
Pool & Spa Remodeling in Covina
New pools, spa additions, replastering, tile and coping, and full pool remodels. Designed, permitted and built by our own crews.
Pool & Spa Remodeling built for Covina properties
Covina incorporated in 1901, and its early residents kept homes, shops and workplaces inside a single square mile surrounded by citrus groves. Downtown along Citrus Avenue remains a largely intact commercial core from the citrus boom, and just west of it a small pocket of early twentieth-century cottages lines Cottage Drive and Orange Street. Postwar suburban expansion brought rapid growth in the 1950s, and in the decades since virtually all of the city's remaining vacant land has been built out. Most single-family lots today sit in the R-1-7500 zone, while the ground rises toward the southeast corner, where the larger estate parcels are zoned. Before Building & Safety will take plans for a pool, wall, fence, landscape or addition, the Planning Division has to clear them, and heritage oaks and ADUs on slopes carry rules of their own.
Single-family zoning steps up from R-1-7500, with 7,500-square-foot minimum lots, through R-1-8500 and R-1-10,000 to R-1-20,000, with one-acre E-1 estate lots in the southeast. Each R-1 zone caps building coverage at 35 percent and height at 35 feet, requires 25-foot front and rear yards, and lets accessory buildings cover no more than 35 percent of the required rear yard. About two-thirds of Covina's housing was built before 1970, and in the R-1-7500 zone a room addition's exterior and roof must match or resemble the existing house.
We are a design-build team, which means the people who draw your project are the people who build it. Design, engineering, permits and construction run through one project manager and our own crews, so nothing gets lost in a handoff between a salesperson and a subcontractor. We are licensed, bonded and insured, CSLB license #1119054.
Permits in Covina: Building & Safety processes only addresses inside Covina city limits, so a Covina mailing address that falls in unincorporated county territory is permitted elsewhere. New pools and spas, all walls and fences, landscaping, exterior changes, additions and new structures, including sheds of any size, need Planning Approval before they are submitted to Building & Safety, and the Planning Approval Clearance goes into the plan set. Under the city's amendments to the 2025 California Residential Code, a new or remodeled pool or spa at a single-family home needs an enclosure that isolates it from the house plus at least one other drowning-prevention feature, and the zoning code calls for that enclosure to be at least five feet high with self-closing gates. Every fence or wall, whatever its height, also needs a wall and fence permit from the chief planning official. ADU applications are ministerial under Chapter 17.69, with a decision due within 60 days of a complete application when a home already stands on the lot, and units that go through the city's ministerial planning review must match the main house's dominant roof slope and include a covered entry porch of at least 60 square feet.
Permit details checked September 2026 against City of Covina and Covina Municipal Code. Rules change, so we confirm them again for your parcel.
What We Build
- Planning Approval Clearance packages
- Pool enclosure and drowning-prevention planning
- Heritage oak dripline protection
- Hillside slope setbacks and ADU fire review
- ADU roof slope and entry porch detailing
- New gunite pool and spa construction
- Full pool remodels and replastering
- Pebble, quartz and plaster interior finishes
- Waterline tile and coping replacement
- Raised and attached spas with spillways
- Baja shelves, benches and sun ledges
- Water features, fire bowls and sheer descents
- Equipment upgrades, heaters and automation
- Pool decking in pavers, concrete or travertine
- LED lighting and salt-water conversions
Local Conditions
What building in Covina actually involves
Every city in Southern California builds differently. These are the things that change the scope, the schedule or the budget on Covina projects.
The R-1-7500 zone holds most of the city's single-family parcels. There a pool must stay out of the required front yard and at least five feet from side and rear property lines, and a patio in the required rear yard must keep five feet from those lines and cover no more than 35 percent of that yard.
The ground rises toward the southeast corner, where the R-1-20,000 and one-acre E-1 lots are grouped. Where a slope of four horizontal to one vertical or steeper rises six feet or more, the zoning code holds main buildings back from its top and toe, and a detached ADU sited on a four-to-one or steeper slope may reach no more than six feet into it and needs Los Angeles County Fire Department review, a 10-foot fire defensive zone and construction to the building code's wildland-urban interface provisions.
Oaks of any species with a single trunk at least 10 inches across at four and a half feet, or 22 inches combined for multiple trunks, are heritage trees. Paving, grade changes, trenching or excavation inside the dripline counts as damage that needs a tree preservation permit, trenching under the dripline must be done with hand tools, footings and utility trenches stay out of it without city approval, and protective fencing has to ring it during construction.
Utilities, equipment and machinery set in R-1-7500 yards must be screened at ground level from neighbors behind architecturally compatible enclosures, landscaping or fencing. Lots abutting the commuter rail line may build block sound walls up to 10 feet high, provided fast-growing, drought-tolerant vines are planted and kept on the rail side.
Investment
What this costs in Covina
Real Southern California ranges, not a teaser number. Every project is priced line by line after we have seen the site.
New pool construction
$70,000 to $150,000+
What moves it: size and shape, spa, water and fire features, decking material, automation, and how much access and grading the site needs
Pool remodel and resurfacing
$15,000 to $45,000
What moves it: finish choice (plaster versus pebble or quartz), tile and coping replacement, new equipment, and whether the deck is being replaced at the same time
Paver patio and hardscape
from about $13,000
What moves it: square footage, paver type, base preparation, drainage, and any steps or retaining involved
Your number depends on your lot, your access and your finishes. We walk the site, then price every line so you can see exactly where the budget goes.
