Gunite or concrete
- Planning range
- $120,000–$200,000
Pool Project Planning · Highland Park
Pool builder · Highland Park, IL
Pool builder for Highland Park homes: in-ground pools planned around setbacks, trees and slopes.
Yes, Wave Outdoors Pools designs and builds in-ground pools for homes in Highland Park. The city's pool permit brings in grading, tree preservation and, on some lots, ravine, bluff, floodplain or historic review, and its setback covers the deck and equipment as well as the water. The first step is a consultation, followed by an assessment of your property and site. Wave handles city permits and engineering coordination, and custom gunite and concrete pools lead our work.
A completed Wave pool
Pool options
Choosing the pool that fits a Highland Park lot.
Wave leads with custom gunite and concrete pools, formed on site so the shape, depth, steps and any integrated spa follow the design. 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.
In a required rear yard, Highland Park's 10-foot setback applies to the pool, its deck and its mechanical equipment together, so the surround and the equipment pad have to be planned with the water. Wooded lots add a tree inventory, and ravine or lake-bluff lots add slope review. That is why the first visit is a site assessment rather than a catalogue; where the yard is tight, a plunge pool or small backyard pool can fit inside the lines.
Highland Park permits and code
What the city asks for before a pool goes in.
The city's pool, spa and hot tub checklist (dated 2020, so current submission counts are confirmed with the city) calls for a building permit application together with any grading, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permit applications the project needs. It lists current plats of survey, architectural plans, a zoning and site analysis with dimensions, setbacks and coverage calculations, and drainage, grading and civil-engineering drawings signed and sealed by the design professional. Under the city's current building code chapter, replaced in February 2026, Highland Park has adopted the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the 2024 International Residential Code with local amendments, and seasonal and temporary pools and spas also require a permit.
Placement is next. In a required rear yard, swimming pools, including their decks and mechanical systems, must keep 10 feet from the side and rear lot lines, and accessory uses generally cannot occupy required front or side yards (Highland Park Zoning Code, Chapter 150, Article VII). The city's pool-code amendments apply the barrier provisions to seasonal pools that can hold 24 inches of water or more and allow a lockable safety cover for spas and hot tubs; the barrier for a particular pool is confirmed with the city, and Wave installs code-compliant pool safety fencing to it.
The site review is where Highland Park differs. The checklist screens each project for historic status, floodplain and lake-bluff or ravine conditions, referring to the city's floodplain and steep-slope articles, and pools in flood-hazard areas follow the Lake County Watershed Development Ordinance as the city has adopted it. Highland Park is a Lake County certified community, so it administers those county stormwater standards locally. The 2020 checklist also asks for a tree preservation and removal application with two site plans that inventory trees 6 inches in diameter or larger in the construction zone, with preservation fencing.
In Highland Park, the deck and the equipment count inside the setback, not just the water.
Draining is regulated too: the city's 2020 checklist directs seasonal discharge by hose to an approved sanitary-sewer manhole, prohibits overland, ravine and storm-sewer discharge, and requires Public Works approval of the location and rate; Wave confirms the current procedure with Public Works before any draining. Plumbing work must meet Illinois plumbing-license requirements, and Wave handles the city permit submittal and the engineering coordination behind it.
From consultation to water
Four stages, with planning ranges for each.
Consultation and site assessment
We start with how you want to use the yard, then assess the property: usable rear-yard space, access for equipment, grades, drainage and the setback line. Engineers and architects are brought in when conditions require them.
Design and engineering
Design development and engineering coordination can take about eight weeks. Custom 3D design is available as a paid add-on if you want to review the layout before approving it. See 3D pool design.
Village permits
In Wave's planning, the permit stage commonly takes about one to three months; actual timing depends on the village's review. Wave handles the village permit submittal and the engineering coordination behind it.
Construction
Excavation can take a few days. After approvals and site readiness, fiberglass construction typically takes three to four weeks and concrete six to eight. Concrete work can continue in winter under a temporary tented enclosure when site conditions, weather and the approved plan support it. These are planning ranges, not schedule promises. See how we build your pool.
Budget
Planning ranges, before the site sets the number.
Fiberglass
- Planning range
- $80,000–$150,000
Vinyl liner or above-ground
- Budget
- Project-specific. Contact us to discuss project budgets and payment options.
These 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 change the budget. The breakdowns are in gunite and concrete pool cost, fiberglass pool cost and in-ground pool cost in Illinois.
Around the pool, Wave designs and builds pool decks, heaters, automation and lighting, waterfalls and integrated spas, and the grading, drainage and retaining walls a site may need, so the surround is planned with the water rather than after it.
Nearby village pages
Glencoe, Deerfield, Lake Forest and Northbrook. See the full service area.
Questions
Highland Park pool-planning questions.
Yes. Highland Park is inside our service area, and we design and build in-ground pools for homes here. The first step is a consultation, followed by an assessment of your property and site. Contact us or call (224) 344-5734.
Yes. The city's 2020 pool checklist calls for a building permit plus any grading, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits the project needs, and seasonal and temporary pools and spas also require a permit. Wave handles city permits and engineering coordination for your pool project.
In a required rear yard, the pool, including its deck and mechanical systems, keeps 10 feet from the side and rear lot lines (Highland Park Zoning Code, Chapter 150, Article VII). Your lot is confirmed with the city.
The city applies the pool barrier provisions of its adopted 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, with local amendments, including seasonal pools that can hold 24 inches of water or more. The barrier for a particular pool is confirmed with the city. Wave installs code-compliant pool safety fencing. See pool fence installation.
It can. The city's pool checklist screens for lake-bluff or ravine conditions, floodplain and historic status and refers those lots to the city's steep-slope and floodplain articles; how they apply is confirmed with the city.
As Wave's planning ranges: design and engineering about eight weeks, permitting about one to three months, then fiberglass construction about three to four weeks or concrete about six to eight weeks. Design development, municipal review, site conditions, scope and season can change that.
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. Contact us to discuss project budgets and payment options.
Start with a look at the lot.
Request a consultation and we will assess your Highland Park property before the pool is chosen.