Serenity Pools LLC

There is so much to say. I will give you the highlights. JD is way too busy to manage his pool builds. He is not more than a third party guy who makes cash off of you. He does know the ins and outs of the pool building process. JD, was on the job site a handful of times. If you are looking to hire someone who will run the job, ensure everything is done correctly, you are not looking to hire JD with Serenity pools. My overflow was not plummed in, the main drian on the pool floor was not installed, the tanning ledge light was never installed, I got my pool cleaning equipment about two weeks after fill, called him numerous times to get it. Had to compromise with him after we signed and agreed to the concrete around my pool. Now, just at a year, my pool is leaking and his warranty is only a year and covers only the pool interior, nothing else. STAY AWAY, not a bad guy, knows what to do but just too busy to manage his jobs!

We had been planning a "major" pool renovation since we bought our house back in 2009. We got quotes from five different pool contractors and I am, very happy that I decided to have JD do our pool renovations. I do not believe that any other company would have done what I wanted, come out nearly as nice or been as reasonably priced. As we went along we added things to the project and JD always priced these additions very reasonably and sometimes at no additional charge, where I feel that some of the other contractors I got quotes from would have stuck it to me. We pretty much had a whole new pool (approx. 17,500 SqFt, irregularly shape) put in and extended the shallow end a lot to accommodate a large shallow tanning deck area (which some contractors would not even quote to do). To start with JD workers demolitioned and removed the old broken very uneven concrete deck throughout the entire yard. JD replaced both skimmers, replastered (Diamond Brite - Super Blue), replaced all the tile, coping and all the deck around the pool with Travertine. He installed approximately 870 SqFt of ivory French pattern travertine coping and deck around not only the entire pool, but around the entire yard including up the side walls a bit and around the canopy posts. He replaced all the PVC pipes with larger 2" diameter PVC and put in a new filtering system (Pentair cartridge system), new larger pump (Pentair variable speed 3 HP), added a long wall (~26 feet) with three sheer decents and left room behind the wall for plants. Behind the wall he added new dirt, two electrical outlets and a water faucet. He also installed three interior color changing LEDs to go with the three-color changing sheer decents. He added an internal under water bench that connects to the tanning deck where people can sit. On the shallow tanning deck he installed three bubblers (my favorite item) and made custom risers for the bubblers so that they would not stick up if not wanted, but allowed the water to come out near the top of the water line so that they would bubble at a good height which is very adjustable. These custom risers allow me to adjust the height of the three bubbles (more like fountains) above the waterline, from 0" to over 10 feet! The tanning deck also has a hole for an umbrella. He put valves on "every" PVC pipe, so I can control the flow level of each inlet and outlet from off to full on. Each sheer decent has its own valve as well as the bubblers and internal inlets, drain, Polaris fountain and each skimmer. We kept our prior pump and our Polaris booster pump so we have three pumps (variable speed Pentair 3 HP and the two others) and have them setup so we can run or not run certain fountains, sheer decents, bubblers or run them all so that everything is running full blast. I suggest you decide in advance how many pumps you will need and what pumps connect to what so it can be properly segmented in advance. No other contractor quoted new skimmers, when it as obvious they would be needed after the demolition. Nor, did they mention replacing the PVC with larger 2" diameter PVC that was needed to accommodate the new fountains and that JD did without asking for additional money! Nor did any of the other contractors mention replacing my old 70's sand filter which was in bad shape with a new cartridge filter system. I am pretty sure they would have mentioned these things later, after I was under a contract and they could hit me up. JD had his workmen added a long tan drainage channel down the side of the entire yard and modified the roof gutter down pipes to go under the travertine. He added an automatic water leveling system (like toilet fill and drain system) so that I no longer have to run a hose out to add water. He cut custom travertine skimmer covers so the two skimmer and water leveling system blend in with the deck. He tiled the sheer decent wall with tile that I picked out from Floor & Decor that blended in nicely with our fence color. He even edged around the inside of the coping just above our new tile with this same wall tile which gave it a nice transitional unique design. He re-installed my existing salt system and added a chlorinator so I have the option to use either. He had the pool full of water and ready for swimming by mid-April. The total price came in at $51k. I recommend that if you are doing a serious amount of work and want your pool ready by April or May that you start as soon as possible (like in October/November) so that no one is rushed. I am very glad I went with JD and recommend him highly, provided you have patience. I did not rush him because my priority was a quality outcome and I felt the price quoted was very reasonable and because I know it can be difficult to deal with laborers. I included a detailed video of my Serenity pool at [*** Link removed ***]

