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How To Choose the Right Swimming Pool Contractor for YOU!?

With fall right around the corner, we at Royal Pools and G2 Outdoor Designs would like to address the elephant in the industry, there are a LOT of pool builders. In Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland, we have seen a microcosm of continuous growth in our industry. We can confirm that there are at least 15 new pool companies that have popped up in our area over the past four years. Installing an inground pool is like installing anything: it can either go well or catastrophically bad. 

If you’re thinking about getting an inground pool in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland, we understand if you feel overwhelmed with the options. We also know that if you’re new to the pool world you may not know what to look for when looking for a pool contractor that is right for you. At Royal Pools and G2 Outdoor Designs, we specialize in inground pool installation and backyard design. We have been installing and maintaining inground pools for 24 years now. We have even worked on several pools that we didn’t install, and have seen a lot of poorly installed pools, plumping, auto covers, and pumps.

Pool education is the name of the game here at RPG2. Perhaps you’ve recently thought “Man, all these pool company websites seem to say the same stuff. They all sound great, but how do I know who is the best company for me?” Knowing what to look for is key to finding the 

There are five steps we advise you to take while researching pool contractors in your area. These steps are:

  1. Ensure that they are licensed by their county, bonded, and insured.
  2. Check out their online reviews.
  3. Get feedback from clients about their experience.
  4. Find out how long they have been in business. The longer the better.
  5. What kind of workmanship warranty do they offer?

 

These five steps are important for a number of reasons. Any legitimate pool company that you may be interested in doing business with should be licensed by the counties they work in, ensuring them the ability to do construction work in residential backyards. With so many new pool companies coming into the industry, it’s vital to ensure that your company of choice reaches all the lawful requirements to fulfill your needs. 

Online reviews speak for themselves. Everyone looks at reviews before making a purchase, and negative reviews are what draws your eyes usually. Google reviews are a huge help when researching pool builders in your area. Doing a ranking system of highest rated to lowest rated will give you a good idea of the best ones to choose from. But even the highest-ranked companies probably also have a couple of negative reviews. Read those as well. Get a full grasp on as much as you can about their service and professionalism. 

With reviews come vetting customers. Not every customer leaves reviews, and those who do can’t always encapsulate their full experience in a few paragraphs. Find and talk to customers who have already done business with the company you’re researching. Ask them how the employees answered their questions. Ask them how the workers and managers worked under pressure. Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about working with that particular company. 

There’s an old saying, “It all comes with experience.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Did you know that 45% of new businesses fail after five years? Even more staggering, 65% fail after a decade. In the pool industry, companies establish processes over multiple years and learn from their mistakes. A pool can fail after a month, or after five years. Only a pool company that has been in business for a long time has seen all the failures and tried all the tricks that have kept them in business. The longer the pool company you’re researching has been around, the better. 

If a pool company has been around for 10+ years, I can all but guarantee they are very confident in their work. As all good companies should be, right? Workmanship warranties for pool contractors typically cover things like the pool or concrete shifting, plumbing issues, or any problem that can be traced back to the installation. In Indiana, the government requires a minimum one-year warranty. A good rule of thumb when researching pool companies is, the longer their workmanship warranty is, the more confident they are in their work. 

These aren’t the only things that differentiate a bad pool company from a good pool company. But you’re not a pool professional, you don’t need to know all the little intricacies just yet. If you’re reading this, odds are you probably don’t even have a pool yet. The information in this article is what you need to know during the research phase to root out the bad from the good. We have reviewed some of the other pool companies in our area, if you’d like to read those articles, check out below. Happy hunting!


Written by Logan Edgemon

 

Additional Articles to read up on:

Northwest Indiana Pool Installers: Expert Pool Builders Vs Royal Pools

5 Local Pool Builders In Northwest Indiana In 2020

River Pools vs. Thursday Pools: Comparing Fiberglass Pool Manufacturers