Michael quotes every job. Michael runs every site. No subcontracted mystery — just 15 years of gunite craft, backed by the same phone number from dig day to fill day.
Michael Van Cleave Jr. has been building custom gunite pools across Johnson and Hood County since 2010. When you call GoodTimes Gunite Pools, you get Michael — not a salesperson, not a project coordinator, not a crew foreman you've never met.
Michael personally walks every property, writes every quote, and oversees construction from the day the excavator arrives to the day you take your first swim. The GoodTimes difference is straightforward: the owner is on the job.
Every pool Michael builds is designed on-site, rendered in 3D before a shovel breaks ground, and constructed with the same trusted gunite crew he's worked with for over a decade.
Gunite is the only material flexible enough to build all of this — and it's the only medium Michael works with. Every shape is structurally reinforced, every finish is poured-in-place, every pool is built to outlast the house it sits behind.
Rectilinear lines, dark plaster, travertine coping, vanishing edges. Clean and timeless.
Organic shapes, grotto features, boulder waterfalls. Looks like it grew out of the yard.
Swim-up bars, cascading water features, fire bowls. Built for serious North Texas entertaining.
Full-length swim lanes, tanning shelves, daily-use swimming for serious athletes.
Custom gunite spas — standalone or integrated — built to your exact dimension and depth.
Pool, BBQ island, fireplace, pergola — the whole backyard as one continuous project.
Michael walks you through every step before construction begins. No hidden change orders, no mystery subcontractors, no project manager you've never met. Just Michael and his crew.
Every feature is engineered into the pool from day one — built into the plumbing, the gunite shell, and the deck. Nothing is bolt-on and nothing is an afterthought.
Gas, electric, or solar. North Texas winters are real — heated pools get used all year.
Gentler on skin, lower chemical cost, cleaner long-term water quality.
Energy-efficient Pentair and Hayward systems — lower operating costs, quieter run.
Control lighting, heat, jets, and cleaning from your phone or a wall panel.
Stone-face spillovers, sheet falls, boulder grottos — built in at the gunite stage.
Gas-fed fire bowls on travertine plinths — the signature North Texas evening detail.
Shallow 9–12 in. shelves with umbrella sleeves — built in from the gunite stage.
Pebble Tec, Pebble Sheen, and Pebble Fina — premium quartz aggregate plasters.
Outdoor kitchens, pergolas, fire features, decking — Michael coordinates the whole backyard as one project, one timeline, one crew. No juggling three separate contractors.
Full outdoor kitchens with refrigeration, prep sinks, side burners, and optional wood-fired pizza ovens. Built into the same hardscape as the pool — same stone, same hand, same timeline.
Cedar pergolas anchored on stone columns or steel-frame structures with tensioned shade sail. We engineer them with the deck so they're structural — never bolted on after the fact.
Wood and gas fire pits built into travertine seating walls or standing freely as the backyard's focal point. Full outdoor stone fireplaces for the larger builds.
The deck completes the pool. Travertine stays cool underfoot on Texas summer days. Limestone coping for the natural builds. Custom-finished concrete for the modern geometric projects.
Michael Van Cleave Jr. founded GoodTimes Gunite Pools in 2010 after years in the North Texas construction trades. His philosophy has never changed: if the owner's name is on the sign, the owner should be on the job.
What you get is not a corporate team. You get Michael's personal cell number, Michael at the pre-construction walkthrough, Michael at the gunite shoot, and Michael at the owner handoff. Same phone number. Every time.
Real reviews from homeowners across Johnson and Hood County — pulled from Google, Yelp, and the BBB.
Most Johnson and Hood County gunite pools land between $55K and $130K depending on size, finish level, and features. Michael works with two specialist pool lenders and your home equity bank.
Specialized swimming pool financing — fixed rates, terms up to 25 years, no home equity required.
Unsecured pool loans up to $200K with rapid approval and flexible terms for new builds and remodels.
Prefer your own bank? We'll work with their appraisal and draw schedule on your home equity line.
Promotional rates change quarterly · Confirm current offers with your loan officer at consultation
Michael comes to you. The site visit takes about an hour — he walks the property, listens to what you want, sketches a layout on the spot, and gives you a ballpark number before he leaves.
From there he builds out a full 3D render and a fixed bid. If it's a fit, you set a dig date. If it isn't, you keep the sketch — no cost, no obligation.
If your property is anywhere in Johnson or Hood County — or in Tarrant County communities near the county line — Michael will come out for a free on-site estimate. Based in Godley, TX since 2010.
