Serving Hinds County, Madison County, Rankin County
- Published pricing on every repair
- Written scope before any work starts
- Pool kept full for crack and leak work
Three things worth knowing before any pool company visits
Run the bucket test first. Put a bucket of water on the top step, mark the level in the bucket and the pool level on the outside, and check both a day later. If the pool fell further than the bucket, that is a leak. If they match, you were watching evaporation, and a Mississippi summer can pull off close to a quarter inch a day without any help from a crack. Five minutes of setup can save you a detection fee you did not need to pay. If the bucket says leak, our Jackson leak detection visit finds it with the pool full, and what a leak inspection includes is written up step by step.
Photograph cracks with a coin for scale. A photo taken today lets us tell surface crazing from structural movement over the phone, and a second photo in a month shows whether it is growing. Cracks that change with the seasons are soil-driven, and that single fact decides which repair method will actually hold.
Never drain the pool to have a look. An empty gunite shell in wet clay can lift out of the ground, and heave damage is often the one problem nobody can fix. Every inspection we do that needs a drained pool includes a plan for holding the shell down while it is empty. If another company suggests draining it and leaving it a few weeks, get a second opinion before they touch the pump.
Things Jackson pool owners ask us
Why did my gunite pool crack?
Around Jackson, the usual answer is soil. Much of the metro sits on Yazoo clay, which swells in wet months and shrinks in dry ones. That cycle flexes the shell year after year until something gives, most often at corners, skimmers, and the deep end. Poor original construction and empty-pool heave cause the rest.
Is a crack an emergency?
A dry, stable hairline is not. A crack that weeps, widens, or shows up alongside water loss is active, and on this soil active cracks get more expensive every season. The pool is safe to swim in either way; the urgency is financial, not safety.
Repair the crack or just replaster?
Plaster is a finish, not a structure. New plaster over an unrepaired structural crack will crack right along the same line, usually within a year or two. Fix the shell, then resurface. We stage both in one project when the finish is due anyway.
Is a 40 or 50 year old pool worth saving?
Usually. Gunite shells are structural concrete, and most of the old Jackson shells we inspect are still sound. A structural repair plus a replaster typically runs $10,000 to $20,000 all-in, against $80,000 or more for a new pool. When a shell is genuinely past saving, we say so at the inspection.
Do you warranty the work?
Yes, in writing: structural crack repairs and resurfacing carry multi-year warranties, and smaller repairs carry one year. The written scope you approve before work starts spells out exactly what is covered.
Do you build pools or do renovations?
No. We repair gunite and shotcrete pools, full stop. That is deliberate: a repair company has no incentive to tell you a fixable pool needs replacing.
Tell us what the pool is doing
We’ll call you back, usually the same day, and tell you what the fix probably looks like before anyone comes out. Or call (769) 210-8684.