Saltmeadow Pools & Spas · Annapolis, Maryland
From grass
to glass.
Custom gunite pools, designed and built start to finish by one crew. Scroll and watch a Maryland backyard become a pool in ten weeks.
10 weeks
typical dig-to-swim
4,000 psi
gunite shell, steel-reinforced
One crew
design, build, start-up
MHIC #00000
licensed & insured (demo)
Touch the water
Go ahead. Drag your finger through it.
Straight down over the finished pool. Switch it to night, pick a light colour, try a finish. This is the part you'll stare at from the kitchen window.
02 · The heart of the pool
Where the water actually goes.
Pump → sand filter → heater → salt cell → back to the pool. Every gallon makes this trip every 8 to 10 hours, in exactly that order.
The sand filter
One handle. Seven jobs.
Every sand filter has a multiport valve on top, and most owners never learn what it does. Turn it here and watch the water change direction. Leave it on Filter and watch the gauge creep up as the sand loads with dirt.
Filter pressure
13.7 psi
Clean baseline 12 psi
Turn the handle
Filter
Normal running. Water enters the top, spreads out over the sand through the diffuser and works its way down. Dirt sticks in the top few inches; clean water is collected by the laterals at the bottom and goes up the centre standpipe, back to the pool.
Pump running · to pool
Sand bed load
Leave it on Filter and watch the pressure creep up.
Sand
20–40 microns
Lowest upkeep. Backwash every few weeks, new sand every 3–7 years. Best match for most Maryland backyards.
Cartridge
10–15 microns
Finer, no backwash water wasted, but you hose the pleats clean by hand.
DE
3–5 microns
The finest filtration there is. More work and more cost to run.
A human hair is about 50–70 µm. A backwash sends roughly 250–400 gallons to waste.
Heating
Swim in May. Swim in October.
An unheated Maryland pool is comfortable for about ten weeks. A heater roughly doubles that. Gas is fast, a heat pump is cheap to run, and a cover saves 50–70% either way. Move the sliders.
Heat needed
2.67M BTU
20,000 gal × 8.34 lb × 16 °F rise
Natural gas · 400k BTU
$57 to heat up
Fastest. Heats in any weather. Higher cost per degree.
Propane · 400k BTU
$104 to heat up
Same speed as gas, for homes without a gas line. Most expensive to run.
Heat pump · 140k BTU
$30 to heat up
Moves heat out of the air at COP 4.8: 4.8 units of heat per unit of power.
Estimates. Rates used: natural gas $1.80/therm, propane $3.00/gal, electricity $0.18/kWh. Gas at 84% efficiency. Real numbers depend on wind, shade and how often the cover goes on.
Design it
Your pool, roughly priced.
A starting range, not a quote. Every yard is different, so the real number comes from a free design visit.
Interior finish
Classic light aqua. Shows every leaf, which is the point.
Add-ons
18,200
Gallons
76
Tons of water
34 h
Hose fill
Starting range, installed
$71,000 – $91,000
Gunite shell, 8 ft travertine deck, plumbing, VS pump and sand filter included. Estimate only; access, soil and permits change it.
Questions
What people ask first.
About 8 to 12 weeks from dig to swim. The steel, gunite and tile days are quick; most of the calendar is curing time and inspections. Permits come first and can add a few weeks in some counties.
Free design visit
Let's walk your yard.
We measure, check access and utilities, and sketch your pool on the spot. You get a 3D design and a written price within a week. Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert and Prince George's counties.
Or call (410) 555-0144