There were numerous failures, delays, problems, and empty promises.  When I complained, Larry and Steven both treated me like I was over reacting and I received multiple assurances (in writing) that my project would be completed on time an that my project was a priority.

It took 6 months instead of 2 to complete the pool- some of the later delays were due to winter weather, however the project should have been finished long before winter weather set in.  I signed the contract on August 15th, 2014.  Construction began September 9th, 2014 and I was told the pool would be finished by the end of October.  The equipment was set and ready for operation and the pump was turned on December 24th just in time for a hard winter.  The cleaning heads were installed January 20th, 2015 and I heated and used the spa on January 26th but the cleaning system was not working properly.  The cleaning system was finally working properly and the pool was completed March 13th, 2015.

They initially framed the pool in the wrong location.  They cut an electrical line in two places when digging for the plumbing lines.  Note: destruction of landscaping and any utility line damage is the responsibility of the homeowner.  They ordered and installed the wrong tile/stone on the spa twice despite me meeting with Larry at the tile store to pick out the tile and following up and an email listing (in detail) the choices.  They rarely worked more than one day a week and provided no explanation for the delays.  They communicated that they would be doing something on a specific day but then the work didn't get done as planned.  I have a 2-3 acre yard and they drove all over it. leaving deep ruts even though I had asked they only enter on the north side of the property.  They completed the plaster for the pool in the dead of winter and then informed me that I had to fill the pool and brush the plaster for at least a week while it cured.  I had to brush the plaster twice a day in freezing temps.  They emptied the spa after it was filled and left the hose on filling it (without calling to explain why or advise that the water was running at my house while I was at work).  Larry is rarely on site for more that a few hours when work was being done and was never here when the outside contractors came (i.e. gunite and concrete decking) even though Steven assured me he would be there.  They gave me rough estimates for the electrician and plumber to run propane to the heater during the contract negotiation and by the time we were ready to hire one, Larry was giving me estimates that were twice those amounts, and then they could or would not give me a list of the equipment that would be installed so that I could get proper bids.  They said I just needed to tell an electrician that we need 60 amp service.  This was not the case- my equipment did not require 60 amps and an electrician needs much more information that this in order to give you a bid. They ran the electrical conduit for the wiring for the pool and spa lights with six 90 degree turns between junction boxes (which is out-of-code).  They billed me for the electrician who had to connect the easy touch automation system and pull the wiring for the lights because the conduit was out-of-code and my electrician spent over 1.5 hours trying to pull it.  I refused to pay this added cost because I had paid a significant premium for the Easy Touch Automation System which had been justified by them as installation and wiring costs.  Initially, the spa (which is raised with a spill over to the pool) emptied almost half of its water back into the pool when the pump was shut off but this was corrected after complaining twice.  They failed to install an auto fill line that was included in my contract.  They installed a Paramount in-floor cleaning system which would not work properly- after multiple complaints and my withholding of the final retainer (10%), they threatened to put a lien on my property.
After I called Paramount and learned that they were not an authorized seller or installer of the Paramount system, they said they had never represented that they were an authorized installer, just that it was the best.  This was in spite of the fact that Paramount only sells through authorized dealers.  Gunite Pools was buying it from another pool company and finally that pool company owner had to come out and explain to Larry how the installation should be fixed.  Some of the cleaning heads had not even been installed and most of the remainder had been installed with the wrong size orifice.  I had asked about the pressure gauge on the top of the cleaning system and Larry actually told me that it served no purpose other than pressure testing during installation- while, in fact this pressure gauge must be pressuring up to 18 or 20 for the cleaning system to work effectively.  It was never going above 5-8 before the proper cleaning heads were installed.  They had no idea how to operate or program the Easy Touch Automation System and it kept shutting off at odd times in very cold temperatures and they couldn't explain why.  I was finally able to troubleshoot it myself with the user manual.  They turned on the pool cleaning system without installing the basket to catch debris and this sucked leaves and debris into the plumbing lines and then had the audacity to imply that it was my fault that the plumbing lines had to be cleaned to remove leaves.  Larry would act incredibly disgusted with me when he informed me that I had done something wrong and that my actions were putting the pool operation in danger (i.e. I was going to burn up the pump with all the leaves even though he never gave me complete instructions on operating anything).  When they came out to trouble shoot the cleaning system not operating properly, (this is when they dad to clean the leaves out of the lines) they left the union connectors loose in two places between the equipment and the water was leaking.  This was just carelessness and failure of the construction supervisor to inspect or check any work.

In the end- I do have a working pool but I spent a lot of time and frustration getting hem to correct things that were not working or were done wrong. There are several cosmetic issues that I finally quit complaining about, the time and stone work on the spas was done very sloppy fashion with grout left on the tiles (I was told to just get a wire brush and brush it off), some of the stone was not grouted at all, the plaster is not consistently one color (lagoon grey plaster) was told by Larry that he thought it looked good, and the plaster is scratched in numerous places from me attempting to brush the plaster in freezing temps. Bottom line, they were very defensive about all of the mistakes and it sometimes required me making multiple complaints before the issue was corrected.  Their excuse was that every pool contractor fails to meet deadline and runs into these issues.  I'll let you judge for yourself if you think this number of errors and missteps is acceptable.