Get matched with top pool builders and installers in Bluffton, SC

"Your responses are very professional & politically correct, nice for all those who are viewing, unlike the real experiences those people above as well as my husband & I have with your business. We contacted Tad Pools to put up a 18"X33"X54" oval above ground pool, that we purchased. My husband & I & some friends put the original one up many years ago and after Hurricane Helene damaged it, we decided to hire someone to put it up. We promply paid the deposit. It was scheduled to be installed 7/12/25. We gave Brennan (Lead hand who broke a foot & was in a boot)& his help Caleb, the manual, which by the way, was emailed to Tad Pools on two occasions, well in advance to review, just incase they hadn't put up this model before & left them alone to do their job. They left 6pm. Returned the next morning as this is not a 4-6 hour job as Shelby had told them. I was outside when they began to put the pool wall up. It was folding over developing creases as two people are not enough to put up a pool with a wall this size. My husband & I along with a neighbor rushed out to hold the wall as it was going up. We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to do damage control. It was then that we started to notice that the base was not installed correctly, the skimmer and return hole was not in the correct position as per the instruction manual. We pointed this out and together, took the wall down to reposition it, The guys were trying to get the wall into the base with the track filled with sand so my husband brought out his air compressor & my job was to blow out the sand as they tried to insert the wall edge. It was all last minute, to try to save the installation of our pool. Once they left, We took a closer look at the work & agreed that this installation has a lot of structural problems. The base was not secured, the pool was not square, where the two edges came together needed to be behind an upright, I could go on. The next day, I called Shelby to let him know that this pool has to come down once again and they need to start over and it was clear to us that they have not put up a pool like this before because if they did, there wouldn't be so many issues & know that a pool this size requires more people. As I was sharing facts, he began yelling and telling me that I was talking to him as if he were a child. I was telling you the facts Shelby, your responses were a 'child-like tantrum'. Hearing you through the phone, my husband took it from me to tell you the same things I told you. They were given another opportunity to make it right and improve their reputation (nothing there to save from what I have come to learn). We recognized that if we continue with this company, my husband will have to take more time off work & we would have to be present to monitor, review & assist with the installation to minimize the problems. We were given dates, for your return waiting half a day at times, for your guys' arrival with no communication, only for you to cancel. This occurred several times. They finally showed up on a Wed. 7/23/25 with a third person to take the pool down and reinstall. When taking it down they broke 3 parts. We asked Brennan to ask Shelby when they can return so we can have the broken replacements here. Overnighting the parts was a pointless expense if they couldn't come out the next day. We were given the following Wed.7/30/25 as their return date. My husband paid to ensure we got them Tues. Tues.7/29/25, my husband let Brennan know we had the parts in hand. That was when Brennan told him that they were not going to be able to come out on Wed. as was agreed. Maybe Thurs. or Fri. of that week. Fri. Brennan showed up to tell us that he cannot get people to show up for work. HE also noticed that the pool has to come down again as there were parts forgotten, Shelby (owner) insisted weren't important. Meanwhile, he has been working with Shelby on other pools. . We finally had enough. We did EVERYTHING we could to work with this company, paying them to put up a pool they knew nothing about, paying them for us to oversee and help with. And to boot, it cost us a pretty penny to ship broken replacement parts. This company (Shelby) wants your money and cares nothing about the work they do. There is no integrity, no pride in doing what is right. The only thing Shelby is good at doing is postponing, making false promises and jerking you around. We requested our deposit back. He had no intention to return the deposit which was the majority of the payment for this s*** show. Once my husband told him that we knew where the courthouse was located (a road we discussed we would go down if needed), Shelby agreed to return most of it. It was agreed that they keep $500 for Brennan and Caleb's labor. My husband and I felt that those boys worked hard and tried their best to make it happen, but if you don't know what you are doing it is wasted energy. Since Hurricane Helene, we have dealt with many contractors who run their customers through the assembly line without a care in the world taking their money, leaving them holding the bag and some cases (2 occasions for us) in worse shape then we started. Even when you do your homework to vet contractors you still are left disappointed. This is what I have learned. Every time you hire a contractor, make notes of dates, worked, canceled, time they arrive and leave, TAKE PICTURES of everything. Should things go south, you have documentation to move to small claims court. Don't threaten it unless you are willing to go down that road. Also, many contractors are bonded. Ask for who they are bonded with when you go to hire them. You can reach out to the bonding company for assistance in getting the work done right if there are problems down the road. Contractors-word of mouth-your best chances of a positive outcome. Write reviews. Both positive and negative experiences. I know this sounds contradicting but I feel that a lot of companies have trumped up reviews. Tad Pools was rated 5 stars on Angie's List where I found them. Reviews can be helpful but not always reliable. Tread careful my friends and good luck."

