Pool house construction in Provence
In Provence, summer life happens around the swimming pool, yet many gardens lack the building that makes it truly comfortable: somewhere to change, rinse off, store the sun loungers, keep drinks cold and step out of the midday sun. A well-designed pool house does all of that and, built with the right materials, looks as though it has always stood beside the water.
ACR Provence is a general building contractor working across the Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Var and Alpes-Maritimes. For a pool house, we take on the whole job under one contract – foundations, walls, roof, plumbing, electrics, tiling and the paving that joins the building to your pool deck – so you deal with a single contact from the first site visit to handover, even if you live abroad.
Get a free pool house quote
Which type of pool house suits your garden?
The right format depends on how you use the pool, how often you host guests and what French planning rules allow on your plot. Here is how the three most common options compare.
| Criterion | Open pool pavilion | Enclosed pool house | Pool house with summer kitchen or guest room |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it offers | Roofed shade for loungers and an outdoor dining table, open on one or more sides. | Changing room, shower, WC and storage for cushions, toys and pool cleaning gear. | Everything an enclosed pool house offers, plus a fitted kitchen, a bar or a sleeping area. |
| Weather protection | Partial – sun and light showers, but exposed to wind and the mistral. | ✔ Full – lockable, so equipment stays inside all year. | ✔ Full – can be insulated for use in spring and autumn. |
| Water and drainage | Optional – an outdoor shower is often enough. | ✔ Required – water supply and waste connection. | ✔ Required – hot water and a waste connection sized for a kitchen. |
| Electrical work | Lighting and a few weatherproof sockets. | A dedicated, protected circuit suited to a wet area close to a pool. | A circuit sized for cooking appliances, a fridge and possibly air conditioning. |
| Scale of works | ✔ Light – posts or low walls and a roof on a concrete slab. | Medium – masonry shell, networks and interior finishes. | ✘ Heaviest – a small building in its own right, with a full fit-out. |
Good to know: French planning law treats a pool house as an annex building. Its footprint and floor area – including a roofed area with open sides – decide which application is needed, so we check your plot against the local urban plan (Plan Local d'Urbanisme, PLU) before anything is drawn.
What goes into a well-built pool house
A pool house stands in the harshest spot of the garden: full sun, splashes of chlorinated or salt water, wet feet on the floor and, in much of Provence, the mistral. Every trade has to be planned with those conditions in mind.
Work starts with a reinforced concrete slab or strip footings sized for your soil. Much of Provence sits on clay that swells and shrinks with the seasons, so the foundations are never an afterthought. Walls are built in concrete block, then finished with lime render or faced with stone to match the main house.
Choose a pitched roof in Provençal clay tiles with a traditional tiered eave (génoise), a flat roof with a waterproof membrane, or a pergola that extends the shaded area towards the water. Roof overhangs are set to keep the terrace in shade during the hottest hours of the day.
A shower, WC, washbasin or summer kitchen needs a water supply and a waste pipe connected to the mains sewer or to your septic system. The electrics follow the French NF C 15-100 standard, which sets strict safety zones around swimming pools; lighting, sockets and pool equipment each run on protected circuits.
Inside, we lay non-slip, frost-resistant tiles that cope with wet feet, fit timber or aluminium doors and louvred shutters, and choose worktops that stand up to sun and chlorine. Outside, stone paving or exposed-aggregate concrete links the pool house to the pool deck on one level.
From first sketch to first swim: how your project runs
Building a pool house involves more paperwork than most owners expect. Below is the sequence we follow, with the official processing times that apply in France. If the pool itself is still to be built, our swimming pool construction service can be planned alongside, so both share the same excavation and networks.
We visit the plot, measure the distances to the boundaries and to the pool, check access for machinery and talk through how you want to use the building. Your free, detailed quote follows within 48 hours.
Up to 5 m² of floor area and footprint, no application is usually needed. Between 5 and 20 m², a prior declaration (déclaration préalable) is filed at the town hall, with a one-month processing time. Beyond 20 m², a building permit (permis de construire) is required, with two months of processing. Near a listed monument or in a protected area, even a small structure needs a declaration, the design is reviewed by the Architecte des Bâtiments de France (ABF) and one extra month is added. Once approved, the decision is displayed on site and neighbours have two months to challenge it; we advise waiting for that period to end before breaking ground.
Excavation, foundations and trenches for water, drainage and power from the house or the pool plant room, then the masonry walls and the roof. Access routes and the pool surround are protected so that the existing pool, its coping and the garden are not damaged by machinery or dust.
Plumbing and electrics are connected, then the tiling, joinery and outdoor paving are completed. At handover we walk through the building with you or your representative and sign the formal acceptance record (procès-verbal de réception), which starts the 10-year warranty (garantie décennale) on the structure. Our guide to guarantees and after-sales service explains what each warranty covers.
Pool house questions from overseas owners
Can the pool filtration equipment go inside the pool house?
Yes, and it is often the neatest solution. A separate, ventilated technical room holds the pump, filter and control panel, keeping noise and pool chemicals away from the changing area. It has to stay close enough to the pool to keep pipe runs short, which is one reason the position of the building is decided early.
Can guests sleep in the pool house?
It is possible, but a bedroom turns the annex into living space: insulation, ventilation, windows and a compliant waste connection become necessary, and the floor area counts towards the limits of your local plan. If the real goal is extra accommodation attached to the house, a house extension may be the simpler route.
Will a pool house increase my property taxes?
In most cases, yes. A closed, roofed building of more than 5 m² is liable for the one-off development tax (taxe d'aménagement) and must be declared to the tax office, which then includes it in the annual property tax (taxe foncière). An open pavilion is treated differently. Rates are set locally, so your notaire or the local tax office can confirm the figures for your commune.
I live abroad – can the build go ahead without me on site?
Yes. You agree with us how often you want written updates and photos, and one site manager remains your contact throughout. Our page on project management for non-resident owners describes how this works day to day.
How is the price of a pool house worked out?
There is no standard price: the cost depends on the size, the planning route, whether water and drainage are needed, the type of roof, the distance to existing networks and the finishes you choose. The renovation cost guide explains how building quotes in Provence are put together, and your own quote is free and sent within 48 hours of the site visit.
Where we build pool houses
Our four agencies cover the départements where most private pools in Provence and on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) are found. The nearest agency carries out your site visit and follows the works.
Rules vary from one commune to the next: coastal towns fall under the French coastal protection law (loi Littoral), and many wooded hillside plots in the Var and Alpes-Maritimes carry legal wildfire clearance obligations (obligations légales de débroussaillement) that influence where an annex can stand and which materials suit it.
Keep planning your project:
Buying and renovating in Provence How renovation costs are estimated Request a free quote
Before our site visit: what helps us quote accurately
The title deed or purchase agreement, the land registry plan and, if you have one, a boundary survey. They show the limits of the plot and any rights of way.
How many people use the pool, whether you want a kitchen, a shower or storage for the pool robot, and a few photos of pool houses you like.
Where water, electricity and waste pipes run today, and where the pool plant room is. A plan of the pool installation is ideal.
Ready to plan your pool house?
Tell us about your plot and your pool: your free quote arrives within 48 hours, backed by a 10-year warranty on the structure.