Solar Flare Pools LLC

Michael Howerton of Solar Flare Pools came to my house on time. He quickly located the leak. He didn't try to up-sell anything . He did provide me with excellent ideas about renovating my pool. He is very professional and knowledgeable, and I felt that he took care of my swimming pool problems as if it were his own. I highly recommend Solar Flare for pool repairs.

The pool heater installation went great. Quote was $1000 than my usual pool company, did it quickly and effectively with no hassle. Would recommend highly.

Mike is a very nice guy who does a great job.

Mike did a great job. I text him photos of current equipment, he picked up what was needed, installed it in a day and sent an email invoice. It was so easy to work with Mike, he was professional and prompt; I would definitely use his services again. I do recommend him.

As stated above, everything went greatly above expectations.

He inspected the system We have an old spa tub and system. We needed to have it evaluated to decide to repair, upgrade or remove the system. Once I placed a call to Mike he responded and made arrangements to come since has was in the area. He inspected the system and gave an honest evaluation of the issues and possible options. I am writing this because he was sincere and honest in his presentation. There was no discussion of spending money for repairs and his knowledge of the problems helped my husband and I to reach a decision.

Mike was great to work with, He was very professional and knowledgeable about his trade. He provided several options. We chose a less expensive creative solution for a pool leak based on Mike's recommendations. We would recommend Solar Flare Pools to anyone needing pool repair or service. We plan to use Solar Flare Pools for future needs.

I have used Mike several times now. He's always on time, and he never suprises you with additional costs. Mike is an honest guy that will treat you right with your pool needs. I will definitely use him again.

Very professional, reliable humble and friendly knew what he was doing, also text next day to make sure everything is running fine

It went great. Our pool is trouble free now and easier to operate thanks to Mike. We will contact him again for any pool problem we have. Mike was very responsive; he returned calls promptly. He was professional; worked quickly, communicated with me about what was going on and what he was doing.

Solar Flair Pools was referred to us by Premier Pool Supply for detecting leaks. Our pool had been losing close to an inch of water each day for weeks. We are new pool owners, having just purchased our home this past December and were unsure of what is a normal water loss. Our expectations were set that this is a busy season and we would likely wait a week before Mike could come do the leak detection. But he had a cancellation and was able to work us in the next day. Mike was friendly and patient as he answered our MANY questions about what he was doing and why. We found the process and equipment he used fascinating as he talked about what his equipment or dyes did and how he was able to isolate the leak. Mike repaired the leak, but thought there might have been a pop when replacing the light and told us to watch closely as the seal may have been broken. The night of the repair we had rain, so it was difficult to determine if the water level dropped. But the following night, we were able to see another inch of water was drained from the pool. It was late in the day when I emailed Mike to let him know the pool was still leaking and he responded that night saying he would be out the next day to repair it again. He returned when he said he would and fixed the leak. He talked about why the light didn't fit properly in the receptacle and how the seal was easily broken because of it. We talked about what our next steps would be if the seal didn't stay in place. But the seal worked. We have now had a week of constant (or rising, with the rains of Labor Day weekend) water levels and are so happy. Mike was awesome at taking care of us (and our pool leak), responding quickly and then being honest with us about causes and fixes for our pool leak. We were so appreciative that he was honest up front about the seal possibly breaking, rather than us figuring it out on our own in the following days and wondering if we would have problems with a return visit. And we were thankfulthat he didn't charge us for a return visit to fix it the second time. Mike also talked to us about alternate ways to save money on water and electricity in how we care for our pool. All around fantastic experience for a part of our property we knew nothing about eight months ago. B

