Choosing a New Orleans pool company.

Advice to consider before making a decision

Homeowners are always looking for advice about their home improvement projects especially on larger projects like designing and building a pool. Designing and building a custom pool is a giant task with many important decisions to make along the way. Over the years we have been asked many of the same questions from potential clients in and around the New Orleans area and offer this advice for anyone to consider before choosing a local pool company.

Follow these tips before selecting a pool company:

Tip #1 – Find a pool builder that listens to your needs and doesn’t try to “sell” you on a particular design. In other words carefully consider offers that include a “packaged” pool that may fall short on design quality, materials or accessories. This is perhaps the most common complaint we hear from pool owners in the New Orleans and Mandeville areas. A skilled designer must listen carefully to his or her clients and guide them through the process to ensure their needs are met.

Tip #2 – Make sure your pool company gains a complete understanding of your desires and expectations. Designing a swimming pool is an art in itself but it must be functional as well. A pool that could aesthetically compete for National Design Awards could possibly be of little use to the family of eight whose main focus is water volleyball and exercise.

Tip #3 – During your initial meeting with a designer you should always make sure to cover the following important details in order to ensure your new pool meets your needs:

The pools location in regards to the house and surroundings including a pools visibility from multiple angles of the house for both beauty and safety.
Appropriate depth profiles for your pools intended uses.
Pool elevation should be addressed in detail as it affects multiple aspects of design and construction
Whether you intend to use your pool as a focal point for entertaining, mainly for exercise, or both.

Tip #4 – Beware the pool special that looks good to be true. For some reason the metro New Orleans market has seen a number of companies that have started and closed under different names because of various problems. Having been a long time designer and builder of award winning pools & spas in the New Orleans and Mandeville area, I’ve often heard of local pool companies claiming things like “I have over 30 years experience designing pools.” So take the time to do a little investigation and you may easily learn that what the builder actually has 1 year of experience repeated 30 times with different business names.

Never underestimate pool design experience When building a pool, like many things, it is best to seek out a reliable, licensed builder who can save you from potentially costly construction mistakes. We advise you also contact your local BBB to see if a builder has any unresolved issues and do not hesitate to ask for references.

You can also look for industry certifications such as the Aquatech organization. Aquatech membership is only available to companies who have demonstrated financial stability and exceptional quality in construction. There are approximately 150 pool builders in the Aquatech organization nationally and just a few in the state of Louisiana.

Your potential pool building project can be a very pleasurable experience if you choose a local designer with imagination, good knowledge of the pool industry, and most importantly one who is willing to listen to your needs.