Calvary Custom Pools

We had a new gunite pool/spa completed in August 2013 for about $45K. Both contractors I considered were close in price, and I selected Calvary based on excellent reviews that I now realize were not for gunite pools. Initially, we were very pleased. About two years after installation, Calvary repaired a broken PVC pipe underground (for free, out of warranty) that was attributed to significant heave in the ground. In April 2017, about two years after that first repair, we discovered a leak between the spa and pool on the opposite end from the first repair. We had to drain the pool so they could use their power tools to break through the stone surrounding the spa, coping tile, plaster and gunite to get to the broken pipe in the wall. Since the leak specialist discovered two of the spa jets were glued in and had to be removed by force, we fixed that installation error at the same time. I asked Jon this in email: "The movement we noticed (and near the first leak) was on the opposite end from the spa, but the side with the spa doesn't seem to be having a movement issue like that. We watered (under restrictions in the last few years) but is there something we can do to minimize movement to avoid this? I am getting advice that problems with PVC pipe in a pool this new is unusual." His response: "This is not unussually considering the movement you guys have had. Its unfortunate, but uncontrollable. The pool passed a multi day sit at 30 psi inspection before gunite was shot, the plumbing was left under pressure until the decks where poured. If it where a problem with installation or the scedule 40 PVC used, it would have failed before now. You may want to ignore the facts that you have had severe ground movement, but the facts are the facts regardless of what information you are getting. The last leak was caused by ground movement and we fixed it even beyond the warrantee period. The pool shell cracked and prestige gunite fixed it, you have had ground severe ground expansion causing uphevel on the deck. The ground shifting is clearly the issue, any other claim is a extremely far stretch. Your not the only pool in North Texas with these issues, there are tons of full time leak detection companies that deal with this daily, new and old pools." After that, I stopped asking for his advice and found a leak specialist. I spent $1,300 to repair my almost five-year-old spa. I do not recommend Calvary for a gunite pool build.

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John Waltz did a great job repairing the damage to my pool surface and replacing my liner. He stayed in touch with me throughout the process. He and I stayed in touch by texting which was very convenient for me!!! I am very pleased that I was fortunate enough to find his company, get quality work done, and get a reasonable price. Thank you John for everything!!!! I highly recommend them!!!

Overall, quality of work was very good.  The work took slightly longer than promised (although we have been told this is not unusual for any pool business!).  Good price compared to the other bids we received.

They did great. They're friendly and dependable.

Early in 2012 heavy rains caused the liner to bubble.  The installer advised we push the liner back in place with our pool brush...near to impossible.  We ended up with wrinkles and leaks.  That was the only help we got from the installer.  In August, 2013, we decided something had to be done since we had fixed 10 leaks between November 2012 and August 2013 and were having to add water for 30 - 45 minutes at least every other day.  The original installer offered that a liner reset could be done but may or may not work.  The other alternative was a new liner, so we got a quote from him.  It was higher than the original installation in June 2011.  <br /> We decided to check Angie's list to see if there was anyone else with good reviews that would give use an estimate.  We chose Calvary Custom Pools.  As soon as the conversation started, we were pretty sure we'd like to work with them.  Jon Waltz was very personable in phone conversation and ably addressed our concerns and questions.  His estimate was significantly lower than the original installer's quote.  <br /> The day before installation, a pump was installed by Calvary Custom Pools to drain the pool.  The next day, Jon and his assistant, Luke, were here right on time and had the job done quickly and efficiently.  There was significant algae under the old liner which had to be removed before they could install the new one.  They kept things picked up and left our place without a trace!  We had a couple of ladder steps to replace, and Jon installed them as a favor.  Any communication initiated by us, a good part by phone texting, was promptly responded to.  <br /> We would highly recommend Calvary Custom Pools. <br />

I contacted the owner John around March 7, 2013 to see if they could replace my aging vinyl liner.  He called me back about 24 hours later and said they would come out on March 13, 2013.  When they came out he and Zack, his helper, were very friendly and took measurements of the pool and provided me with examples of the vinyl I could choose from.  I selected the one I wanted and paid $1000, half of the cost of the replacement.  Jon stated that he would come back out during the first week of April.  I had not heard from John at the end of the first week of April so I called him and he stated they would be out on April 8.  I drained 75% of the pool for them so it would help with time.  Zack and another co-worker came out and did a good job of installing, except for the fact they did not replace the plastic pieces on the stairs that cover the screws that secure the liner to the stairs, no big deal.  I paid them the rest of the money for their work, $1000.  They completed the work and I filled the pool.  The next day I noticed severe rippling in the liner so they came back out again 2 days later and sucked more water sucked out from behind the liner.  The next day, around April 12th, the liner once again had begun to ripple in the corners and they came out again, no charge and sucked more water out.  Jon told me he would try to come out on April 18th to do a leak test.  Because of the constant changing of the weather he was not able to get back out until May 7th.  Jon came out on the 7th and performed a leak test as the pool is losing a lot of water each day.  Jon found the leak and repaired it.  I would recommend Jon's company anytime.  The leaks in the drain were not a result of the installation of the liner, it was probably that way with the old liner.  They did fantastic work.

