We live in Friendswood and we are just finishing our pool now. We started swimming a couple weeks ago. I have a sample size of 1, but we have loved working with Pineloch Pools. Small company, have gotten a lot of personal service. He uses the absolute best subs, hands-down. We loved the design from day 1, he listened to what we wanted, but gave sound advice when we asked, had lots of ideas for us. He's up on the latest technology and gave us a very resonable quote. We got quotes from 3 other companies.

I would also say that having been on this forum for a while, I would also include Backyard Amenities and Pearland Pools, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

I have a thread here that shows our pool build. If the link doesn't work, look for the thread "New Pool build in South Houston".

Here is a link that might be useful: New Pool build in South Houston

I've known Brad (Backyard Amenities) for a long time. He's one of the good guys, and I've been following Spaceman's pool build for quite a while. Pineloch has built him an AWESOME pool indeed. although I don't know the builder I'll second his referral, I recognized many of the workers faces in his pic's. He's correct, they're among the best of the best from around town.
Another good company in your area is Rainey Pools, They've been around for a very long time and are a great organization.

See ya,
Kelly

We could not have been more satisfied with our builder, Pearland Pools. We went with them on the recommendation of 3 different friends that have used them over the past 8 years. All of us have also had great "after the job is done" service from Randy and his folks.

Here's our build, in case you're interested:

Linky Thing: Leonardsmalls Pool Build

I'm also in the same area and when I started getting recommendations these are the names that came up the most (no particular order)... Pineloch Pools, Backyard Amenities, Aquasport Pools, Pearland Pools. Castlerock Pools was also recommended but when I spoke with them, they stated that they are staying closer to home. I found that odd considering that I know from this forum that they've built in League City recently.

lala....CastleRock built our pool here in League City over the winter. They're awesome and build a great pool but sadly, building so far from Katy, dealing with League City's building permit department (don't get me started), and plenty of business elsewhere made them re-think building here. I don't blame them. Unfortunate for people in our area, but I got a bid from Backyard Amenities during our search for a PB...nearly went with them. Brad is very familiar with League City's building department, and has built tons of pools in this area. Pearland Pools and now Pineloch Pools build very nice pools and have happy customers here. A good friend of mine had a very bad experience with Aquasport. HTH

I did have Backyard Amenities come out and Brad was super, really nice guy...built a close friends pool. Just haven't heard from him since (couple of weeks now). He's building right around the corner from my house and down the road next door to another friend so he may be busy.
Pineloch has a reputation for being "high end", at least with the people I've spoken with. Another close friend had them build her pool and she raves about them -- on a side note, she did mention that she went to school with one of the owners! Could be a who ya know kind of thing. Not sure.
Aquasport has built many of my friends pools in the last 10 years with no problems, they all seem to love Ron. I guess it can be hit or miss though with any builder.

Pisces- I have followed your build and have drawn inspiration from all of your choices! Love everything about your pool---the whole reason I called Castlerock! You have a great eye for planning and details! When I get down to the nitty gritty, I may have to send you pics for approval! :)

Pearland Pools has a wonderful design team. They are great at listening to what you want and designing something that will fit your needs and your budget. I don't have any personal building experience with them but they do have great recommendations from people that have used them.

Ask around, personally, word of mouth is a great communicator. People are more than happy to tell you the good, bad and the ugly that they or someone they know has experienced.

Thank you lala..I consider that a great compliment!! I'll help you any way I can. I need to put my build on here - just been so busy lately...will take some new pics and do that soon. Glad to know you've had plenty of friend with good Aquasport experiences..yep...every builder will have somebody that they just don't mesh with! They did build a pool a few houses down, and they seem pleased.

With Brad..yes, I think he gets very busy...you'll probably have to follow up with him by phone. I think it'd be really worth it, though. ern8a and lala...you'll have some good companies to talk to now..the hardest part will be making the final decision...eek! Whew..glad my build is done and I'm out enjoying. Good luck, guys!!

Wow, this is an Awesome forum! super quick replies. Anyway, so far I have contacted Brad at Backyard amenities, Pearland pools and Houston Pool Design. so we'll see what each of them has to offer. I will also give Pineloch a shout. I also got a call from a company called Milligan's Island pools. has anybody heard anything about them? the guys seemed personable and said he only builds one pool at a time...but you never know.

Thanks for all the super quick responses!

Hi,
We live in League City and went with Brad at Backyard Amenities. WE LOVED HIM! He built us a pool in 3 weeks with top of the line everything. All of his subs were absolutely fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. They all just wanted me to be very happy at every stage and I was really particular. They have all been working with Brad for a long time. Brad does a top notch job and doesn't skimp on anything. We are so happy we went with him and highly recommend him.

We are in League City too and are planning on building a pool soon.
We got a great quote from Blue Haven. Has anyone used them? Also Anthony Sylvan. Does anyone know how the prices compare to Backyard Amenities and Pearland pools? We have pearland pools coming out tomorrow.

Do a search on this board for either of them and you will get the general idea about both...it's not good.
ncrealestateguy had his pool built by A&S and he had a good experience...He is in NC though. Our local A&S doesn't have such a great reputation. I know personally two people that have had pools locally built by A&S and would tell you that if they had to do it again they would go to Wal-Mart and buy a blow up pool.

