Our story

GB IV Designs

GB IV Designs is an aquatic design, engineering and construction firm in Bee Cave, Texas, founded in 2020 by George "Bo" Barnett IV to serve architects nationwide with aquatic and outdoor living design — and to build, exclusively in Central Texas, the environments it designs.

Bo co-founded KB Custom Pools in Austin in 2007 and built it into a nationally ranked Top 50 builder with international project awards. GB IV Designs carries that history forward with a narrower focus: extraordinary aquatic environments for clients who need more than a pool builder.

The firm is family-owned, debt-free and fully insured. Our team brings more than 75+ years of combined experience in pool design and construction, and our crews are specialists we have worked beside for years. A high share of our work comes from repeat clients, architects and referrals.

We build in Austin, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Lakeway, Dripping Springs, Driftwood and the surrounding Hill Country. We design for architects and estate owners anywhere in the United States.

25+

Years of industry leadership

2020

GB IV Designs founded

75+

Years of combined team experience

2007

KB Custom Pools co-founded by Bo

Iridescent glass-tile spa with 360° vanishing edge by GB IV Designs

Portrait of Bo Barnett — photo coming soon

Founder

George "Bo" Barnett IV

Founder, President & Creative Director · Designer. Builder. Educator. Industry advocate.

George R. Barnett IV, known as Bo, is the founder, President and Creative Director of GB IV Designs. He created the company in 2020 to serve architects nationwide with aquatic and outdoor living design from coast to coast, while providing construction services exclusively in Central Texas.

With more than two decades in the industry, Bo is an ASR expert and one of the pioneers of large-panel porcelain installation in aquatic environments. He has taught large-panel porcelain installation for Watershape University and speaks at Coverings and the Southwest Pool & Spa Show.

His recognition includes the 2018 APSP Young Professional of the Year award, Southwest Pool & Spa Show awards, and GB IV Designs' Coverings Installation & Design recognitions in 2025 and 2026. He serves on the board of the Central Texas chapter of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance.

CredentialsCPO · CBP · ACBP (PHTA)
EducationDesign studies, Art Institute of Dallas; hundreds of hours with GENESIS and Watershape University
TeachingLarge-panel porcelain installation, Watershape University
SpeakingCoverings 2024, 2025, 2026 · Southwest Pool & Spa Show
PressPool Magazine, "Pushing Boundaries: Bo Barnett on Large-Panel Porcelain in Pool Design" (Oct 2025)
AffiliationsPHTA Central Texas board · NTCA · NPC · Tributary Revelation Group

Awards, speaking & press

Six proof pillars

Your competitors can duplicate a rectangular pool. They cannot quickly duplicate this résumé.

01

Design

Award-winning aquatic and outdoor architecture, modelled in 3D before it is built.

02

Engineering

Hydraulics, elevations, structural complexity and difficult Hill Country sites resolved on paper first.

03

Material Innovation

Large-format porcelain, glass, specialty finishes and the installation systems that make them permanent in water.

04

Craft

Gunite, waterproofing, tile, stone and plaster executed by specialists and inspected by the designers.

05

Complete Environments

Pool, spa, landscape, structures, fire, kitchen and lighting designed as one composition.

06

Industry Leadership

Teaching, speaking, awards and trade-organisation service that keep the firm at the front of the field.

Our process

Five steps from first meeting to first swim.

Every project follows the same sequence, run by the people who designed it. Expand each step for what happens and how long it typically takes.

Perimeter-overflow pool construction detail by GB IV Designs, Bee Cave

We meet at the property, walk the site with you and document grade, soil, access, utilities, trees, views and how you actually want to live outdoors. We discuss investment range honestly before anyone draws a line.

Timing: Scheduled within 1–2 weeks.

Bo and the design team develop the concept — geometry, elevations, water and fire, structures, materials — and build a 3D model you can walk through. We revise until the design is right, not until the hours run out.

Timing: 3–6 weeks.

Structural, hydraulic and equipment engineering are completed, the proposal is itemised line by line, and we prepare and manage permit, HOA and municipal submissions.

Timing: 3–8+ weeks, permit-dependent.

Excavation, steel, gunite, plumbing and electrical, waterproofing, tile and stone, decking, structures, equipment and landscape — sequenced and inspected by the people who drew the plans. You receive a schedule and regular site reports.

Timing: 14–28 weeks, scope-dependent.

We balance the water, programme the automation, verify every system and walk you through operating the pool. Warranty documents and a maintenance plan are handed over in writing.

Timing: 1–2 weeks.

3D model vs. finished project

What you approve is what we build.

Drag the handle to compare the 3D model with the finished environment.

3D model coming soon

Finished cliffside-overflow project by GB IV Designs

3D modelFinished

3D model coming soon

Finished estate-infinity project by GB IV Designs

3D modelFinished

Why GB IV

Four reasons architects and owners call us first.

01

One accountable team

The people who design your pool are the people who build it. Your project is not handed to a stranger once the drawings are signed.

02

Gunite, not shortcuts

We build in gunite — shaped to your yard rather than dropped into it — and engineer every shell for Austin's limestone and clay.

03

Proof, not adjectives

Coverings CID recognition in 2025 and 2026, a Southwest Pool & Spa Show Gold for technical and engineering achievement, and 23 SWPSS category awards in two years.

04

Built to be published

Our projects are photographed, awarded and written about because they are designed to a standard most pool contractors do not attempt.

Reviews

4.6 stars on Google across 83 reviews.

Verified reviews from homeowners, builders and architects in the Greater Austin area.

“Chad has been an invaluable designer through the years, helping me navigate multiple custom pool designs with unmatched expertise.”

Eric Morris · Google review

“Highly responsive and professional. I would definitely recommend Bo, he is truly top notch!”

Claire Stewart · Google review

Client stories — the challenge, the GB IV solution and the result for each project — are being prepared with our clients and will appear here.

An aquatic architecture firm, not a pool company.