[dsnrbec]

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by dsnrbec

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

That's your first clue.

Ask them how long they have been doing pools.
Ask them if they have their own pool crew or if it's sub'd out.

[retiredguy123]

Apparently the company is a licensed general contractor who claims to have been doing business in The Villages area for 18 years. But, I would be very concerned that they have no reviews or complaints on BBB.com, Yelp, or Google. They only have a few generic reviews on their own website. I would want them to provide several names and contact information from local customers who I could call. They could be a consulting or project management company that finds and brokers out projects to others, but that is just a guess. I would definitely need more information before hiring them to build a pool.

[villagetinker]

From what I have seen, pools from reputable companies appear to around 1 year out (sign contract to first use), if they are quoting a much shorter time I would be suspicious, as noted above and would definitely request names and contact info for recent customers. Do NOT pay anything up front. For a project of this size there may be interim payments based on project milestone completions.
Hope this works out for you.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by dsnrbec

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

RICHARD D ORTENGREN is the Owner of Advanced Construction. We used them about 15 yrs ago to put an addition on the back of our home. They did a great job and we have been very happy with the work they did.

My neighbor used them to completely gut the interior of their home and rebuild it to their requirements. An incredible job.

I believe they are known to The Villages, and to the Morse family. The Father started the business and there were several sons involved at one time.

You can get all this information when you do a search. You can contact The Villages for information on them. Just last year my next door neighbor tried to hire them to put an addition on her home, but they were booked up for months.

However, having said all that, I am not aware of pools they have built, but they do have a catalog of their jobs and if you request to see it I am sure they will show it ot you. After they finished my job I had about 10 people call and ask if they could see my addition.

If I was putting in a pool I would want to see their previous jobs.

[dsnrbec]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

RICHARD D ORTENGREN is the Owner of Advanced Construction. We used them about 15 yrs ago to put an addition on the back of our home. They did a great job and we have been very happy with the work they did.

My neighbor used them to completely gut the interior of their home and rebuild it to their requirements. An incredible job.

I believe they are known to The Villages, and to the Morse family. The Father started the business and there were several sons involved at one time.

You can get all this information when you do a search. You can contact The Villages for information on them. Just last year my next door neighbor tried to hire them to put an addition on her home, but they were booked up for months.

However, having said all that, I am not aware of pools they have built, but they do have a catalog of their jobs and if you request to see it I am sure they will show it ot you. After they finished my job I had about 10 people call and ask if they could see my addition.

If I was putting in a pool I would want to see their previous jobs.

At least they aren’t total incompetents! Thanks for this and, of course, we’ll ask for names of a villagers who have used them for a pool. Thanks.

[PoolBrews]

I can't understand why anyone thinking of shelling out $50-$80K for a pool would ever look at a company like this. No pool build history, no online reviews (good or bad), not on BBB. There are so many red flags here... need I say more?

Below is a list of recommendations I have that you should ask every pool builder you talk to. There are several pool builders I would recommend you quote, and several I would say stay away from at all costs. PM me if you want my list

I would get at least 3 quotes from companies with high ratings. You will find that most folks here will say T&D... that is because T&D is local and is the contractor that The Villages uses. They do good work, but generally cost far more than other companies outside of the bubble. If you don't mind paying 25%-50% more, then T&D is fine. My pool was done by Premier Pools of Central Florida out of Winter Park and I couldn't be happier. My pool was $65K - T&D wanted $90K, and that was with older automation, an undersized filter, and an undersized salt water generator (SWG) cell.

When I asked them to meet the same hardware as Premier, I was looking at another $10K. This is why I say - get multiple quotes, then make sure they all have the same components. Things to check:

1) Verify filter size - the smaller the filter, the more often you will be cleaning it.
2) Look at pool automation. It will make your life easier, and will save on electricity over the long run.
3) Make sure you get auto fill/drain. Here in FL with the rain and sun we get you'll be constantly adding water or manually draining without it.
4) Make sure you get a variable speed pump. A VSP can save $20-$40 per month when run at 40%.
5) If going salt water (highly recommended), make sure the SWG cell is rated at least 2x the size of your pool.
6) If you are not getting a deep end, look at asking for a channel drain. In a shallow pool, you'll have folks stubbing their toes on the standard drains that most companies install.
6) Look at the included pool interior finish. Pebble finishes last far longer than plaster, and are more $$ accordingly.