I?m nothing but pleased with my pool remodel done by Calvary Pools.  It was a very extensive job with several tweaks and changes, by me, along the way. <br /> <ol> <li></li> <li>They never increased the estimate.The job was done in the amount of time that they said it would take (2-3 weeks).</li> </ol> <ul> <li></li> <li>They never had a bad attitude.  They were always cheerful and helpful.</li> <li></li> <li>They never took more than 10 minutes to get back to me via text or phone or email.  </li> <li></li> <li>They were never late or mysteriously absent.</li> <li>    </li> <li>My landscaping and koi pond were not disturbed in the process.</li> <li></li> <li>They are excellent communicators.  They were clear about what I was getting, what it would look like, what was possible, etc.</li> <li></li> <li>I never felt unimportant or like I was a pain, although I?m pretty sure I was a pain?..</li> </ul> <br /> You need two things in a pool builder:  HONESTY and EXPERIENCE.  There are some tiny companies out there who are reputed to be quite trustworthy, but I wanted someone who didn?t look confused when, for example, I asked how my very wide grotto roof would be brought in without damaging my yard.  My pool was very complicated, but Calvary had done each element prior in someone else?s pool so it wasn?t new to them. They already planned for and avoided the hiccups/disasters because they had done my slide, my grotto, my flagstone, my tile, my weeping wall all before in various other pools.  <br /> Yet, one problem with getting a company with a lot of experience is that they have a lot of experience because they have A LOT of customers.  This can mean that you are ?just a number.?  I DEFINITELY got that feeling from several large pool companies that came out to give me an estimate.  I was either one of a million customers that they had that day, or I just wasn?t spending enough money to warrant a return phone call any time that day?week?.month?.ever! Calvary is sized so that I was not lost in a sea of other pool customers.  The owner of the company was frequently at my house?at least every other day I would say.  I called/texted him often (several times a day sometimes).  He would always get back to me right away.  The owner and whole company treated me like I was their most important customer. <br /> Experience also gets you a company that doesn?t sub-contract out every little thing to some guy standing on a corner who can <br /> trowel cement.  Calvary?s owner has been in the pool business since he was very young as his uncle owns a pool company.  Because of the owner?s and his uncle?s years of experience, the people who are doing the actual work on your pool are people who have worked for Calvary, or their sister company, for years. <br /> However, none of that experience helps a bit if you are hiring a company that is dishonest. Honesty is the most important thing in hiring a pool company.  Note I said HONESTY and not PRICE.  You wouldn?t price-shop a brain surgeon.  Nor should you price shop a pool, as that is basically brain surgery on your precious back yard.  Calvary stuck to the estimate like glue.  They were honest in all their dealings with me.  For example, they tested my pool for leaks prior to starting, and there were no leaks (they could have made money off me for fixing fake leaks?I would not have known the difference).  They were no ?miscommunications? that ended up in my estimate being raised.  They was no ?oh, you weren?t clear that you wanted it like THAT.  That will be $1000 more?? <br /> And, on price, Calvary was the same as everyone else.  So, for the same money, you are getting a company that knows their stuff and will treat with your respect.  And, most importantly, Calvary will not lie to you-that in itself is worth its weight in gold. <br />

They did the work in a timely manner, in spite of some unexpected rain delays that caused him to have to do some of the work over again, and the results were spectacular. Our pool looks gorgeous and is in better shape than it has been since we moved in.In addition, we had a lot of questions about pool maintenance. We'd been doing it ourself but not really understanding what we were doing. We asked A LOT of questions both while they were here and via email afterwards. They were always willing to answer our questions and helped us to really understand how to take care of our pool.In the future we'll be calling Calvary, and only Calvary, for our pool maintenance needs. We have already recommended Calvary to others and will continue to do so.

We were very happy with the work Jon Waltz at Calvary and his team did.  Another local pool company told us that the only option for our vinyl liner pool was to tear it out and start over.  Jon is a real expert on vinyl pools.  He not only replaced the liner, we replaced all the equipment, resurfaced the spa and deck.  The real masterpiece was adding a stone coping.  I never thought that could never be done with a vinyl liner pool.  It is beautiful. We love it! We hit one snag when he found leaks in the plumbing.  We knew going into it that this would be extra cost.  He found the leaks and repaired them.  One of the leaks was a tough repair.  He did a great job on that too. Jon is very professional and a very nice guy..  One thing that I really appreciated: I felt that I could trust him. That means a lot to me.  I would highly recommend Jon and Calvary Pools

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This company responded to my call promptly, came to inspect the problem, gave me good information and a reasonable estimate. They ordered the proper liner, came to prepare for the work as scheduled and completed the work in two days.  I like that this is a family business and the people who showed up for the initial consultation followed through with the work to the final inspection.  They were informative, professional, pleasant, and didn't mind that my grandchildren wanted to watch some of the installation! I would definately use them again.

The job went smoothly from start to finish. The 1st day the pool was drained and the old liner was cut into small pieces and removed. <br /> The vermiculite base was smoothed and repaired as needed.  The light fixture was resealed. The return face plate was replaced , sealed with new screws, the return jets were replaced.  The liner was dropped and the refill was started.A large vacuum  hose was <br /> taped behind the liner as it filled with water to keep any air from getting behind it.  They returned the next day after the pool was filled about 1 foot into the shallow end.  They removed the vacuum and finished the rest of the installation at the filter. Jon gave us a detailed written list of  how to chemically retreat the poolwater after it was filled.  Project completed.

The owner for this company (Jon) came promply when I called to ask for an estimate for my swimming pool repair. His cost estimate was below the other two estimates, but I was so impressed with his professionalism and the Christian character that was evidenced by his behavior and on his company's website that I think I would have hired him even if the estimate hadn't been lower. His estimate for the time frame, order of the liner and follow through to completion was exactly as he said it would be. He called a few days ahead to schedule the installation time, and showed up to do the work at the time promised. The work he completed was done efficiently, the clean up for the removed pool liner was neat and complete, the work done on the pool base was thorough and he explained what he was doing as he worked. The new pool liner was installed in an afternoon and Jon completed the final stage of the work on schedule after the pool filled. My young grandchildren and I had a fun and exciting afternoon watching this whole process, and the guys were really good natured about answering questions. I highly recommend this company for pool and spa work