Palm Springs, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

015, sets the minimum inspection sequence for every swimming pool permit issued by the Department of Building and Safety. The Pre-Gunite inspection comes first, after the pool steel is placed and bonded but before any gunite is sprayed. Next is the Underground inspection, covering plumbing, gas and electrical lines, which happens after Pre-Gunite and after all underground utilities are installed but before any pipe or conduit is covered; the code allows a single combination inspection to cover both Pre-Gunite and Underground at once. Deck bonding follows once the pool deck steel is installed and bonded but before any deck concrete is poured.

The Encapsulation inspection comes after the shell is gunited and the lighting niche is installed and wired, but before plaster or any other finish goes on, and by that point every alarm, barrier and other protective safety measure required for the pool must already be in place, not added later. The Final inspection closes out the permit only after every prior inspection has passed and the pool has been filled with water, confirming the completed system holds and operates as built. Skipping a stage, such as pouring gunite before Pre-Gunite sign-off or plastering before Encapsulation approval, forces the contractor to expose the covered work again so the inspector can verify it, tearing out whatever finish or concrete was poured over it.