I could probably add more, but that is a good start!

[JakeInTV]

Originally Posted by dsnrbec

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

Don't know. But I used T&D 4 years ago, and haven't been sorry for one minute. You get what you pay for.

[Oneiric]

Each day, I drive on Pinellas, West of Buena Vista, where two homes started building pools,at roughly the same time. One by Wiseman, a small pool with no columns, seldom has any activity, construction poking along. The other by T&D. is larger, with columns, has a beehive of activity every day, progress much further along.
What does this tell you?











&

[DaleDivine]

Originally Posted by JakeInTV

Don't know. But I used T&D 4 years ago, and haven't been sorry for one minute. You get what you pay for.

Do you still like them as much now after changing to Patriot? Have heard about lots of people firing them. Had a friend that worked for them and quit after new management took over...

[ChicagoNative]

Two of our neighbors used Advanced, and both were/are “pandemic pools”, so construction was a looooonngg process. One is complete, the other in the home stretch. Both neighbors have expressed frustration, and not just over the time frame. Both built fairly big pools with integrated hot tubs, and neither has variable speed pumps. The neighbor whose pool has been completed for a few months has seen his electric bill skyrocket with a couple bills topping $500 for the month. (And these folks aren’t big AC users!)

We also had an estimate from Advanced last year. They were pleasant enough to deal with, but their specialty is home construction, not pools. They will build as fancy and intricate as you want, but offered little in the way of design, knowledge of technical specs, or suggestions. If you don’t specify, you’ll get a basic quote that will look good on paper, but maybe not be the best solution. Take the advice of the poster above and do your homework, educate yourself on at least the basics, ask questions, and get references. Don’t rely on online reviews for a complete true picture.

Two other neighbors built pandemic pools and used Yandle Splash time. Both were recently completed having taken about 10 months. Both neighbors are happy. One friend who just moved to my community is going with Yandle based on these neighbors, and was told upfront that they cannot start his project until late August of 2022!

We went with Wiseman, are now 10 1/2 months in and are only at the beginning of plumbing. We’re hoping to have a Christmas pool opening party. It’s so frustrating but we keep reminding ourselves that a pool is a luxury. We’re thankful and lucky to be able to do it when Covid has caused so many people to lose livelihoods and lives over the past 18 months. Supply chains are still jammed up, crews have become sick, and weather plays a big part. Have patience, and when that starts wearing thin, have a cocktail! Good luck.

[Janicepyatt]

Like Patriot better for pool cleaning...it's all about the person you have doing your cleaning. The guy we have now is the best we've had. We may have had one good person with T&D during the 15 months they owned the business, but most were bad. Would see some of them a few times then gone, sometimes we were really happy they were gone! I believe they all have issues hiring good reliable people to do this work.

Very happy with pool built by T&D.

[COLTempleton]

Originally Posted by dsnrbec

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

Our neighbor used Advanced Construction for their addition (workshop) and pool. We went over and checked it out, and it was very well done. The neighbor was very satisfied as well. We are now in negotiation with them for our pool and addition.

[xcaligirl]

Originally Posted by dsnrbec

I would love to hear from someone who used this company for a pool. Having a hard time finding any reviews. Thanks!

We used Fiesta Poola of Ocalaand very happy with the crew and work. Family owned and operated. I wasn’t crazy about the ‘design person’, just figure out what style you are wanting, if you want all the fancy accessories or not (waterfalls, etc). We had it all in our last pool and this one is basic which is all we need!

[Villages Kahuna]

Don’t even think about using anyone but T&D Pool and Spa. There’s a reason why you will have to wait, and not get the cheapest price in town. That’s because they’re the BEST!