I used Gulf Coast pools. In Richmond. I found them on here and they have a great rep. My sister used them as well and I have even refered them to my boss who lives in Kemah, they just started his pool. Now it was hard to find contact info. www.gulfcoastpoolcompany.com They have a couple of different designers at their store I personally recommend David. Good luck

Blue Haven--- Very poor design's----- A&S watch out for the cheap equipment that they use. Franchise builders have no hands on with your pool build. They sell it to you and then turn it over to subs. They other companies mentioned on here they are good companies that are particular about the finished product. I personally used Gulf Coast pools myself but I had a hard time choosing between them and Pearland pools. But in the end Gulf Coast pools gave me more for the money.

I am using CY FAIR POOLS and have had nothing but trouble!!!
I had the partner yelling at me telling me he doesn't care if my house or well floods as long as dirt doensn't get in pool
Unlicensed electrician, pool so high couldn't put in area drains like I wanted, the slope was too high!!! Offered to lower pool then went back on his word. Pictures of other pool builder on his website. BE CAREFUL who you use. Go with someone who has been in business for a while!!

I just signed a contract this Sunday June 14th and within 24hours my pool builder has dug,steeled,plumbed and is now doing Gunite as I type. I am building a 36' x 22' pool with a 32' raised deck which comes with 450sf of decking. we are also going 8' deep with 3 powerfalls on the raised deck. Price is approx $27,500 so far its been a great experience. I will give out his name when its done but there has been great communication and no money down until they start the dig.

mike
713-806-1585

How did you get permits so quickly? Also, I thought there was a 3 day wait after signing a contract in Texas (buyers remorse or something like that).

I hope that pool isn't being built in League City. They are very particular on their permits. Watch out for your builder if this is true. They might be one of those builders that don't pull permits because they won't pass the inspections. Good luck Mike

hmmm. engineering, electric approvals, city building permit; dig, plumbing, city inspection prior to gunite and then gunite started in 24 hours. good luck w/ that.

Actually in Sienna Plantation. We have to follow standards set by the HOA and get approval which was done a week earlier. There is a final inspection. Sorry for the confusion.

ern8a-Did you decide on a builder? Have you started your build yet?

Haven't started yet. got A quote from Pearland, Houston Pool design, and backyard Amenities. Still trying to decide. BA and Pearland are a bit pricier than HPD. IÂm trying to do both pool and Spa though. I think I may shop around a bit longer before we make a decision.

So Mike, can u tell us how ur build is going?

Intersting info. We moved into our new build 3 months ago so we know in next yr or so we want to put in a pool. Our friends used Houston Pool Design 5 yrs ago & love their pool & never had any issues with them.

bump

We got a great quote and love working with Martha at Bay Area Pools.

Good luck.

Hey Erna, Our pool build is about one week ahead. We started to fill on Monday and tommorrow the builder will come out for "pool school" I can tell you that after 20 phone calls i finally got a voice mail from on his phone. he always answers his phone so it was kinda funny to realize he had a voice mail. Its usually the other way around. I did mention League city to him and he did confirm that there are many inspections that delay the build so 2 weeks is probably not feasable. I was also lucky in that we had no rain in the last 2 weeks so there were no delays. Good luck with you decision and the name of my builder is reflection pools and spa and the owner is Don Peak. His cell number is 832-755-2341. if you would like to see any pictures feel free to call me 713-806-1585 and i will email you them.

Our pool was built by Pineloch as well:

I highly recommend them; they were very flexible and very responsive to any questions or concerns we had, even during the build process. When it was all over, the pool was exactly how we had imagined it when we drew it up.

Check out the pool:
http://picasaweb.google.com/travismoseman

Here is a link that might be useful: Pineloch Pool Company Team

I live in League City and we went with Brad at Backyard Amenities. We had a wonderful experience! I think he may be higher than some other builders but he does give you quality both in material and service. Remember when it comes to a pool, lower price may not always be the better option.

Once Brad comes and speaks with you about your pool, he doesn't bug you. He lets you decide if you like what he has to offer. I liked this about him, because personally I don't like people calling me asking me if I've made a decision. I went to Brad with questions after our initial meeting and he answered all my questions and never put any pressure on us.

I would recommend BA without any reservations.

Does anyone know anything about Cascade Pools on El Camino Real? I want to say they are A+ or A- rated by the BBB which is very good, but I wondered if there was anyone out there who has used Cascade. Thanks!

Isn't Sienna Plantation in the jurisdiction of Missouri City? If so, their permitting and inspections process is very long and somewhat arbitrary in nature. I just finished building one in Missouri City and it was problematic with the city at every step. They would make up requirements that were not published anywhere. I have built pools in a lot of places and never had so many silly requirements. They are nice folks at the city, but I doubt I would ever build there again. One thing these cities forget in their attempt to govern construction in their city is that it costs you the homeowner a lot more money to get a pool there than elsewhere. Pearland is fine...they have permitting and inspections but they publish their requirements and the inspectors do not stray from them. Anyway, if Sienna Plantation is in Missouri City, permits and inspections should have been obtained by your PB.

I would recommend by PB to anybody her name is Kathleen Best her website is www.bestbackyardpools.com she is been in business for over 20 years our pool was built in 2weeks
so if you are thinking about a pool in Houston and its surrounding suburbs call her at 281 433-7429 and get an estimate you won't be sorry we did not had a single problem come up and she was on site almost every single day.

I do not recommend using Aquascapes. They will tell you what you want to hear. Experience has not been positive. You will act as their quality control individual and forget about timely responses regarding warranty issues. Quality is not stellar. I have heard positive comments regarding Image Pools.