Los Angeles Inground Pool Installation

I selected Kennah to do our pool demolition after conducting extensive research. It's worth mentioning that I've been in residential home remodeling for over a decade and understand what it takes to pull off complex projects. Kennah demoed our pool, concrete patio, and patio cover. The biggest challenge was doing so through all of the historic rain we've had here in California. Kennah managed the job (and the extreme weather) very well and left us with a perfectly graded patch of dirt (a blank canvas) onto which we will construct our new backyard. Even the city inspector was impressed with the soils engineering reports, grading, and compaction. We've had heavy rain since the demo, and while there is pooling (we haven't installed the new drainage yet) the ground absorbs it all without issue and it is completely dry within 24-36 hours. Yet another testament to the quality of the work. Crew was clean and friendly and really took pride in their work (and seemed to have a lot of fun in the process). I highly recommend this company if you have a pool or other demolition project. Truly top notch.

We chose Gattuso Pools because they were recommended by friends however we had to keep calling just to get someone to come out and give us an estimate. (That should've been the first clue that it was not going to go well.) The contract was signed and the first check was cashed Nov. 9th. The project was supposed to be completed 6 weeks from the start. Our contractor (Greg) tells us the pool could be done by Christmas. Yeah right! Unless he meant 2017. There was absolutely no hurry on their part. Constant excuses. Our front yard was literally torn up for 2 months before concrete was even poured. Neighbors complained and commented about the mess and how long it was taking. They tried to add $850. for concrete even though we ended up with less than what was agreed upon, there was supposed to be a wall but 2 months in Greg advises us we should maybe do it ourselves, workers literally left trash all over the yard, they helped themselves to the citrus from our trees leaving the peelings all over the yard. Halfway after the tile is installed Greg decides to mention he doesn't think the decorative tile would match but that we could change our mind we would just have to pay a restocking fee. WHAT?! We picked the tile out 3 weeks earlier, you would think he could've brought that up BEFORE they started the install. We did end up with a beautiful pool but about 12 weeks overdue! For the amount of money you would expect some level of professionalism which in our case was not the case.

The day they showed up we were informed it would be necessary to reverse the deep end and shallow end of the pool. We were promised a 6 to 8 week job which tool over ten weeks to complete. The crews did their best to destroy our plants and sprinkler system. The owner was rude and insulting. They were the contractor from ****.

I had two other estimates on suggestions to repair the concrete cracking around my swimming pool. Paradise Designs had the best suggestion. Instead of replacing the concrete around my swimming pool (which was very costy) Jeff had designed a plan to put brick around the parameter and facing of my swimming pool to the point of the crack which matched a large brick planter box next to the pool. He also added more drainage on my decking and replaced a small area of concrete that was uneven. His design suggestion sure saved me a lot and I am very pleased with the results. Jeff was very professional and always pleasant and responded very quickly to any issues that we had. I believe he went out of his way to make sure we were happy.

Rene and Alan were great. Their attention to detail, insistance on doing the job right even when the parts were not suffecient provided by the manufacturer they made it better with their own. Great guys, their pricing is ridiculously fair for what they had to do and the time involved. Communication before the job was perfect. I'm in a service business and understand the value proposition, These are talented guys, hire them and pay them their fair honest wage, their worth every penny.

Their estimate was $12,000 to remove a swimming pool. They seemed extremely professional. I think their price was a little high and I think they are charging for their experience, but I got lower estimates from people that seemed equally as professional. They were very responsive. They were excellent.

Very well. Workers were punctual, courteous and did great work. Cleaned up. Extra safety taken due to swimming pool in yard. Robert even went to talk to our neighbors because the worker's needed access to their yard to do the work.

I am writing this review to save others from making my mistake. The process from the minute I signed the contract was horrible. The owners son Ken has taken over the business and he is horrible in everyway. No integrity, follow up or customer service. We built a $2,5m custom home and part of the project included a pool in the backyard. Starting the dig required several phone calls to get him going. Then just prior to the concrete being pourded - I called Ken to point out that several of the items I paid for (roman spitters, jets, etc.) do not seem to be built in. He assured me he would be sure they are. Several weeks later - Ken never showed up and his sub contractors poured the concrete. Ken had no response. After two more months I clearly showed Ken his own contract where he clearly called out the items he was to install. Despite this he continued to ask me for more advanced payments. I finally continued to pay him to keep the pool going but for obvious reasons did not pay the full amount. Then it came time to apply the coping, the pebbletech, etc. Again he delayed and did not respond. After another month went by, he finally got someone to complete the coping and pebbletech (per the contact and what I had paid for). All appeared ok, but I did comment to him the stone he used to finish the coping was not the same stone we agreed to (I went to the stone yard myself to point it out). He claimed it was and it is only a visual difference, but the stone is the same. I disagreed, but thought hey, I have at least a 1 year warranty (that is another one of my mistakes, assuming he has integrity and his warranty means something. When the pool appeared to be complete. low and behold Ken was all of a sudden responsive to my texts, emails and calls. He wanted his money. I went through many back and forth communications showing him our many documented discussions, emails and texts where he clearly did not put in the components he promised in the contract. After much back and forth, he removed the cost of the roman spitters and a few other minor things. I then paid him. Within two months I called him back saying the stone coping he used does appear different and is flaking. It took him at least 2 months to come check it out and even then it was not him. He sent some random guy from a stone yard he "thought" he uses. I met the stone yard guy and he himself confirmed that the stone used on the coping is not the same as around the spa and clearly a lesser quality stone. I then called Ken, sent him pictures, etc. and nothing. In the mean time - it has been 4-5 months since pool completion and the stone is eroding, causing a mess in the pool and literally breaking off into the pool Another month later the pebbletech wall in the spa developed a small crack. Again, 2 more months went by and still nothing. Either empty promises, he said I will send a guy out, but still nothing. I finally got in touch with him and said hey, I am reasonable but this is crazy. I even offered to get a competitive bid to have a different contractor fix the stone coping and other problems and I would pay half. He still had no response. I then followed up with a repair demand letter. Now I am pursuing arbitration and then small claims. There is so much more I could share - the above is not even half of the challenges of dealing with Ken Fritz - I do not know how this guy lives with himself. If I were his dad I would be mortified how his actions are dragging down an otherwise once good family name. I am now writing this negative review over a year later since he still refuses to respond to me. If he simply responds to me and just pays half for what really should be covered by his warranty, then I will remove this review. If however he does not contact me - I will pursue small claims out of principle. Save yourself much trouble. DO NOT EVER DO ANY BUSINESS WITH KEN FRITZ AND PV POOLS. They are the most dishonest, ill run pool outfit I have ever seen.

