we met with and asked for guidance and quotes from several pool contractors to rebuild our 19 yr old pool, repair some wear and damage, re-tile, and apply a new "wet-edge", pebble type surface. the job involved work to the sliding pool cover too. our experience with pool companies has been marginal. some tried to sell us things we didn't need based on unsupportable information (easily verified or discounted on the web). we are not knowledgeable about pool technology, so we chose Puraqua (Central Pool) not on price (though they were quite competitive) but on our feeling about the integrity of the people representing the company; ken (owner), and justin (son). we had difficult time constraints because of a big event; and we couldn't risk not having the pool ready. we were very encouraged at the outset to hear the employees speak well of the management, a number of whom have been with them for 20-25 years. at every step we were gratified for our choice. the whole project was supervised carefully, we were kept informed every day along the way, the owner himself (and this is not a small company) stayed in contact with us and his managers. a few of those impossible to predict glitches popped up but were handled with professionalism, no whining, and no additional cost to us. we thought of a few extra things along the way (a new safety rail, contrasting tile to highlight the edges of steps, etc) and similarly, our requests were handled smoothly and professionally, and either at no cost or at a very fair charge. they even made some suggestions about things we hadn't considered and did them at no extra charge just because they made for a better job; we had no experience so we wouldn't have known the difference. unbelievable but true, one of the managers was in the house for a moment and noticed some broken grout on our ceramic tile floor. he mentioned he had the right color grout on his truck, then quietly came in and fixed it! the project was done right, it is breath taking and beautiful, and it was delivered on time with days to spare. additionally, and on our request, they recommended other services to us (a pool cover group, a weekly maintenance group, a local electrician) all of whom also work to high standards and are a blessing to us. altogether a superb experience and a refreshing change in our opinion about pool companies. we can't thank them enough. life would be so sweet if every contractor had their ethics and standards, their diligence, their demand for excellence, and especially their willingness to go the extra mile. we are happy to show our pool to any prospective customer of Puraqua (Central Pool) who would like to make arrangements through them to see it. i'll say it again, we just can't thank them enough.
donna and bob, dover, ma.
