Gunite or concrete
- Planning range
- $120,000–$200,000
- Construction
- About six to eight weeks after approvals and site readiness
Across the Cook and Lake line
Pool builder in Buffalo Grove, IL: in-ground pools designed for the yard you actually have.
Yes, Wave Outdoors Pools designs and builds in-ground pools for Buffalo Grove homes, and this is our home village. The first step is a consultation, followed by an assessment of your property and site.
We are based on McHenry Rd in Buffalo Grove. Custom gunite and concrete pools lead our work, with fiberglass, vinyl-liner and above-ground installations when the site, access and budget point that way. Design, village permits and engineering coordination are part of the project.
A deck-led pool project
Wave Outdoors Pools · Buffalo Grove
Where we work from, and how to reach us.
Call or email to start the consultation; the property and site assessment follows.
Wave Outdoors Pools
McHenry Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–5:00 PM · Closed Sat–Sun
Village guides near Buffalo Grove
- Long Grove
- Wheeling
- Kildeer
- Prospect Heights
- Arlington Heights
- Deerfield
- Hawthorn Woods
- Northbrook
- Palatine
Farther out, see every village we serve.
We build within about 20 miles of Buffalo Grove and across the North Shore suburbs and Chicago's north side. Larger pool projects can take us farther, so ask about an address outside that area. See the full service area.
Every Buffalo Grove project begins with a property-specific review of usable space, access, setbacks, intended use and the outdoor setting around the water. The size of the pool follows from that review, not the other way round. On a tighter lot, a plunge pool or compact in-ground pool can be the better design, leaving room for circulation, seating, safety fencing and planting.
Two ways to fit water into a compact yard
Small and deliberate, or above ground and well decked.
Both are real projects and both photograph better than the oversized alternative. The choice is mostly about permanence and budget rather than about ambition.
Pool services
Pool services for Buffalo Grove homes.
The pool is usually one part of a larger backyard plan. Wave designs and builds the pool and the work around it, and handles the village permits and engineering coordination; each page below covers one service in detail.
Pools
Design and renovation
What we build in Buffalo Grove
Four pool types, one design-led process.
Gunite and concrete is our flagship: a custom shell formed on site, so shape, depth, steps and an integrated spa follow the design rather than a catalogue. Fiberglass is the second path, recommended when the property's space, access and an available shell form support it. We also install vinyl-liner pools and above-ground pools.
Fiberglass
- Planning range
- $80,000–$150,000
- Construction
- About three to four weeks after approvals and site readiness
Vinyl liner or above-ground
- Budget
- Project-specific. Contact us to discuss project budgets and payment options.
- Schedule
- Set after the site assessment and approved plan
Those figures are typical project-planning ranges, not quotes or minimum-price promises. Site conditions, access, size, materials, features, utilities, safety work, surrounding construction, and whether Wave handles the full project or a build-only scope all move the budget. The detail is in gunite and concrete pool cost, fiberglass pool cost and above-ground pool cost.
Around the water, we design and build pool decks, code-compliant pool safety fencing, automatic covers and alarms, heaters, automation, lighting, waterfalls and integrated spas, plus the grading, drainage and retaining walls a site may need. Custom 3D design is available as a paid add-on.
Building through winter
Concrete construction can continue in winter under a temporary tented enclosure when site conditions, weather and the approved plan support it. See gunite pools in cold climates.
Two counties, one permit office
A village that spans a county line is a good reminder not to assume.
Buffalo Grove sits in both Cook and Lake counties (Village of Buffalo Grove, Existing Conditions Report, 2024). For the building permit, that changes nothing: an address inside the village goes through Buffalo Grove either way, because Cook County's permit service excludes incorporated municipalities and Lake County's building permits cover unincorporated territory (Cook County E-Permits; Lake County Building Permits).
