Your pool. Without the chemicals.
Keep the shell you paid for and turn the water into a living swimming pond: no chlorine, no salt, no replaster cycle, and waterfalls that run all year. Build & Decor converts existing pools into natural swimming ponds across Los Angeles under CSLB license 1113888.
Why Choose Build & Decor
Keeps the structure you own: the shell, the depth and the deck stay, so the job runs weeks, not a season
Ends the chemical bill, the acid wash and the replaster cycle
Closed-loop water: top-off for evaporation, no backwash to the sewer, no drain-and-refill
A waterfall, planted shelves and a beach step built where the old steps were
Permits read with LADBS before we quote, so the number you sign includes the permit path
Written agreement, payments tied to milestones, 1-year workmanship warranty
Our Process
Discovery
Initial consultation and needs assessment
Design & Permits
Detailed planning and permit acquisition
Build
Licensed professionals execute the work
Final Walkthrough
Quality assurance and warranty
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CA General Contractor
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Quality Guarantee
1-Year Workmanship Warranty
Full Insurance
General Liability up to $2M
Frequently Asked Questions
Who converts pools into natural swimming ponds in Los Angeles?
Build & Decor Construction converts existing swimming pools into chlorine-free swimming ponds in Los Angeles under CSLB license 1113888. The shell stays; the chemical system is retired; an intake bay and an external pump move the water through an upflow wetland filter built beside or inside the old footprint; planted shelves, stone and a waterfall finish it. A conversion is priced like the pool remodel it replaces, with the number set at a free on-site visit. Serving the Westside, the Valley, the hills and the rest of Los Angeles County.
Last updated 2026-10-24. Written by Sebastian Moreno Rivera, owner.
What a conversion keeps, and what it changes
Los Angeles has one of the largest stocks of aging pools in the country. Most of them are a replaster away from a decision. This is the other decision.
| Part | Keeps | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| The shell | Stays. A sound gunite or fiberglass shell is the most expensive part of a pond and you already own it. | Surface treated for living water, or lined over, decided by the visit and a water test. |
| Depth and shape | The deep end stays a swim zone. | Shallow shelves for plants and a beach-style step are built inside the old footprint where you want them. |
| Equipment pad | The location, the power and the plumbing runs. | Chlorinator, salt cell and sand filter retired. External pump and the wetland filter manifold take their place. |
| Skimmer | The opening. | Rebuilt as an intake bay that pulls surface debris in without a chemical loop behind it. |
| Deck and coping | Stays unless you want it changed. | Stone where the water meets the deck; a waterfall or stream where the old steps were, if the design calls for it. |
| Water care | Nothing of the old routine. | A bacteria dose on a schedule, the skimmer basket emptied, plants trimmed by season, one drain-and-clean a year. |
Three ways a conversion goes
The visit decides which one is yours, and the agreement names it. Each is priced like the pool work it replaces; none of them carries a chemical bill afterwards.
Keep and filter
The shell stays as it is. An intake bay replaces the skimmer, an external pump moves the water, and an upflow wetland filter is built beside the pool and returns over a waterfall. The fastest conversion, and the one most Los Angeles pools qualify for.
Reshape
Part of the shell is filled and shaped into planted shelves and a beach entry; the deep end stays the swim zone; the filter sits inside or beside the footprint. More stone, more planting, a different pool.
Rebuild
The shell comes out and a lined recreation pond is built in its place. We say so at the visit when it is the honest answer, and we price it as the new build it is.
How a pool becomes a pond
The keep-and-filter sequence. A reshape adds the shelf work inside the shell; a rebuild follows the recreation pond build from the first shovel.
- 1
Site visit and water test
Shell, depth, equipment pad, drainage and sun. We tell you which of the three paths fits and where your pool stands with the city. Free.
- 2
Design and permit read
A drawn plan: swim zone, shelves, filter, falls, lighting and the fence line. The permit path is read with LADBS before you sign.
- 3
Retire the chemical system
Chlorinator, salt cell and sand filter out; power and plumbing kept where they serve the new system.
