Where do you guys find these poolbuilders?

[ouachita]

It seems that the majority of the people having pools built (at least the ones who post build threads on here) are displeased with their poolbuilders. There also seems to be a growing number of posters who knock builders frequently. I have to wonder is it really that bad? Is it that hard to find a good pool builder? I just don't hear that much negativity locally but most of the pools around here are vinyl. Could it be that the pool builds people document on here are more complex and more prone to delays and mess ups? Are buyers that are the type to post build threads too particular? Is it like the homebuilding industry was here a few years ago when everyone that didn't need to build houses was resulting in a massive amount of inferior homes being built? Are pool builders in general just that crappy and untrustworthy?

Honestly, had I read these build threads prior to building a pool I probably never would have done it. What is your opinion on the reason for the angst (or am I just imagining things)?

 

[BeerGuy]

I found my poolbuilder by talking to friends who had pools built and listening to their experiences. Maybe I just got lucky, but I have no complaints about my build. I think there truly are some nightmare builds on here (ones that take months and months to complete or have some major issues), but most of what I see on here is VERY picky consumers. I can totally understand that given the fact that we're spending tens of thousands of dollars on these projects, but I don't get the impression that all of these builders are fly-by-night hacks.

 

[Jabooh1]

My PB built my parents pool 15 years ago. He did an excellent job.

 

[DoubleD]

I believe with every construction job there will be issues and speedbumps. I think the largest issue is people dealing with the speedbumps. Some people are more unrealistic than others.

There was one pool build on here, I believe in North Dallas that had more problems than I could actually believe. I think half were the PB problems and half were theirs....but the post was written one sided.

 

[duraleigh]

Often a pool build will go smoothly and the owner never has any reason to get on the net and seek advice about sloppy work.

You never hear from those builds.

The builds you DO hear from come with issues (regardless of fault) so they come to forums like this.

Sorta' like tech support who's ONLY calls are from people having problems.

 

[pooldv]

I agree with Dave. For every bad build there are probably 100 good ones. And whatever that saying your mom told you when you were a kid, it takes 10 good deeds to overcome one bad action.

Just to spread some more good news. Our neighbor of eight years built our pool and we still like them! And have gladly recommended them on many occasions.

 

[dumbcluck]

Pool builders are generally a different breed of contractor. As far as I can tell most have no formal training and therefore no real standardization in the industry. Like any other trade some care more than others and take personal Pride in their work. Not all are bad. Some people just expect perfection which is unrealistic.
My personal experience was that none of them including the boss really knew how things work as much as how to do the work. That being said my pool turned out ok. It was a frustrating time for me who was learning about how things work and getting too involved in the process. I'm thankful to have learned what I think I know from this site in particular.
All experiences will be different but I do think it can be tough on the workers who generally don't focus on one aspect But do have a hand in say plumbing, tiling and concrete work for example. It is hard to be proficient in all their duties. Plus I think a lot of the workers are not paid that well so they just do things the same way regardless of design. I don't fault them for this but it can be frustrating for the pool owner.
Just my opinion.

 

[JayBauman]

I think there are a few reasons why it seems like everyone has problems with their PBs, including:

1. Some people post their pool builds on this forum just to vent on how bad their project was; we never hear from the good ones.
2. Some people have unreasonable expectations for their PB. There will be problems with every build; you have to be flexible.
3. Communication: I've seen lots of posts where people assumed one thing and got another thing. A lot of people don't hammer out every detail at contract execution.
4. Quick, trouble-free pool builds don't make for very interesting posts. I had an extremely pleasant build last year (see my signature for a link), so I didn't have to vent very much. My pool build 3 years ago at a previous house was nearly the same.

I'm sure there are other reasons not mentioned above. I think all of my friends who have built pools have had rather nice experiences, so I presume that most of the time it works out well for everyone.

 

[bmoreswim]

Posters here, and on any specialty forum, tend to have more involvement in the details than your average Joe or Josephina. I was the most detailed homeowner that my PB had ever dealt with. Not in a particularly bad way (we actually had a great personal relationship that developed). He doesn't build tons of pools but enough that gave me the sense that many people just right checks, or tend towards that end of the spectrum anyway. More involvement can lead you to see what may not be correct or ideal. Whereas a less involved homeowner may get a pool installed and not question or address some of the same details.

 

[chiefwej]

I agree that the vast majority of the pool builders do a very good job and there are few problems. But this being the Internet you will generaly only hear about those with problems. Count how many threads are started to tell us that everything is going great with their pool vs how many come looking for help because it's a disaster.

I had very few issues with my pool build. My pool builder did an excellent job, both in working with us on the design and producing a pool that I'm still very happy with. The only complaint we had was that it took way longer than we were told. Of course that was several years ago in the time of a building boom. No one on the job for weeks, then I would be awaken one morning by Mariachi music, look out to see 20 workers in my back yard. Then the local concrete plant was shut down for several weeks, backing up all construction in the area. Ended up taking nearly twice what was projected.

There are a few things about my pool that I would have changed, but that's only because I know so much more than I did at the time I was building. My pool builder gave me four seperate suction runs and four retun runs on the main pool loop, plus a secondary loop for the spa. I have seperate valves and pipe runs for floor drains, skimmers, cleaning port, and spa suction, seperate returns for floor cleaning, spa return, side bypass, and even a fountain in the spa. Dual pumps so that the heater and spa jets are on a separate loop, but valved so that I can switch the heater to the pool return loop. Considering how little I knew at the time, I'm amazed at how much thought the pool builder put into the plumbing layout, to provide me with maximum flexibility. All without me asking. No complaints here!