Candidly, we found the service lackluster. Originally, Solar Flares offered a fixed fee service to include chemicals and weekly cleaning. After the first visit (no service just a visit) to evaluate the pool, the operation and the effort required, the owner of Solar Flares began complaining about the amount of time and travel expense for the engagement. Soon thereafter, Solar Flares expected the homeowner to have a full complement of cleaning tools -- never, ever discussed in the beginning; please remember expectation set we were newbies to pools and didn't know what we didn't know. Next, the blame game and escalation. Prior to Mike's arrival a new liner was put in the pool -- this was our first rodeo, my son's young family new to pool care. So there were some issues with pumps, strainers, and overall operation. Mike vehemently complained about the vacuum stating the pump was leaking. Mike continued to whine about travel while making more excuses about the difficulties and even suggested we bury the pool and join a local tennis and swim club. So, net/net? We parted ways. I paid Mike out -- more than he asked for, paid for an evaluation, paid for him showing up with no tools, little talent and lots of talk. My son went to Leslie's Pools received guidance, good deals and merrily maintained his pool purchasing great automated tools, first class chemicals and enjoyed the pool with money left over from what we would have spent with Solar Flare Pools. Notwithstanding, if you?re an elitist and want a gabby pool boy to the tune of $40 - $50 an hour to parade around your pool and make light conversation then select Solar Pools otherwise hire a pro or do it yourself

Removing the negative rating as no service was performed and contact responded back via Angie's List to say he'd been on vacation, hence the missed request.

When I first called Mike, he stated he was extremely busy since it was literally the start of pool season (a day or two after Memorial Day!), but he made the time to come out within two or three days and get started on our pool - which to me, looked like a complete black lagoon/snake and frog-filled nightmare. He made it sound like it was no problem at all, even though my husband and I felt like the pool was so disgusting and could never be properly cleaned up ! After the pool was up and running, Mike was available by phone and text when we had questions. He responded to our questions in the middle of the evening and on weekends, which was nice because my husband works every weekend and works late most nights. Mike even stopped by weeks after we had fully paid him and had not contracted him for any extra work (yet), to tell us how the equipment works, help us with some leaks that we discovered, and to help us out with the vaccuuming and cleaning of the pool and system. I know a visit to the house to show us how our equipment works (pool school) is worth between $85-135/hour, and Mike did not charge us anything more. Just excellent, honest guy. We could not be happier with the way the pool turned out. We thought at first "what have we gotten ourselves into here?" but Mike reassured us that the pool maintenance and cleaning will not be as hard as we initially thought.. Thank you

We purchased a house with a pool that had not been tended to in many years, our first adventure in having a pool and we had a cement pond. Mike came out and gave us an estimate to restore it and make it usable. The pool had to be drained and a foot thick pile of leaves had to be removed before the old liner could be replaced. Mike and Summer replaced the liner, installed a new filter, pump and salt system. The manufacturer of the pool is no longer in business and replacement parts are not easy to find but Mike got what we needed. He gave us lessons on how to do everything and a list of items we needed to keep the pool clean. Even though he had to do some extra work, Mike honored the price he originally estimated. All was completed on time and on price. Definitely would hire him again.

We were looking to have our pool resurfaced before the new pool season. Using your service I narrowed down the canidates to the four that had the highest grades in our area. I called Mike abd made an appoiment to meet him at the house two datys later. He showed up on time, nicely dressed, and greeted me in a truly profreesonaly yet friendly manner. Rigth from the begining Mike put me at ease. He was easy to talk to, knowledgeabke, and more than willng to take to time to make sure that nopt only my questions and concerns were answered but also my wife"s. He said he would have quote to us by Saturday evening. We had another appointmet for a quote on Friday, but this did not make us comfortable at all. Mike sent us his qupte as promised on Saturday, followed by a phone call to see if we had received it and what we thought. I told him and we reached a mutually satisfiactual agreemeet. He gave me a start date and a approximate finish date (weather factors). Mike and is crew showed up early in the moring on the day he said he would, worked tell almost dark, and finished the project a day early. Although he was not here every day, he did call at least twice a day to check on progress and would stop by on his way home. I have rarely seen a man like Mike so dedicated to his customers. I would galdly recommedim to anyonewho is looking for someone who needs any type of pool service weither its simply cleanong a pool or a complete resurfacing. Even maintanance of pool equipment I would trust Mike to tell me weither he could fix it or not, the cost of the repair, or the approx. cost of a new part. I now consider him a friend who I can call if I have a problem with pool and he might be able to help ovve the phone. GREAT JOB MIKE!

Great!!! No matter what the concern is weekly maintanence, new heater, spa repair it doesn't matter. Mike and his people take care of everything for me. He is dependable and does a great job. I have had other people take care of my pool in the past. I won't let anyone else take care of it in the future. Mike does a great job!!!!!

