Factory Direct sale and install from Leisure Pools?

[Eers75]

First off thank you for this great site. It's been very help full with my pool building research. My main question is has any one had a factory direct install from Leisure Pools?

So I have been talking to two dealers that install fiberglass pools. Both I must say have been very helpful. One of them deals with the Viking line while the other handles Trilogy. Both pools are made here in WV ,where I'm from, at the same factory which I actually took a tour of. In my search to find a 3rd option (yes I like lots of options) I clicked on the "Contact us link" on the Leisure site and filled out the information and asked if there was any local builders. I got an email back from a Luis Savastano saying since there was no local dealer that they would actually do a factory direct install for me. He sent me some information and price on the pool the wife and I were interested in and we scheduled a phone call. I was very curious on how this works. He explained they have 4 teams that travel around direct from the factory that install there pools in areas that are not covered by a local dealer. This is not an option for people that have a local Leisure dealer. He says going this rout I get factory direct price and the install is covered by Leisure. We talked for 30 min and I liked all that stuff he was saying, I like the price that he gave and the idea of the install covered by the factory. But call me old school I like shaking a mans hand and looking him in the eye when I'm about to spend 46k+. The thought of just responding to an email and talking on the phone has me questioning if it's too good to be true maybe it is. I have been debating whether or not to take the 6 1/2hr trip down to Tenn. The only problem is we have two young kids (6,4) and my wife is currently getting chemo for breast cancer. I don't know how she would do on the trip and I really don't want to leave her home alone with the kids.

Back to my original question.. Has any one on here ever gotten a factory direct install from Leisure or heard of it? I was very surprised to hear they even did it.

The pool I'm looking at...

The Caribbean | Leisure Pools USA

Caribbean
They say the price includes 1-Skimmer, 3-Returns, 2-Main drains, 3 lights, Lifetime Structural warranty and Lifetime Osmosis Warranty
Equipment. 325 SQ feet Hayward cartridge filter, 2.5hp Hayward Eco STR Variable speed pump, 25k Hayward salt chlorinator.

He says it comes with 2" flex pipe but I asked how much he would charge for hard pipe. He said he would upgrade it for free.

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to TFP,

I think its like brands of anything. Ask around enough, and you'll find people who love and loathe them. I've seen both here on the forum, and I would encourage you to look around here for more on the subject. I just wanted to welcome you aboard and say we hope ypu enjoy the forum.

 

[bulldog0321]

Hi Eers75,

I'm just wondering if you decided to go through with the Leisure Pools factory install? We are first time [possible] pool buyers up in NY and are considering the same exact thing, but with a Pinnacle 40' model from Leisure Pools. We have also been speaking with Luis. Like you I am concerned about what could go wrong in the future, and the pool is still far from cheap even with the "factory direct" pricing. Our choice is between a $37k vinyl 18x36 pool with coping, equipment and 140k heat pump, or go the Leisure Pools route which will be about $54k for pool, equipment 140k heat pump and coping. Please let me know if you went through with Leisure and if so how it went.

Thanks and all the best,
Ken

 

[Eers75]

Yes we did. Over all it was a good experience. My neighbor will be installing one this summer.

Pros,
Cheaper.. There is a Leisure installer that's an hour away from us. Were out of his normal area but he was willing to travel. The same pool we ended up getting from Luis was 12k dollars more from him.
Faster. All the local pool installers are booked up solid. One local vinyl liner installer is booked up a year out.

Before I go into the cons understand that maybe other company's are the same way. This is our first experience with building a pool.

Cons,
Communication. When we went through the ordering process I requested 2" hard pipe for my suction and returns. The guy showed up with 1 1/2' flex. I guess that's what they always use and no one told him any different. If I had not been here the pool would have been done in flex. The installer that showed up was from NJ and was Mexican. I do not have a problem with him being Mexican but his English was not great. That caused some problems.

Speed. Time is money of course for the installer. I thought he rushed placing the pool in the hole. He did take it out once to move some gravel around. One area of my pool is about an 3/4”-1” lower.(just in one spot) He told me it was lower but that it was a factory mold problem. He could not get that area level. Also one area of my benche has a hollow spot. When I contacted Luis about this he said that's normal. Will see. If the installer had over dug the area more he could have gotten down in to where the bench was to insure there was enough gravel.
The installer that showed up at my house was an outside contractor. So he payed for the equipment, gravel, pipping etc out of his own pocket. So less gravel used = more money for him.