There are a lot of options in and around NOLA as far as finding pool builders.  I consider myself a very detailed guy and wanted to do the research in finding the right pool builder to build a pool.  I made some initial phone calls and inquiries online to some local pool builders.  All had a wide range of experience to the cookie cutter, “Walmart of pool building” that pump out 50-60 pools a year to the specialized custom pool builders that decide if THEY want to build you pool that average 6-8 pools a year.  I had six different contractors or their sales persons come out and give me their pitch of a pool design and construction plan.  Some were high pressure and wanted the contract signed and money prior to leaving my house.  Others were a long drawn out process of minimal communication and a lot of uncertainty.  To me, this was a major purchase and I wanted to make sure I went with the right company.  I met JD Sinnott with Serenity Pools who came recommended from a friend that he did a pool for.  JD was very easy going, yet very professional.  I gave him my “vision” of how I wanted my backyard to look.  He immediately came back with what I thought I wanted.  After much gnashing of my teeth, my family and I realized we wanted something totally different (free form pool instead of rectangle due to the shape of our yard).  JD went back to the drawing board and came back with a new design that we loved.  Serenity Pools offers the best warranties in craftsmanship and of the equipment that I could fine.  His hard work, creativity, patience with the customer and previous outstanding work he had done is why we selected him as our pool builder.  He immediately got started and was always out on the job site making sure his contractors upheld the high standards he expected.  Even when we did the layout of the pool prior to dig, he was there to make suggestions on how to tweak the pool design in the yard to best suit the area I had to work with.  I am sure I added a few extra sqft, but he wasn’t there to jump on me and increase the price.  He wanted a final product that would reflect his high standard and functionality for my family.  You hear nightmares of people having their pool built.  Mine was not at all.  Understand there may be some delays because of weather or contractors, but JD always maintained a calm demeanor yet kept our pool on schedule.  Again, throughout the process he took time of his own, above and beyond what I contracted him to do to pick things up for me for the job or add things beyond what I expected.    He is not a large volume pool builder that wants in and out of your yard with a design he likes to build that gives him the most profit.  He puts high quality equipment that is built to last that is above the minimum specifications required (I found others put pumps and equipment that would suffer to keep up with the workload required).  He is there to help create a living space in your yard that you will enjoy for many years to come.  I could not be happier with Serenity Pools and they have my highest recommendation for any new pool construction or pool refurbishment.  I have no problem if you would like to contact me to further discuss.

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JD (the owner) met with my wife and me to discuss what we wanted done mid-April 2015.  He seemed like a nice guy.  He assured us that he would be out everyday overseeing all of the work.  He expected the work to take ~3 weeks, longer depending on the weather.  He promised to keep us updated throughout the process via phone or text.  So, after reading the complimentary reviews on Angie?s List and meeting with JD, we signed the contract for our pool renovation with Serenity Pools on 5/5/15. 
As the renovations started and the job progressed, JD rarely was on the job site and never for more than a few minutes at a time.  The work was done by one, or occasionally, two men.  They would show up at random times, work for 2-4 hours, then leave.  As a result, the work progressed fairly slowly through May.  The worker(s) helped themselves to several tools in my shed without asking permission.  They left my tools lying on the ground right where they were done using them.  Once my wife found one of the guys in our garage searching through my stuff looking for supplies.
The concrete work was done in early June, followed by the waterfall construction, then the new plaster.  The pool re-plastering was subcontracted out to another company and they did an excellent job.  Unfortunately, the waterfall was a disaster.  It was not waterproofed!  As a result it leaked like crazy!  JD tried to waterproof it afterwards without success. 
Eventually, he subcontracted this out to the plaster company.  The plaster company had to demolition most of the waterfall, waterproof it, and then build it back up.  Finally, the waterfall wasn?t leaking, but this process took more than a month to fix. 
JD admitted that the original guy doing the waterfall claimed to know how to build a waterfall, but clearly did not.  I believe JD fired him at this point, as we never saw him again.  The big problem was JD didn?t know his worker, his employee didn?t know what he was doing, and JD was never present to supervise his employee?s work.
The project was finally finished 10/13/15.  More than FIVE months after the work started!  There were two different times I thought JD had left the job, never to return, because he didn?t show up for several weeks in a row.  JD frequently said he would show up on certain day or time, but rarely was there when he said.  Except, of course, when it came to pick up checks; he was spot on picking up money.
Construction projects are always a pain and rarely finish on time.  But, this was BY FAR the most frustrating project we have suffered through.  There were minor issues like leaving the work area a mess, destroying part of our yard/gardens, using my tools, etc.  Overall, just not acting professionally. 
Our biggest complaints were the lack of communication from JD, lack of supervision of his contractors, and the time it took to complete the project. 
JD admitted that ?summer came on strong? and he evidently took on too many projects without enough workers.  He over-promised and under-delivered. I would NEVER use this company again.

