Aqua-Blue Pools Inc

No matter what the service call they were always prompt, courteous and overall economical.

unknown

unknown

I would recommend him and it'd been hour showing his tutorials. He did a good job and we learned from that. He said he would punctually come and he did.

This is a complicated review because some aspects of the job were done VERY well and some were done horribly wrong.  During the purchase decision, and since, I have heard many stories about bad pool companies.  I have yet to hear of a pool company in this area that has a great reputation, so it may be that Aqua Blue is actually the best that can be found around here.  However, I would NOT use them again or recommend them to others.
     The first mistake they made was the height of the pool relative to the existing ground.  I discussed the final height of the deck with the project manager in depth prior to digging.  He explained the drainage (slope) requirements and we came to an agreement.  After the initial digging I was concerened that they had not gone deep enough and thus the deck would be too high.  I was told that I was wrong and they knew their jobs.  The pool ended up 2 inches higher than the agreement.  While this sounds like a small thing, it is not, as this error created the need to bring in extra dirt that would not have been needed and it created the need for a retaining wall to be built between the pool house and the pool.  In other words, this error created much more work and expense to me.
     Other than that the pool itself has been excellent as far as the construction is concerned.  The liner has not held-up well, but that is not Aqua Blue's fault.  Also, the metal trim ring around the light has lost it's chrome plating.  Aqua Blue has blamed the water chemistry (in other words me) even though I have records of all of the testing that show that the chemistry has been only slightly off and only for short periods.  Also, the lamp has a metal trim ring of its own that abuts the ring that Aqua Blue installed and it is in perfect condition today.  The Aqua Blue ring began flaking by 2008.
     The reason for the bad grade is the concrete deck.  They failed to properly prepare the base and thus the slabs sunk and actually slide away from the pool.  After a five year saga, during which time we were unable to finalize the pool area due to the problems, they fixed about 65% of the problems for under $2000 additional cost. 
     So Aqua Blue is a bit of a gamble.  They seem to do some things very well, but the things that they do not do well can cause alot of problems.  If they would be honest about the mistakes they make and fix them without a huge battle I would be able to highly recommend them.  Sadly they do not, and thus I can not.

They replaced the pool deck that they initially poured when they built
the pool.  The problem is that they did not properly prepare the ground
prior to pouring the deck.  This resulted in a four year saga that
prevented us from finishing the rest of the pool area because the
concrete deck continued to move, creating gaps between the pool and the
deck as well as "toe stubbers" between the individual concrete slabs. 
Four of the slabs moved so much within the first 15 months that they
replaced those slabs free of charge.  Of course that was still a huge
inconvenience and created other costs for us such as lawn repair.  Many
of the slabs that they did not replace had also started to shift, but
not enough to warrant replacement.  However, they continued to sink over
the next two years, until they were worse off than the slabs they had
replaced.  I brought in a civil engineer to evaluate the situation and
he explained that the root of the problem was improper preparation of
the base soil and that there was no way to repair the existing slabs. 
It must be removed and re-poured after properly constructing a base.
 
   Aqua Blue refused to acknowledge this sound engineering analysis and
refused to replace the deck at their cost.  However, they did make me
what I considered an acceptable offer of removing the existing slabs,
following the proper base preparation, and pouring a larger deck than
the original.  The price was only slightly more than what the extra area
of concrete would have cost, so it could be argued that they did
actually perform the repair at close to no cost.  I would have been
satisfied with this, however, they refused to follow one important
instruction from the civil engineer.  He made it very clear that the
concrete pilings needed to be poured at least 24 hours prior to the deck
surface or the deck would crack near those pilings.  Aqua Blue refused
to do that, stating that the engineer was incorrect and they knew
better.  Here it is important to note that even though the original
slabs were moving, shifting, and were mostly unsupported with huge voids
underneath them, there was not one crack in any of the original slabs. 
Within 2 months of the intallation of the new deck a long crack
appeared in a prominent area of the deck and directly over one of the
pilings.  Aqua Blue's response was "concrete cracks" and a refusal to
repair the problem even though I have a written exchange where I warn
them that there will be cracking if they pour the pilings at the same
time as the deck.  At that point I withheld payment of the balance and
they did not dispute the withholding.  So in the end, the amount that I
withheld will probably cover repairing the cracked slab.
    In the
final analysis Aqua Blue is not a horrible company, and they may do a
nice job, especially if it is a simple job.  They do have a problem
admitting mistakes and they are very light on technical issues that are
more complex.  They can be dragged towards doing the right thing, but
even when all they are doing is fixing one of their own failures, they
make it seem like they are doing you a huge favor and you have
unrealistic expectations.  Expecting a concrete pool deck to last more
than three years seems quite reasonable to me; how about you?
P.S.  They also dropped several iron nails into the pool during the repair.  These quickly caused rust stains on the pool liner.  The workers left a pile of about 15 of these same type of nails on the patio table.  Fortunately the rust was easily removed from the glass table top; BUT not from the pool liner.  When they were out to look at the crack and I showed them the nails and the stains they claimed that they did not use any such nails!  Just ridiculous.  This is my point about Aqua Blue's inability to accept any responsibility for their mistakes; even when obvious physical evidence is presented.

