Master Pools of Austin

This has by far been the worst experience I have ever had with trying to get pricing from a company. I understand that all Austin pool companies are busy and some are not taking new customers. There has not been one time has a timeline presented by Master Pools has been met and I am spending my time chasing Mark to try to get information with little to no response. I am formally requesting my downpayment back since this is a complete failure on Master Pools part to honor their end of the transaction. We started this in July of 2021 with our initial meeting with Mark and making a down payment. I have had to send constant emails to follow up to be able to receive any information related to the Pool Design or Pricing. We got a really high level price In late October which was 50% over the target budget and was missing multiple items we requested to be included like a HeatPump/Chiller and replacing the railing on our existing patio. Regarding the railing Mark said that he would include replacing the railing on our existing patio with a metal railing during our design discussions only to find out that it was not included and that Master Pools can't accommodate the request to replace the railing. I have been asking for detailed pricing since October (over 4 months) with no response from Mark. There is no way I will continue the process to build a pool with Master Pools or recommend Master Pools to anyone based on my experience.

We're wrapping up our pool remodel that started nearly a year ago. Master Pools is intent on doing a good job. There have been some management issues over the last year or two that led them to accepting too many pool builds/remodels and using inadequate sub-contractors (see my reviews of them). Because they were over committed, the management of our project was seriously lacking: sub contractors didn't know what to do or did whatever they wanted to. Over the course of the project Master Pools has been getting their house in order: they restructured their organization and fired staff, they fired their inadequate sub-contractors (all of the ones that worked on our project). They have fixed, most times taking 3-4 attempts before getting it right, every aspect of our remodel. Unfortunately the sub-contractors did do bad work. Our deck is cracking and shifting. The mortar in the coping and wall are wearing or coming out. I really wonder if the pool, etc, will last. Time will tell. When considering a pool builder/remodeler, take the time to investigate their sub contractors, get feedback from previous customers, talk with the actual workers, ask hard questions, make deadlines and be able to back out of the contract with financial penalties for the contractor if those deadlines are missed, decide on quality metrics and how to know when each step/aspect of the project is done. I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone. A 6 week project turned into a multi-month one. Everything had to be reworked 3-4 times. But Master Pools sounds like they're above average. I've heard many stories of much, much worse. Buyer beware!

Chris Houck provided us a quote and a beautiful design for a new in-ground pool. Chris was great to work with and it's clear he knows what he's doing. He was able to take a very rough idea and turn it into a beautiful design. We chose to go with another pool builder primarily due to cost.

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