USE THIS COMPANY! A+++++++++++++ JD is easy to work with. His word is his bond. Honest, trusting, does what he says. You will not go wrong with JD and his company. Now the details! I a SO happy with the result. I just hated to look at the old pool. The pool was probably 30 years old. Someone had painted the surface in places and overall the pool was in sad, sad shape. There were other things I could have done but I just didn't want to spend the money. But, what I did was well worth it! There were 3 phases of the project: Phase 1 = Remove the old plaster. There was a crew of 5 men that us jack hammers and other various tools to remove the majority of the plaster down to the gunite. I have to note that I did not expect that amount of work - I had an idea it would just be a skim coat sort of job. That took 2-3 days. Phase 2 = Replaster the surface. Again, 5-7 men working on that phase. That was 1 day because the plaster moves fast. These people were "artisans" for lack of a better word. The stairs had been chipped away in phase 1 and I never thought they'd make them look right. WRONG - they look great, as does the rest of the surface. Then the pool had to immediately be filled with water so the pool doesn't come out of the ground and to set the plaster (I guess). I used ground water and it tood 3+ days to fill. Of course the pool water looked brown from all the minerals. JD the owner came out and added chemicals and things looked better in a few hours, but took a few days to look like pool water. (this was expected). Phase 3 = form up the opening that the old pool cover sat in and then pour cement. After that 2-3 people came out and tiled over the cement. The great part of this was that the old tile was not available and the replacement tile that was chosen couldn't get in a small supply. JD the owner thought outside the box and bought brick and cut the brick down (sliced it). IT WORKED - it looks great. JD is a very nice guy. He had a number of projects going, but never forgot my project. The project didn't quite come in on schedule because it's the rainy season and all this had to be juggled. But seriously, most projects take longer than originally scheduled.

    JD and Travis were great. We had a little miscommunication as about when some work was going to be done ( The pool motor), but that was it. They are nice, friendly,informative, and reasonably priced. Travis picked up after himself and left no evidence that he was there.  He called me every time he was going out to the site to work. I will definitely use them again in the future.

Fine

JD has great communication. Started the work on time. Completed on time. Price was very good. So we are now having him do the same work on our downstairs patio. As well he will be doing tile repair and install to our pool.

J. D. Sinnott, owner of Serenity Pools, was extremely courteous and did all planned repairs and remodeling of our 15 year-old pool in a timely manner.  J. D. always called, texted or sent emails for everything including initial estimate paperwork and details for what was going to happen on which day and the time.  I was very impressed with his follow up after everything was installed.  He even came back and made sure our pool's chemical balance was good and everything looked clear and pretty. I picked Serenity Pools based off of a recommendation from a client in our surrounding area.  I have always been one to trust word of mouth rather than a lot of advertising.  I did not have one thing go wrong.

We called J. D. back this year to replace our 16 year-old heater and once again he followed through and did a magnificent job.  I would recommend him and his company to anyone and would gladly give him an A+ rating!! 

K. Hobbs

From start to finish, JD and Jim were fair, professional, efficient, knowledgeable, patient, and respectful concerning all of our questions and requests.  They are just all-around really nice, good honest guys.
When we called them, they came out and asked us questions about what shape and size of pool we'd like as well as what kind of style we were thinking about.  They took measurements of the yard.  They brought photos of past jobs. 
JD created a 3-D rendering of what our pool and spa would look like.  This helped greatly, and we were able to see where we wanted to change aspects of the design before ground-breaking. They took care of getting the permits and lining subcontractors up.
Our property is unique, and the very narrow entry into our yard to bring in an earth mover proved to be a challenge.  We also had so many rainy days which delayed the project, but JD brought in pumps to drain out the vast hole.  It was a very difficult dig (the toughest according to them), but JD and Jim had planned carefully for this and it all went very well. 
There was always either JD or Jim supervising each day of the project.  They return calls, emails, and texts promptly and are very patient with questions and requests.
There were times when my husband and I changed our minds about certain things like coping and water-spitting fixtures (even after the materials came in), and they were both so incredibly patient and nice with our choices.
We have used many contractors in other aspects of our home improvement, and there are many whom we would use again but not feel comfortable recommending to our friends or family; JD and Jim with Serenity Pools are the only ones that we would very highly recommend without hesitation to anyone.  They made a daunting project very streamlined and pretty painless.  We LOVE our pool and spa, and we get so many compliments when we have friends and guests over.