Aqua-Blue Pools were 5* excellent for everything. They were on time, they were here when they said they were going to be. They were courteous and the professionalism was excellent. The work was excellent. The product was great. It was the best experience we've had in a long time working with a company. The product has cement walls as opposed to aluminum or steel and that is so important. The quality was 10+. But the best thing about going with Aqua-Blue is the concrete walls, because when you back fill it - with the steel walls you can't pack it down, you have to water it down. Because of the concrete walls they can take the bobcat and pack it down. So it was done in two weeks and one day. It was really great. It is about $2,000 more than the steel walled pool but we think it is definitely worth it.

The pricing was appropriate.

About a few weeks later I noticed the pool deck was not sealed. I called them out to inspect and they concluded that it was sealed despite the fact that the deck was porus and absorbed water, hence it was not sealed. They made no accomodation. About two years later, It was obvious that the retaining wall was failing because it was not properly installed. When they were contacted, they said it was a leak and to get someone to check it. Subsequent contractors made it clear the wall was not properly installed and was far too weak to hold up the weight of the pool. I was recovering from a stroke about this time and could not pursue this company in court. I am certain they took advantage of me.I do not recccomend this company!!

The service went very well overall. The pool technician was very knowledgeable and helpful. He took the time to explain what he was doing, repair options and pricing. He also explained how the system worked. The diagnosis, repair and restoration went very well. By the time the individual left, the pool filtration system was operational again.

I was trying to close on a short sale home purchase and the VA inspector was requiring a pool cover be installed before the loan could be funded.  We had three days notice before the scheduled closing and we had to act quickly in order to get a re-inspection ordered after cover installation.  I called several pool companies and Aqua Blue was the only company who could get me the cover I needed and install it within the allotted time.  Not only did they get it installed very quickly but they agreed to hold my check until after closing so that we could attempt to get the cost of the pool cover paid by the seller.  The closing date ended up getting extended more than two weeks and they still agreed to wait for payment until after closing.  They were not the least expensive quote for cover and installation but the customer service I received was well worth the extra cost.  In my opinion you get what you pay for.

They started the project when they said they would and completed it on time. Jerry, the project manager, Paul, the pool tech and Jim are the best. Almost a year after the pool was installed, a fitting was leaking at one of the pumps, Paul came out the next day. Good service.

It went pretty well to begin with. They didn't do all the plumbing on the backwash, so it wasn't directed to go away from the final pump. They said they would fix it, when they were doing an inspection. That was three weeks ago and they haven't fixed it. If they don't show up we are going to have to hire a plumber to fix it. They promised three times to fix it, but I don't have much hope.

We've used Aqua Blue about three times over the last year or so and feel they do a good job. They basically do whatever's needed to maintain our pool including checking the equipment to make sure everything is functioning well. We like their work and trust them.

I think going to Aqua Blue Pool and buying that Jacuzzi was the best money I had ever spent. To be able to enjoy something like that in the comfort of your own home is just a terrific feeling. They sent out some nice high tech service installers for the installation who did a great job at installing it. I would definitely hire them again for the same feeling.