Ours mainly came from recommendations from friends and neighbors. The one we ended up choosing, gave us a thick stack a papers in a folder for our own to keep. It contained over 1000 names. Listed the name, city and phone number so we could call them if we wished (permission from the homeowner).

We interviewed 4 a few years ago and realized that it was not the right time to build a pool. This year, we re-interviewed two.

The one we chose had no hard sell, prices everything fairly so they don't use knock down price gimmicks. In bidding, he gave us a basic price to build a pool our size with standard equipment/plaster etc. He included several extras in the quote I asked for, like the tan shelf, grotto waterfall w/bench. But he also broke down the price to it and wrote out descriptions. Like: the 20' of moss rock border is $x the pump to waterfall is $x, and so on. Then, broke down all the extras. gas line for fire pit $x, rock for fire pit $x, colored plaster $x, crystals added to plaster $x, aggregate finish $x. You get the idea. So, we could basically add or eliminate and know what costs what. We are on day 22 and will set forms to pour decking next week and plaster.

What I learned is this: If you can be there, be there when the subs are. Do not rely on the project manager to oversee everything. In our case, they come out to make sure of things right before big stuff happens but otherwise, I supervise. Plus, it is interesting to watch how it all gets done.
Our guys have been very good but my being there has been a blessing. Some things have been recommendations of something or in most cases, catching something. It may be that once off paper and on the ground, you realize something needs to be different or it was not going in where planned etc.
Several subs had questions for me with details. The designer did cover a lot of stuff but they cant think of every thing that might come up.
One thing that happened here was the gunite man asked if I wanted a step built in under the seat in the grotto/waterfall. The seat was located right in the middle of the floor break and access to it awkward. My designer and project manager saw it later and thought it the greatest thing-it never occured to them. So, it will be something they are considering adding as a standard.
Another example was the electrician. He had the most questions. Where I wanted the switches located and which pole and what side of that pole did I want the electricity running up the arbor? I wanted the switches in a convenient place, yet not have those ugly exterior boxes in plain view. He also asked me if I wanted them painted black to match the hardware bolts on the arbor or closely match the color of the stained red cedar. Had I not been here, they would be grey galvanized and who knows located where-probably next to the pool light switches!

Good luck in your search. Talk to people you know who have built pools and get recommendations.

Our story is nearly the same as Zoo's. We went with a company that had an excellent reputation for customer service, had a long track record (since '76), had no negative comments in forum searches or the BBB and did not push us into anything but rather offered all the options/ prices and let us decide. Since finishing our pool we've had to call them out a few times for warranty issues and upgrades and they have always been prompt and courteous. For anyone building in DFW this PB is Hobert Pools, but regardless of who you go with it's beneficial to get a PB with similar characteristics to this.

You both sound like you had really good experiences. Zookeeper thank you for the tips.

We are interviewing people now so I can't tell you if it will work out. But I tell you, I already KNOW who the top contender is. One of the sales guys bought a landscape architect with him who knew ALL the ins and outs of the plants, the sun and shade issues, the watering, etc. He incoroporated his knowledge in the recommendations he made for the location of the pool and spa and the plants around it. Plus when I asked about things I learned on this site (3" pipes, VS vs VF pumps, etc), not only did their jaws drop that a woman would know a bit about the details, but the rep picked up his cel, called the Pentair rep right in front of my face, and asked him the details of the various controls, pumps etc right then and there. They agreed that 2 - 4speed pumps would do the job the most efficiently and quietly and I was impressed.

He was also the one who told me NOT to bring Pebble Tec to the top of the pool and out of the water (I guess PT no longer warranties their product out of water) and to not use our soft flagstone as coping due to flaking.

In short, he knew what he was talking about. The other companies (also big, been around over 20 years...) would just nod and smile and say "sure we can do that" without really caring if that would be the best solution for me.

We have interviewed 5 companies, all of them with strong recommendations from neighbors who owned their pools for over a year, which I am told is key. We narrowed it down to 2-3 and now we are pretty sure we found the right company. Still working on the price as they are bit more pricy than the others.... Katherine

Katherine,sounds like you have found a really good PB.

I hope so. Given that the process hasn't started yet, I am not sure how it will all turn out. But I will keep everyone posted.

Our PB came highly recommended by some friends, his references were great. He was very striaght forward and told us that everything had a cost, if we added something the price went up, if we deleted something the price went down. He also told us that we could make changes up until the point that he had either purchased something or installed it.

Be Very Careful and make sure you are picking the PB and others that will be on your property.

After 8 interviews we had a salesman from a pool company that came out and spent two days with us designing our pool and getting to know the family. He told us about the Christian music he was writing and his values. This guy was great but after the papers were signed we never saw him again.

On dig day the real PB showed up and I knew why they had been hiding him. He was a punk in gang clothes that only wanted money. He started cutting corners imediatly and our house got so hostile he only showed up on pay days. We came in months late and way over budget.

My advice is be careful and make sure you know the whole team. Also get a promise that their will be at least one person that speaks English on the site at all times and the side of your house or worse pool dig will not be the porta-potty.

Our pool is great and I would do it again but I would be better informed and utilize boards like this to ask questions.