After interviewing 4 contractors, I made the mistake of going with the cheapest - Mr. Carlos Pools. Every step of the way was a disaster, from the excavation to the finish work. The contract was signed in February and the pool wasn't completed until August. One of the most frustrating aspects of the project was the lack of a point person to contact with problems. I was tossed between several different "account managers" who worked out of the office and never once came to the house. Also, all of the contractors were subs. None of the workers were employed by Mr. Carlos. I would have much rather paid a few thousand dollars more to avoid all of the headaches and stress. Working with Mr. Carlos Pools was truly one of the most frustrating and aggravating experiences of my life. I would never recommend them under any circumstance.

Eddy was punctual, polite and respectful. He came out provided a quote and stated he could start the next day. He works very hard. The slab is nice, not perfect but it will work for what I need it for. He cleans up after himself but there were a few areas that I needed to bring to his attention. He was respectful and took care of my concerns. He’s a very hard worker. My only complaint was that he under quoted himself and I needed to pay more before he was done or would end up with a half done project. I really don’t think he was trying to rip me off but wonder what would have happened if I couldn’t pay the additional money. The additional amount came out to approx average for that type of job but based on the additional amount I was hoping for an excellent-very good concrete slab but I didn’t quite get that. It was good and it will serve its purpose but I had higher expectations. I would likely hire Eddy again for a different type of project.

Kennah explained the process, and answered all our questions before work began. Steve discussed the option to lay down steel plates to minimize possible concrete cracking of the path around the pool - and we discussed possible access routes- using both small and larger Bobcats. We elected to use the larger Bobcats and to lay down steel plates, as a precaution. Access to the pool still required the partial demolition of a block wall and landscape plant beds. The orchestration of the many disciplines began and there was no down time. No new concrete cracks occurred - (and there were many pre-existing older concrete cracks around the pool) - (Another contractor had said the path around the pool would be destroyed in the process.) Our path around the pool remained intact, a minimum of landscape cutting was done, and the block wall is better now than before. The job was much larger than we imagined – but it continued as planned. This is a demolition job - but the work was expertly performed and neatly buttoned up. We were very pleased with the professionalism of the entire experience.

THIS COMPANY DID A Greta JOB FOR US. I CALLED THEM, SET UP AN APPOINTMENT FOR THEM TO DIG. THEY SHOWED UP ON THE DAY WE SET UP AND THEY GOT THE JOB DONE IN A timely MANNER with NO PROBLEMS.

JOSH MONTGOMERY WAS INITIALLY A GREAT GUY TO WORK WITH. ALTHOUGH THE WORK SO FAR IS OUTSTANDING THERE HAVE BEEN DELAYS AFTER DELAYS. WE ARE CURRENTLY 2.5 MONTHS BEHIND SCHEDULE.

THE DECKING AND CONCRETE WENT SMOOTHLY. HOWEVER THE MASONRY DETAIL NEEDED TO BE REDONE AT LEAST TWICE TO MEET WITH OUR EXPECTATIONS. THOUGH THEY WERE AMIABLE, IT WAS TOUGH TO GET THEM TO ADMIT THAT MISTAKES WERE MADE. ALSO THE LANGUAGE USED DURING THIS PROCESS WAS OFFENSIVE TO MY HISPANIC NEIGHBORS AS THEY HAD SMALL CHILDREN THAT COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS BEING SAID.

We went with Mr. Carlos pool after a few bids and because of their A reviews on Angies list and salesperson Stephen assured me that they have good relationships with the city and will finish my project in 4-5 months. They have submitted the application for of our pool June of 2013 and to this date, September of 2014 after countless emails and calls, we have not even have our permits yet let alone any excavation. The problem is, they do not care about your project after they got the bid. There's an expediter Gale who they used to send documents in to the city. However, this expediter and Mr. Carlos Pools have no communications at all. Corrections letters from the city would just sit on Mr. Carlos Pools desk for 3 months, without even opening it and letting us know what needs to be done. And I even paid for extra expedited fee for it to be done faster, but all wasted on Mr. Carlos Pools desk! When I call and ask the progress of the permits, they would tell me to call Gale myself and find out; when I called Gale, she would say she gave it to Mr. Carlos Pools. So the result is, after 28 months, we are nowhere near having a pool. It is the most unreliable and irresponsible company I've ever dealt with!