"Very thorough job and detailed email report with pictures."

"So many issues from start to finish. Stairs not done correctly three times! Two different colors of concrete, concrete breaking off, etc etc etc. Non responsive when tying to fix the issues. Took the money and ghosted."

"Jonathon was more of a partner in this project than a hired vendor. He provided invaluable ideas and comments on our thoughts. We are thrilled with the result and will enjoy many happy years with what he created and installed for us."

"The job was completed in a professional and timely manner."

"After speaking with multiple companies we found that Lowcountry Digging not only met our budget but they also followed through with each commitment made. They were prompt to our initial appointment, on time with estimate, and exceeded expectations on completing work. Highly recommend and will use again for future projects."

"I strongly recommend that you do not do business with Quality Hardscapes, Porch Masters, Porch and Pavers, or New Wave Pools in the Bluffton SC area. I contracted with Fabio, owner of Quality Hardscapes, Porch Masters, Porch and Pavers, and New Wave Pools, in October of 2016 for the construction of a golf cart garage addition to my home in Sun City Hilton Head. The contract included relocation of the gas and electric meters. The contract also included a clause stating that Quality Hardscapes was responsible for all costs except for light fixtures and interior painting, for which I was responsible. I put this clause in on the advice of two competitors of Fabio who said he has a history of asking for more money after a contract is signed. Shortly after signing the contract I received a call from Fabio telling me that Palmetto Electric charges $1,000 to move the electric meter and that he needed an additional $1,000 because he did not include that in his costs. I told him that 1) I did not know whether he included the $1,000 cost in his estimate or not because all I received was a total estimate and not an itemized estimate, 2) the $1,000 cost should not have been a surprise to him because I had called Palmetto a few months earlier and they quoted me the same $1,000 minimum price, and 3) it is clearly his cost and not mine and that I was not going to pay extra. Fabio expressed his displeasure and agreed to continue only after I said I would consider paying the $1,000 if everything else went well. A period of time later a small crew came to do about six hours of work to dig the foundation and install the forms for the footers and install rebar. Then a soil testing company came which said that the footers needed to be dug 12” deeper and filled with gravel. Fabio then sent me an email stating that he needed me to pay an additional $1,800 because of the need to dig deeper. When I refused he said that there was no way he could have anticipated that the footers needed to be dug that deep and that I could either pay it or he was not going to continue. I refused again and he walked. He returned a portion of my deposit, effectively charging me $3,150 for the work that was done and guaranteeing himself a profit on a job on which he did not honor his contract. While talking to other contractors that were bidding on finishing the job, I asked the cost of digging 12” deeper and filling with gravel. The three quotes I got were all between $800 and $1,000, whereas Fabio wanted $1,800. They also said that having to dig the footers that deep was not that unusual. Anyway I strongly recommend not doing business with Fabio or any of his companies. There are plenty of other contractors in the area who do not have a history of asking for more money after a contract is signed. My experience with Fabio indicates to me that he is running more of a scam than a legitimate business. If you would like a copy of the email exchange between Fabio and me that verifies what is written above, please text me at 937-435-8876."