Get matched with top above ground pool installation pros in James Island, 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."

"Ben was prompt, professional, friendly and cost effective! He will be my go to guy for pool needs! I highly recommend giving him an opportunity to meet your needs!"

"Alex was very professional, on time and did a good job."

"They were fantastic to work with - great communication, transparent, took pride in the work and completed the project on time. Our pool is beautiful. Highly recommend!"

"Great service, returned all calls quickly. Installation was done as soon as heater was delivered and the yard was left in better condition than when they arrived!"

"Excellent people to work with."

"Joe from Island Aquatics was excellent. The diagnostic was free, and he would not leave until he was able to determine what the issue was. He ran through all the systems and sensors but there was no issue. He called the factory tech which stated that it was a gas pressure issue which he knew it wasnâ t. He would not stop until he was able to determine what the issue was. Turned out it was the main computer board. Ordered the part, replaced and back in operation. Could not have been happier"

"First, let me just say we are real customers. We live in Savannah, GA. and are getting a complete rear yard makeover that includes a 26 Ft. pool, spa and landscaping. Mr. Parker Coleman of Local Roots and his team are handling hardscape, pavers and excavating and leveling our rear yard. Unfortunately the builder didn’t do a good job. Parker leveled the yard personally and dropped a drain to help with proper drainage. Parker is a hands on owner operator who says what he does and does what he says. Parker is very reliable and honest. The employee that handles the majority of the hardscape and paver work is an artist. Very skillful paying strict attention to detail. Jeff and Trey are great too! I would recommend Local Roots to anyone needing yard design, hardscape and paver work and I’m presently looking around for other jobs they might do at our home. Cant say enough good things about them. Forever thankful."