My priority list:

References (neighbors who used them)
Warranty on pool (lifetime)
Design (small yard needed a good design to make it work)
Contractor's State License Board problems (none)
Cost (although we were willing to pay more to get the right product)

So far we have been happy with the pool builder. They have been straight forward with us and not trying to cut corners. Their subs have been with them for years and are all English speaking and do quality work. Their bid was higher than the the three others, but I figured our builders lifetime warranty was worth something since they have been in business since the seventies. They should be able to weather the recession since they have gone through a couple of them already. Time will tell which builders will still be around.

Reputation for us was the deciding factor. I don't think you should ever make a decision soley based on price especially in the pool industry. We actually ended up picking the highest priced PB. But because I felt I could trust them to get the job done right and on time based on all that we heard, price was secondary. There was no way I was going to nickel and dime this job. So much can go wrong. We are very happy with our choice of PB and had a nice and easy build.

We settled on our builder yesterday .. haven't even informed them yet. We got 4 bids and all turned out to be in the same ballpark ... just differences in equipment manufactures (Hayward, Jandy, etc). Two selling points on the winning bid:

1. He's done pools for 3 friends, they all had good experiences ... all would use him again. Their poools look great.
2. Every time, and there were at least 10, that I questioned specific equipment ... like "which 1.5 HP pump" or "which air blower" was included in their bid and there were multiple options on the answer, their answer was always the high end equipment. All specifics are now in the contract.

Looking forward to getting started.

So this is interesting. One PB came highly recommended by 2 of our immediate neighbors. Yesterday I saw my neighbor again and asked some detailed questions about his experience because the company so far has not impressed me much. They tell me it will take 6-8 months to build the pool (most are telling me 3-4) and they have taken over a month with an initial bid. Hmmm.

Anyway, as I am asking my neighbor questions, it turns out this really was NOT such a great builder. He tells me that they often brought out the wrong equipment. THen would disappear for a week and bring out the right equipment. Or sometimes the subs would not show up for a week or two so everything was haulted. He was told once that htey had a "bigger job". So why did my neighbor recommend this company so strongly??? No idea. Perhaps he assumed this is the way it should be. Or he is justifying in his own mind that he didn't make a mistake about the choice he made. I dunno.

But I learned to really ask detailed questions. And I think we will go with a different company (one that got me a quote and detailed architectural drawings) in a week and has the ladscape architect planning out every inch of the drainage, drip system, plants, etc even BEFORE we sign the bid.

Katherine

Tell you what, I'll never recommend anyone I use for any contracting job again. Had a great pool build experience, recommended my PB on this forum and then he let down a number of people. Some in the forum still use my name in their posts about their problem, as if I was part of the issue.

I recommended the contractor who built our pool house and patio(who did a great job) to my next door neighbor who had a lot of work done around their house. and every night they invite me over to show me what they are not happy about. As if it was my fault.

Again, never again will I recommend anyone!

Hey, thejimbar-

Since you responded to at least one post of mine I would like to respond to yours. When I found this forum it was because I almost went down the road with a pool builder with "questionable creditials". I found a post on this forum saying someone was also put off by their salesperson who was not very forthcoming with all the associated costs and upcharges upfront. My experience too. Maybe that company (not your PB) has built great pools for others, I don't know as I never got past the lack of verifiable industry credentials issue. I have found my concerns verified later by other sources and have warned others too when I had the chance based on my experience.

My search continued (continues) as I realized I needed to know more so that I could hopefully avoid the pitfalls that many have shared on this board. Particularly, in terms of contract terms and pricing, what's left off in the bids and what you find out is not included or you didn't think of ('cause ya just don't know this stuff), product comparisions . . . I can only say I wish people would share more.

I appreciate everyone who takes the time to respond on this board and offers their advice professional or experience wise. I am sorry to see that sometimes things get a little confrontational here at times. I know I wish I would have phrased things differently more than once in my life.

Anyway, if you check back in to read this . . . I did enjoy your pool photos and appreciated your willingness to share from your personal experience and perspective. Sometimes, I have chosen to share some specifics whether negative or positive feedback off-the board via a specifically designated e-mail (NJFolks@gmail.com). This has worked both ways in making myself or the other personal more comfortable in an exchange of either more detailed or personal information, arranging visits, etc. I have really appreciated the people who have tried to share with me and it always encourages me to offer help or information to others when I can.

Boy, even being anonymous on the internet has its risks, but I hope it has had its rewards as well since there are many other people like myself just trying to struggle with the stress of such a major purchase. Maybe that's what accounts for the some of the tension at times. I'm still PB-less and pool-less, so enjoy yours! It did turn out beatiful and for that you should be thankful. We should all be so lucky and that just may be it. But we have to go by what we know at the time, so if you have had a bad experience with someone it is hard to ignore or not want to warn others. I could weigh in on both sides of this particular PB, but in the end you are "not your PB's keeper." Being a good neighbor, though and trying to look out for the other guy can be, well tying at times.

I do understand your feelings, so thanks again for sharing. Hope this helps since those of us who have had a toughter go of things don't have a beautiful pool to cool-off in ;).

OOOOPS. . . someone else already uses the NJFolks on gmail. Mine is actually, NJFolks4@gmail.com . . . so if you haven't heard back from me I didn't get your message. Sorry. Use NJFolks4@gmail.com to correspond. Thanks, Bye.