I had a hot tub that needed service in one of my vacation rental properties. The guests were looking forward to using the hot tub, so a non-functional hot tub was a big problem for me. Mike was able to walk me through the issue over the phone and we were able to get the hot tub running! He could have easily gone up to my property and charged me a service fee, but he talked me though the problem and didn't even charge me. He also offered to adjust his already busy schedule to take care of my emergency issue after hours if necessary. I am very pleased with Mike and Solar Flare Pools.

I interviewed 4 pool companies that I found on Angies List and decided to go w/Mike. His price was in the middle range but more importantly, I felt comfortable with MIke coming in and out of my property.

You will great service with Mike who gets the job done at reasonable prices with quality work.

Contacted Mike on 4/2/13, and scheduled a visit to look at the pool on 4/4/13. Mike contacted me on 4/4, and gave me an approximate time that he would be at the house. He was on time, and immediately diagnosed the faulty pool pump. He was able to get a new pump from a local supplier, and had the new pump installed in an hour. Mike was very professional, courteous, and communicative. I would not hesitate to use Solar Flare Pools again, or recommend them to friends.

Not often do you find a hidden gem but Mike with Solar Flare Pools was one of them. I researched pool service providers on Angie's List after my last one left the Atlanta area. Based upon reviews, I contacted three of them for estimates. Although the others were excellent, Mike stood out above the rest. I had already research heaters and found one that I wanted. Mike asked if I wanted to buy the heater through the internet upon which he would install upon arrival. I told him that we did not want to do it and wanted him to buy and install it. He offered his wholesale price and ordered it the same day we met. Mike, also, pointed out rubber O-rings on our equipment that were barely holding together. He priced replacing them which he believed would correct the air problem in the lines. The next week, as estimated, he was here installing both the heater and O-rings. Throughout all of this, Mike was extremely professional, easy to understand, punctual, and honest. He is simply a great guy and knows what he is doing. He took away our old dinosaur heater that had completely rusted out and was filled with mud. Everything was installed cleanly and it looked better than before he came. Perhaps the most important note about Mike is that while he was installing the new heater, he called me out to point out a problem with the gas line feed. I had not noticed that the line feeding to the heater was so rusted that it was clear that at any moment, the line could have easily broken. A disaster waiting to happen. Because of Mike showing us that problem, we found a similar situation with the line that feeds into our grill and fireplace. It took us another week to have the gas lines corrected. During that time, Mike continued to check up on its progress. Once the gas was restored, the new heater was working like a charm. Mike contacted me to find its status. The air in the lines has been corrected as well. Solar Flare Pools is now in my phone's service provider contact list!

Mike took a job that 2 other pool companies turned down. I am a first time homeowner and pool owner. My pool started leaking at the end of last season and I let it get away from me and it went green and stayed uncovered for the entire off-season. When he started the job, my pool was an absolute swamp. He diligently worked on it (made many trips from Canton to Smyrna) until my pool was back to crystal clear. I can't tell you how much better that made me feel when I walk into my back yard. Next, he used sonar equipment to locate the leaks in my liner and repaired those in one day for a very reasonable fee. My pool is now back to awesome and we can't wait for it to get a little warmer. I would absolutely recommend Mike for any job you might have for your pool. I know we will use him from now on. Thanks, Ben

See comments written above.

The technical (Mike) is prompt, courteous, and professional. He put in a new pump at a reasonable price (not much more than a competitor was going to charge me for just repairing the pump), and also came out a couple times...at no additional charge...to rewire the electrical so that the pump could run at low speed and be controlled by the remote in house. The original installer of pool, Blue Haven, apparently saved a step by not completing the wiring. Mike had to do a fair amount of research to figure out how to fix this, and I appreciate that he did not charge me for this additional time. The checkvalve...which again should have been put in by the original pool builder...was necessary to help the pump prime, as it is located several feet above water level. I was charged $170 (part of the $1100) for this work, parts and labor. Solar Flare's quote on replacing the mastic was about 50% less than a competitor quote. Mike says he has been working on pools for 12 years, and his knowledge of everything from equipment to water quality is quite evident. I would definitely recommend Solar Flare Pools.