The village requires a permit to install or replace a pool, spa or hot tub, including water features at least 24 inches deep (Village of Buffalo Grove, Swimming Pools, Spas & Hot Tubs guide). The submittal includes the application; a plat of survey marked to show structures, distances, utilities, equipment and barriers; manufacturer specifications; a plumber's letter of intent where applicable; and, for an in-ground pool, architectural drawings signed and sealed by an Illinois-licensed professional. For an in-ground pool, the guide also calls for a grading plan showing existing and proposed topography, finish grades, drainage piping and discharge, and any utility relocations.
The right answer is whatever your permit office says today, not what a neighbouring village published last year.
The placement and barrier rules shape the drawing early. The pool must sit at least six feet from every property line and stay out of easements, front yards and corner-side yards (same guide). Barriers must be at least 48 inches high with no opening a four-inch sphere can pass through, and access gates must open outward, away from the pool, and be self-closing and self-latching (Village of Buffalo Grove, Fences guide). Pools, hot tubs and decks are among the accessory structures that together may not cover more than 20 percent of the rear yard without a variance (Village of Buffalo Grove, Rear-Yard Coverage Worksheet).
The village's code list identifies the 2018 International Residential Code, as amended (Village of Buffalo Grove, Building Codes), and the pool guide references the 2018 ISPSC. Rough and final electrical and structural inspections apply, plus plumbing and gas inspections where relevant, each booked with 48 hours' notice. The village gives an average review time of five to seven business days once all required information is in.
Stormwater is where the county can still matter. The village administers Lake County's Watershed Development Ordinance as a certified community, while development on the Cook County side may need approval from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, depending on the project (Village of Buffalo Grove, Existing Conditions Report, 2024). Whether a particular residential pool triggers either review is confirmed for the address. Wave handles village permits and engineering coordination, designs the barrier into the plan, and installs code-compliant pool safety fencing to it.
Permit and barrier guides
Permits and engineering, Illinois pool fence code, and pool fence installation.
A Buffalo Grove project, start to finish
Four stages, and the one that surprises people
Consultation and site assessment
We start with what you want to keep: the lawn, the table, the path to the gate. The property and site assessment then maps usable space, access, grades and setbacks, with engineers and architects brought in when conditions require them.
Design and engineering
The design is developed and coordinated with engineering, which can take about eight weeks. This is where the 20 percent rear-yard limit, the six-foot setback and the barrier line are settled.
Permits: the stage people underestimate
In Wave's planning, the permit stage commonly takes about one to three months from start to approval. A complete submittal matters, because the village's own average review time of five to seven business days starts only once all required information is in.
Build with the access you actually have
The route to the dig is planned before the machine arrives. Excavation itself can take a few days; fiberglass construction typically runs three to four weeks and concrete six to eight. These are planning ranges, not schedule promises: design, municipal review, site conditions, scope and season all move them. See how we build your pool.
Buffalo Grove questions
Planning questions for a Buffalo Grove pool
Yes. Wave Outdoors Pools is based on McHenry Rd in Buffalo Grove and builds in-ground pools across the village, on both the Cook and Lake County sides. The first step is a consultation, followed by an assessment of your property and site. Contact us or call (224) 344-5734.
Yes. The village requires a permit to install or replace a pool, spa or hot tub, and an in-ground pool needs drawings signed and sealed by an Illinois-licensed professional (Village of Buffalo Grove, Swimming Pools, Spas & Hot Tubs guide). Wave handles village permits and engineering coordination. See permits and engineering.
As Wave's planning ranges: design and engineering about eight weeks, permitting about one to three months, then about three to four weeks of construction for fiberglass or six to eight for concrete. A project-specific schedule follows the site assessment.
Wave's typical project-planning ranges are $80,000–$150,000 for fiberglass and $120,000–$200,000 for gunite or concrete. They are not quotes or minimum-price promises; the site, access, size, materials, features and scope change the budget. See the in-ground pool cost breakdown, and contact us to discuss project budgets and payment options.
Not the building permit, which goes through the village in either county (Cook County E-Permits; Lake County Building Permits). Stormwater review can differ by side of the county line, so we confirm which applies to your property.
Start with the site, in Buffalo Grove or nearby.
Tell us what you want to keep and we will design the pool around it.