- 4
Intake bay and external pump
Quiet circulation that pulls the surface clean and keeps the water moving.
- 5
Wetland filter
Graded stone layers plumbed for upflow and planted heavy, beside the pool or inside the reshaped footprint. This is what replaces chlorine.
- 6
Shell surface, shelves and stone
The surface treated or lined, shelves built, boulders and the beach step set by hand.
- 7
Planting and lighting
The aquatic planting that finishes the filtration, and light for night swims.
- 8
Fill, balance, walkthrough
We balance the ecosystem with you and hand over the care routine in writing.
What stands behind a Build & Decor pond
A swimming pond is six trades in one hole. Seven years, more than 400 finished projects and a 5.0 average across 88 reviews under CSLB license 1113888 stand behind each of them. On every pond contract the vessel and the biological filtration are carried by a licensed C-53 pool contractor or a certified ecosystem specialist, named in your agreement, as California law requires.
Excavation and grading
The swim zone, the shelves and the filter footprint are cut, shaped and compacted the way we cut foundations and yards.
Drainage and waterproofing
Underlayment, 45-mil EPDM liner, hydrostatic relief and the overflow path. The same discipline that keeps our bathrooms and retaining walls dry.
Concrete and stone
Boulders set by hand, beach entries, stone steps, seat walls and the coping where water meets deck.
Plumbing and electrical coordination
External pump, intake bay, the filter manifold, GFCI circuits and low-voltage lighting, each by the licensed trade and inspected.
Decks, pergolas and shade
The deck tied into the shoreline and the shade over the seat wall, built by the crews that build our outdoor rooms.
LADBS permits and inspections
Stamped sets, plan check, the enclosure, the inspections. Seven years of pulling permits in this city.
Every photo on this page that is not ours says so. The first Los Angeles build goes on this page the week it holds clear water, with its water log beside it.
Permits for a swimming pond in Los Angeles
What the city asks for, as of October 2026, with the source named. The plan checker has the last word on any address; this is what we design to before the visit.
- A swimming pond is a pool to the city.
- LADBS treats a pond you swim in like a swimming pool once it is deeper than 24 inches or larger than 250 square feet (Information Bulletin P/BC 2026-014). A plunge pond inside both limits can avoid a building permit; a family pond does not. We tell you which yours is before anything is dug.
- The enclosure rule starts at 18 inches of water.
- Any pool, pond or body of water 18 inches deep or more is enclosed by a fence at least 5 feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate (P/BC 2026-014). A pond is no exception, and we design the fence line into the plan rather than bolting it on.
- Plans carry a California engineer's or architect's stamp.
- A pool permit set is two plan sets and one calculation set, signed and stamped (P/BC 2026-014 and P/BC 2026-073). We run that submittal; you do not chase it.
- Two of seven drowning-prevention features, named on the plans.
- A private pool at a single-family home shows at least two of the seven listed safety features (P/BC 2026-014). An approved filter unit and, on a pumped circuit, two drains per pump three feet apart are also part of the set.
- The water stays clear by ordinance.
- Los Angeles requires a fenced pool or pond to keep water clear enough that a 6-inch black disk at the deepest point is visible from the sidewalk at ten yards (LAMC 91.8118). The wetland filter is sized to that standard, not to a brochure.
- Who may hold the contract.
- A Class B general contractor contracts pool work with the pool specialty classification or with a licensed C-53 pool contractor on the vessel (CSLB licensing guide). Build & Decor holds CSLB license 1113888, Class B and C-33; the vessel and filtration scope is staffed under that rule and written into your agreement.
Permits, the stamped set and the inspections are part of the project, not an extra. We read your parcel with the city before we quote, so the number you sign includes the permit path.
No pool yet?
A recreation pond built from the ground up gives you the swim zone, the waterfall and the planted shelves shaped to the yard instead of to an old rectangle. The two filtration methods, the pond-versus-pool comparison and the three build tiers are on the recreation ponds page.
Serving West Los Angeles
We proudly serve homeowners and businesses across West LA, including:
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Schedule a consultation today and let's bring your vision to life.