They do not do any electrical or concrete at all. Electrical was not a big deal for me. I was able to take care of that my self. I had the panel hooked up and ready to go before they got here. But keep that in mind. You will have to hire some one to wire up the equipment or do it your self. Finding a concrete contractor is where I ran into problems. Vinyl liner pools are very common in my area. Most contractors are comfortable doing those. I only found 2 contractors even willing to put in a bid on my concrete coping. And neither one of them had done it before. My coping is ok but not as nice as I had hoped.

Licesened. This is some thing I didn't think about. Since these guys travel around the country the chances of them having your states contractors licenses is slim. This caused me problems with getting a permit. I got around the issue by saying it was a diy project that a couple of my friends were helping me with. But in hindsight that was not very smart. If they did screw up my install I'm not sure I could do any thing about it legally.

Would we do it again? Under the same circumstances yes. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec of 2016. Her one request was a pool to help her recover. Our home owners will not allow above ground pools so I started busting my *** trying to find a company that could install a inground pool by the start of summer.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. I am in no way a pool expert but I might be able to help.

Mike

 

[ch0ne]

Hi Mike,

How long did it take for Leisure to fully complete the install? Have you had any issues since you mentioned a hollow spot on your bench area?

Thanks in advance,

Ch0ne

Yes we did. Over all it was a good experience. My neighbor will be installing one this summer.

Pros,
Cheaper.. There is a Leisure installer that's an hour away from us. Were out of his normal area but he was willing to travel. The same pool we ended up getting from Luis was 12k dollars more from him.
Faster. All the local pool installers are booked up solid. One local vinyl liner installer is booked up a year out.

Before I go into the cons understand that maybe other company's are the same way. This is our first experience with building a pool.

Cons,
Communication. When we went through the ordering process I requested 2" hard pipe for my suction and returns. The guy showed up with 1 1/2' flex. I guess that's what they always use and no one told him any different. If I had not been here the pool would have been done in flex. The installer that showed up was from NJ and was Mexican. I do not have a problem with him being Mexican but his English was not great. That caused some problems.

Speed. Time is money of course for the installer. I thought he rushed placing the pool in the hole. He did take it out once to move some gravel around. One area of my pool is about an 3/4”-1” lower.(just in one spot) He told me it was lower but that it was a factory mold problem. He could not get that area level. Also one area of my benche has a hollow spot. When I contacted Luis about this he said that's normal. Will see. If the installer had over dug the area more he could have gotten down in to where the bench was to insure there was enough gravel.
The installer that showed up at my house was an outside contractor. So he payed for the equipment, gravel, pipping etc out of his own pocket. So less gravel used = more money for him.

They do not do any electrical or concrete at all. Electrical was not a big deal for me. I was able to take care of that my self. I had the panel hooked up and ready to go before they got here. But keep that in mind. You will have to hire some one to wire up the equipment or do it your self. Finding a concrete contractor is where I ran into problems. Vinyl liner pools are very common in my area. Most contractors are comfortable doing those. I only found 2 contractors even willing to put in a bid on my concrete coping. And neither one of them had done it before. My coping is ok but not as nice as I had hoped.

Licesened. This is some thing I didn't think about. Since these guys travel around the country the chances of them having your states contractors licenses is slim. This caused me problems with getting a permit. I got around the issue by saying it was a diy project that a couple of my friends were helping me with. But in hindsight that was not very smart. If they did screw up my install I'm not sure I could do any thing about it legally.

Would we do it again? Under the same circumstances yes. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec of 2016. Her one request was a pool to help her recover. Our home owners will not allow above ground pools so I started busting my *** trying to find a company that could install a inground pool by the start of summer.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. I am in no way a pool expert but I might be able to help.

Mike

 

[sktn77a]

Well, "shaking hands" with the owner is all well and good but that's probably the last you'll see of him. The install crew is something totally different and if he's like most Pool Builders, he'll have different subs doing different parts of the install. On the other hand, having an experienced crew who do nothing but travel around the country and install these pool takes a lot of the guesswork and potential finger pointing out of the picture.

