What is an ICF pool and why build one in Ohio?

Insulated concrete forms, or ICFs, are building blocks made of rigid foam. Most are two panels of expanded polystyrene held apart by plastic webs or ties, leaving a hollow core. Builders stack them like oversized interlocking bricks, place steel reinforcing bar through the core, and fill the whole wall with concrete. BuildBlock, one of the major manufacturers, describes the pool version as hollow EPS foam blocks that are stacked, reinforced and filled with concrete in a single pour.

The foam does not come off after the pour. It stays on both faces of the wall as permanent insulation. The result is a reinforced concrete wall wrapped in foam, which is why ICF has been used for years in basements and whole houses in cold climates.

The outline of the pool is dug, and a footing is set around the perimeter. The forms are stacked on the footing to the height of the walls, following whatever shape the design calls for, including curves and angles. Steel goes in, then concrete fills the walls. Nudura notes a practical advantage here: ICF walls do not need an exact excavation, because if the dig runs a little oversized, the space behind the walls is simply backfilled once they are standing.

Once the walls cure, the floor is built, the plumbing is routed and the interior gets its finish. ICF suppliers list plaster, tile and vinyl liner among the finish options. Then comes the coping, the deck, the equipment and startup, just as with any other inground pool.

We handle every stage, from the 3D design and permits through site layout, excavation, ICF construction, plumbing, electrical coordination, backfill, decking and final startup.

A pool loses heat in two main ways: from the surface, mostly through evaporation, and through its walls and floor into the ground. A cover handles the first. ICF handles the second.

In Northeast Ohio the ground is cold for a long time. Winter frost goes deep here, and soil warms slowly through spring. A standard concrete or fiberglass pool sits directly against that soil, so part of every dollar you spend heating the water leaks into the ground around it. ICF puts a layer of foam between the water and the dirt.

Manufacturers put the savings high. BuildBlock says its forms reduce pool energy costs by more than 60%. The ICF Manufacturers Association, describing Logix forms, says a double layer of continuous foam can reduce a pool's heat loss by 60% or more when paired with an insulated slab. Those are industry figures, and your results depend on the floor, the cover, the weather and how warm you keep the water. The direction is not in question: less heat lost means less heat bought.

In practice, that means a heated ICF pool warms faster in May, holds its temperature better through cool June nights, and stays pleasant later into September than an uninsulated pool with the same heater. Pair it with an automatic cover, which tackles the surface losses, and you have dealt with both of the ways a pool gives its heat away. That combination is the closest thing to a longer summer you can buy in this part of Ohio.

Any shape. Because the walls are built on site, the pool can follow almost any outline: long lap lanes, L-shapes, curves around a patio, a raised spa wall, wide tanning ledges or custom steps. If a fiberglass mold does not come in the shape you want, ICF likely can.

Strength. The finished wall is steel-reinforced concrete. Alleguard, which makes Amvic forms, points to the reinforced core as the source of structural longevity.

A modular build. Alleguard also notes that ICF blocks are easy to handle and need no heavy equipment for lifting or cutting. In older neighborhoods of Akron, Cuyahoga Falls or Kent, where side yards are narrow and a crane for a one-piece shell may be impractical, blocks that can be carried in by hand make a real difference.

Like any other high-end concrete pool. The foam is hidden: on the inside it is covered by the pool finish, and on the outside it sits below grade against the backfill. What you see is the interior surface you chose, the coping along the edge and the deck around it.

That is a point worth making, because some people picture foam walls and assume a flimsy pool. The structure is reinforced concrete. The foam is insulation, the same way the foam board on a new house is insulation and not the wall itself.

Yes, and this is one of the places ICF shines. A spa can be built as part of the same structure, raised above the pool with a spillover edge so warm water sheets down into the pool. Because the spa walls are insulated too, a small, hot body of water holds its heat better between uses. In an Ohio spring or fall, when the spa is often the reason people go outside at all, that matters.

Sheer descents, bubblers and other water features can be formed into the walls and ledges during the build rather than added afterward.

Well, when it is built and closed properly. The foam layer keeps the concrete out of direct contact with wet, freezing soil, and drainage behind the walls keeps water from sitting against the structure. The winter routine is the same as for any pool here: lower the water to the right level for the finish, blow out and plug every line, drain the equipment, and put a good cover on.

Like any concrete pool, an ICF pool should not be drained and left empty in wet ground. If it ever needs to be emptied for finish work, that is a job to plan with groundwater in mind.

ICF is a concrete pool, and it costs like one. Angi's 2026 data puts concrete inground pools at $65,000 to $120,000, above the fiberglass range, and we price every ICF pool from its design. It also takes longer on site than setting a fiberglass shell, because the walls, floor and finish are built in stages.

Upkeep depends on the finish. A plaster interior needs the care plaster always needs, including periodic resurfacing. A vinyl liner interior trades that for an eventual liner replacement. Every ICF pool also needs the same Ohio winter routine as any other pool: lowered water, blown-out lines and a good cover.

From the families we talk to, ICF tends to fit when one or more of these is true:

• You plan to heat the pool and want to swim from May into October.
• You want a shape, size or feature layout that no factory shell offers.
• Your backyard is hard to reach with a truck and crane.
• You want a spa built into the pool structure with a spillover edge.
• You are building for the long term and would rather pay once for insulation than pay every season for lost heat.

If none of those apply, a fiberglass pool is usually the simpler and less expensive route, and we will tell you so. We build fiberglass, vinyl and ICF, so the recommendation follows the yard and the family.

Our lead designer, Mike, has spent more than 40 years designing and building pools and was featured on HGTV's Pool Kings. Custom concrete is where that experience shows most, because every ICF pool starts as a blank page. We draw it in 3D on your lot first, so you can walk around the design, check the sun and sight lines from the house, and change the shape before anyone digs.

Both are concrete pools. Gunite is sprayed concrete applied over a steel framework against the excavated earth. ICF walls are poured inside foam forms that stay as insulation. Gunite has a long track record and total design freedom. ICF adds the insulation and a more modular build. We offer gunite on request, and our guide on ICF versus gunite goes through the differences in detail.

Start with how you want to use the pool: when you want to swim, who is swimming, what shape suits the yard. On the site visit we look at access, grade, soil and drainage, the distance to your panel and your town's barrier rule. Then we draw the ICF pool in 3D on your lot, with its shape, depth, finish and features, and price it line by line. We handle the permits, and we work with lenders including PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial if you want to finance.