Get a line-item price for your Covina propertyHow We Build
Your Covina project, step by step
Site Review
We walk the property, check access, soil and slope, and confirm what the yard can actually take.
Design & 3D
You see the pool in 3D before anything is dug, with finishes, tile and decking chosen.
Plans & Permits
We draw the plans, handle engineering where the site needs it, and pull the permits. In Covina that submittal goes to City of Covina Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division.
Excavation & Shell
Dig, steel, plumbing and gunite. This is where site access and grading matter most.
Finishes
Tile, coping, decking and your chosen interior finish go in.
Startup & Handover
We fill, balance the water, commission the equipment and walk you through every control.
Covina Questions
Common questions from Covina homeowners
Who issues the permits for this work in Covina?
City of Covina Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division. Building & Safety processes only addresses inside Covina city limits, so a Covina mailing address that falls in unincorporated county territory is permitted elsewhere. New pools and spas, all walls and fences, landscaping, exterior changes, additions and new structures, including sheds of any size, need Planning Approval before they are submitted to Building & Safety, and the Planning Approval Clearance goes into the plan set. Under the city's amendments to the 2025 California Residential Code, a new or remodeled pool or spa at a single-family home needs an enclosure that isolates it from the house plus at least one other drowning-prevention feature, and the zoning code calls for that enclosure to be at least five feet high with self-closing gates. Every fence or wall, whatever its height, also needs a wall and fence permit from the chief planning official. ADU applications are ministerial under Chapter 17.69, with a decision due within 60 days of a complete application when a home already stands on the lot, and units that go through the city's ministerial planning review must match the main house's dominant roof slope and include a covered entry porch of at least 60 square feet. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.
What makes building in Covina different?
Single-family zoning steps up from R-1-7500, with 7,500-square-foot minimum lots, through R-1-8500 and R-1-10,000 to R-1-20,000, with one-acre E-1 estate lots in the southeast. Each R-1 zone caps building coverage at 35 percent and height at 35 feet, requires 25-foot front and rear yards, and lets accessory buildings cover no more than 35 percent of the required rear yard. About two-thirds of Covina's housing was built before 1970, and in the R-1-7500 zone a room addition's exterior and roof must match or resemble the existing house. One local condition that shapes the work: The R-1-7500 zone holds most of the city's single-family parcels. There a pool must stay out of the required front yard and at least five feet from side and rear property lines, and a patio in the required rear yard must keep five feet from those lines and cover no more than 35 percent of that yard.
Which parts of Covina do you work in?
All of it, including Old Town Covina, Cottage Drive, Covina Park and Howard Street. Our crews run every job out of our Cahuenga Pass base in Los Angeles, with our own people on site.
What does a pool or spa project cost in Covina?
New pool construction: generally $70,000 to $150,000+ across Southern California. What moves it is size and shape, spa, water and fire features, decking material, automation, and how much access and grading the site needs. We give line-item pricing after seeing the site rather than quoting a number over the phone.
How long does a pool remodel take?
A straightforward replaster with new tile and coping usually runs three to five weeks. A full remodel that includes new decking, equipment and features typically runs eight to twelve weeks. Site access and permit timing are the two things that move that most.
How long does a new pool take to build?
Most new pool builds run about three to five months from permit to first swim. Hillside sites that need engineered retaining or difficult access sit at the longer end of that range.
Should I replaster or fully remodel?
If the shell and plumbing are sound and you only dislike the surface, replastering with new tile and coping is the efficient choice. If the equipment is aging, the deck is cracked or the shape no longer suits how you use the yard, a full remodel costs less than doing it in two separate phases.
Do you self-perform the work?
Yes. Our own crews handle the build rather than passing it to a rotating set of subs, which is why the schedule and the finish standard stay consistent.
Covina Guides
Planning guides for Covina homeowners
Costs, materials and process notes from our own projects.
Building a Pool in Northridge: Costs, Soil and the LADBS Process
A new pool in Northridge typically runs $85,000 to $165,000 all-in with decking and equipment. The tract lots are generous, the soil is workable, and the real variables are access, spa and deck square footage.
Read guideVan Nuys Pool and Backyard Guide: Costs on the Valley Floor
A new pool in Van Nuys runs $75,000 to $145,000, and a pool-plus-backyard package $110,000 to $220,000. Flat lots keep excavation honest; older service panels and gas meters are where budgets slip.
Read guideTravertine vs Porcelain Pavers: The Honest Comparison for SoCal Yards
Travertine installs at roughly $22 to $30 per square foot, porcelain at $24 to $34. The real difference is heat, staining and how each one handles a chlorinated pool deck over ten years.
Read guidePool Coping Compared: Cast Concrete, Natural Stone and Porcelain
Coping runs $28 to $55 per lineal foot in concrete, $55 to $110 in natural stone and $60 to $120 in porcelain. On an average pool perimeter that is a $2,500 to $11,000 decision.
Read guidePlanning a pool or spa project in Covina?
Sit down with your project manager, go through the details, and get an accurate estimate for your property. We call you back within one business day.
Licensed, bonded & insured · CSLB license #1119054