 

[Eers75]

Hi Mike,

How long did it take for Leisure to fully complete the install? Have you had any issues since you mentioned a hollow spot on your bench area?

Thanks in advance,

Ch0ne

If I remember right they were putting water in it on the 3rd day. They came back on the 4th to clean up add more stone ect. My pool didn’t show up on time so it took a little longer.

No we have not had any issues so far.

Mike

 

[Eers75]

Well, "shaking hands" with the owner is all well and good but that's probably the last you'll see of him. The install crew is something totally different and if he's like most Pool Builders, he'll have different subs doing different parts of the install. On the other hand, having an experienced crew who do nothing but travel around the country and install these pool takes a lot of the guesswork and potential finger pointing out of the picture.

Keith
At that time I was not worried about the installers. I was worried about sending some one 46k dollars through square cash/cashier check before I ever saw a real person. At this point I was only responding to a random email that showed up in my inbox after I had visited their site. It could have been a 12 year old sitting behind a desk some where. So I spent some time making sure this was a legit deal. I know my “tinfoil hat” was sitting a little to tight. I ended up calling the company direct asking if they had a sales person by that name and got his number from them.

 

[sktn77a]

If I remember right they were putting water in it on the 3rd day. They came back on the 4th to clean up add more stone ect. My pool didn’t show up on time so it took a little longer.

Wow! That's wonderful news! Must be a record! I'm sure others will be interested in this, as the pool building process must be right up there with death and divorce for stress!

 

[HBliving]

Hi Mike,
I’m in California and I felt the same way, I’m very skeptical and uncomfortable quite frankly about paying someone that much money communicating via text and email only. Anyhow I have the luxury of Luis
whom happens to live 10 min away so I was able to meet with him one time. I’m still not 100% comfortable. Anyhow I ended up using my credit card as payment so I have a safety net. We are booked for install in the next week so I will keep you posted. Feel free to reach out with any questions. I will also be taking pix of the install so I can post those. So far it’s been stressful bc our install date has been pushed back 3 months after I went through the hassle of pulling a permit and putting down my deposit. He didn’t ask for the huge payment until now (a week before install). Crossing my fingers.

 

[Eers75]

Hi Gabby
I did end up going with Leisure. For the most part every thing went well. The third reply down I gave a quick overview of the outcome. I hope all goes well with your install also.
Add this site to your favorites if it’s not already. They have made owning a pool so much easier.

Mike

 

[swtalker]

Hi guys,

We live in Duluth, GA (suburb of Atlanta), and we are trying to do our due diligence before we commit to a $40k fiberglass pool with Luis. We are contractors, but we only do interior remodeling and design. With this said, is everyone still happy with Luis and the Leisure Pools USA? Is there anything you would have done differently? Thank you, Hannah

 

[uvavi8r]

@ Hannah - I just signed a contract with Luis (I live in Fairfax County, VA) and things are going okay...we are having some difficulty getting through the permitting process for the install (Fairfax County probably has one of the more complicated and restrictive processes in the country) due to the design drawings being fairly generic. I have reached out to Luis and we "think" wet stamped plans (provided at an additional cost) will satisfy the county, if not, I am not sure what avenue to take next. You are contractors, so you might already have an "in" with the permit office, I didn't. I am considering using a permit expediter in the area. I will keep this thread and the forum updated.

 

[swtalker]

@ Hannah - I just signed a contract with Luis (I live in Fairfax County, VA) and things are going okay...we are having some difficulty getting through the permitting process for the install (Fairfax County probably has one of the more complicated and restrictive processes in the country) due to the design drawings being fairly generic. I have reached out to Luis and we "think" wet stamped plans (provided at an additional cost) will satisfy the county, if not, I am not sure what avenue to take next. You are contractors, so you might already have an "in" with the permit office, I didn't. I am considering using a permit expediter in the area. I will keep this thread and the forum updated.

Hi there, thanks for reaching out! Which model and size did you choose? When is your install date? We live with in city limits so our permit would be through the city rather than our county. We just had to pull one for the 150 ft X9 ft retaining wall we had built. Permitting took about 2 weeks and it was pretty smooth. Hopefully the pool will be the same.

Good luck and please let me know how it turns out!

 

[uvavi8r]

@ Hannah - We went with the Elegance 26, here is a link to my other thread with the info.

Signed Contract in NoVA

Wes