Gunite vs. Shotcrete: What’s the Difference?

Concrete pools are often referred to as “gunite” pools, but then what’s shotcrete? Are gunite, shotcrete, and concrete all the same thing? Not to worry… all will be revealed. (Doesn’t that sound ominous? I love it.)

Quick refresher: concrete is a mix of water, cement, sand, and a coarse aggregate, which is usually stone or gravel.

The cement, sand, and aggregate are the initial mixture. How the builder mixes in the water determines how we refer to it.

Technically speaking, the term shotcrete refers to either wet- or dry-mix concrete as long as it’s shot out of a hose, hence the name.

However, in the pool world, we take matters into our own hands. In this case, the matters of terminology.

For our purposes, shotcrete is the wet mix concrete. The whole cement-sand-aggregate blend is already mixed with water when it arrives at your backyard in the big ol’ cement truck.

Gunite is concrete applied with the dry-mix process, as in it’s water-free up until the builder actually applies it. 

Concrete pool construction

The construction processes for gunite and shotcrete pools are similar:

1.Measure and excavate the ground.

2.Install the plumbing.

3.Install a reinforced cage of tied steel rebar

4.Spray concrete―using either the gunite or shotcrete process―encasing the rebar.

5.Shape and finish the concrete pool shell.