North Texas PB recommendations?

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B

bubbles

0
Jan 7, 2011
99
North Texas
Hi ya'll, fairly new to TFP and loving it. I've been pouring through the forums and learning so much.We just moved into our house at the beginning of August and are needing to get our pool resurfaced. In the process, I ran across a not so great review of Classic Pools in Grapevine. They are a company that was recommended to me by several people, but I am not feeling good about them from my consult for estimation for resurfacing. The sales guy seemed like he really didn't want to be there and when I was reading the fine print ( yup, I do that) I also saw where they take no responsibility for damages that might occur to the landscaping while working there..WHAT?
So anyways, I realize that I need to get several bids but I really am at a loss as to what other PB's to check with. It's kinda overwhelming and not something you want to do again anytime soon.
I would love to hear what other north texans experiences have been.
Thanks so much!!
B
 
bubbles said:
Hi ya'll, fairly new to TFP and loving it. I've been pouring through the forums and learning so much.We just moved into our house at the beginning of August and are needing to get our pool resurfaced. In the process, I ran across a not so great review of Classic Pools in Grapevine. They are a company that was recommended to me by several people, but I am not feeling good about them from my consult for estimation for resurfacing. The sales guy seemed like he really didn't want to be there and when I was reading the fine print ( yup, I do that) I also saw where they take no responsibility for damages that might occur to the landscaping while working there..WHAT?
So anyways, I realize that I need to get several bids but I really am at a loss as to what other PB's to check with. It's kinda overwhelming and not something you want to do again anytime soon.
I would love to hear what other north texans experiences have been.
Thanks so much!!
B
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Hi B~

I don't live in Texas, but I wanted to say that indeed the "take no responsibility for damages that might occur to the landscaping" was in our contract with our PB. Granted, we had more than a resurfacing done--we had the surround and patio redone. However, it's true in some contracts, and we did sustain some damage to some of our landscaping.

Early on in our project of refurbishing our old existing pool, I learned that a job such as ours was nowhere near as inviting to pool companies as would be a new build, regardless of the fact that it cost the same.

I wish you good luck with your project, and may your patience and hard work researching it all pay off with minimizing surprises as you go along...

Lana
 
Most pool companies will not take resposibility for damage to landscaping... I have a friend that does warranty to work for Jandy and Pentair so he sees most pool companies work maybe he can tell me a good company for you...
 
Thanks for the encouragement Lana!
Keven, that would be great...I am in the DFW area, on the north side close to Denton.
On that note, does anyone know anything about Gohlke Pools? I have talked with them once about another issue and they were very helpful. I am thinking about getting a bid from them, but from what I do know, they are on the high end price wise. Guess I should just take the plunge and at least get them out for a bid.
Hoping more folks will have input! :)
 
Just wanted to give a quick update. Keven, thanks again for getting those referrals. We have decided to go with Claffey and I feel great about the decision. I've been a bit anxious about finding a solid company to do the job and this feels like a really good fit. Thanks again.
 

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I live in Denton and went with Gohlke. No regrets. Lots of post build support. They won't be going out of business anytime soon like a number of builders in Texas. We chose them mainly because of their reputation, longevity and warranty. FWIW, our first choice was cheaper, but at the last minute they raised their prices and killed the deal. They went out of business shortly thereafter. I can't even count how much money I've saved by the "freebies" and discounts I've gotten from Gohlke. Their retail store is just a few miles away; which has come in handy a few times for an emergency part I needed. I've lived here 14 yrs. and never heard of Claffey. Certainly doesn't mean they're not a good choice. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the input tmoss! Indeed Gohlke was near the top on our list and we will definitely still use them for supplies and such. I really liked them, but Claffey came in a little bit better on the bid and after researching them, I feel good about them. I had not heard of them either, but they are a bit further southwest..based in the Southlake area ( kinda expected their bid to be high). Among other research, they have absolutely no BBB complaints in the last 36 months and they have been around since the mid 80's, family run. Thanks again for the input!
 
Saw where you selected Claffey. I expect you've been happy with the result. Claffey built our pool in 2007. Interesting that Gohlke was also mentioned, as those were the 2 finalists for us. Both seem like very good companies. In the end, Claffey's rep, Kevin Gilster, was what tipped the scales. He really listened to what we wanted, explained all of the options, and helped us with a great design. 4 years later and we still love it!
 
Claffey is one of the biggest pool builders in the metroplex! They have a pretty good rep. but I'm sure you can find something with just about all of them! It's all in the customer, if you do your homework and educate yourself on what you want and how it works everything will go smooth! But if you sit inside and wait for water your going to have problems! Ask questions, watch the processes and take lots of pictures. Something your not sure of post a picture and someone can help. Personally I got prices from 6 different builders and everyone of them was to high so I did it myself! Saved myself a ton of money but it does take time, my time was worth almost $20000!
 
Maxepr1
Did you actually build the pool yourself or serve as the GC? I am interested in being my own GC but dont even know where to start. Any recommendations? Does anyone know of any "pool consultants" in the Metroplex area?
ps I did read the ibuiltmyownpool.com website
 
FWTXraz, I'm sure there are consultants but that defeats the purpose of doing it yourself! Yes, I was the GC on my pool. First thing you need to do is design your pool on a software program. Once I had the design locked down I got with the city to see what permits I needed to acquire. This is the only problems I had, city inspectors! Then you hit the yellow pages and start calling trades. This was even easier than I thought it would be! Excavators gave me references on steel guys and it turned out the guys who dug my pool where only working with 1 company on steel and they gave me a great price! You want to make sure once the hole is dug you need to steel it and plumb fairly quickly so as to prevent erosion and cave ins. I had that scheduled perfectly, 4 days.
 
BTW- Cubs fan? I grew up in Central IL and lived in Chicago area for 12 years and at one time a few blocks from Wrigley! Miss that place. Ranger stadium just isnt the same. Cowboys stadium sure doesnt suck though! LOL! What software program would you recommend? And could you let me know who you used for excavation as sound like you had a good one. What about moving or I guess digging up the sprinkler, making sure they dont hit a gas or electrical line?
 
FWTXFraz said:
BTW- Cubs fan? I grew up in Central IL and lived in Chicago area for 12 years and at one time a few blocks from Wrigley! Miss that place. Ranger stadium just isnt the same. Cowboys stadium sure doesnt suck though! LOL! What software program would you recommend? And could you let me know who you used for excavation as sound like you had a good one. What about moving or I guess digging up the sprinkler, making sure they dont hit a gas or electrical line?
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Why Yes, how did you guess! Been down here for 10 years. Cowboys still suck! I'm trying to remember the software program I used? This was 7 years ago so I know there is better out there. Alliance Steel did my steel, the excavator that I used passed away and the last time I tried calling the number was disconnected. Alliance should be able to help you though. Yes if you call "JANE" they will send everyone out to mark the yard. I had to do a complete sprinkler re-route. Alliance does plumbing also. I would give you prices but I don't think they would be of much use.
 

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