Custom Pools & Remodeling

Wow, just read some of the other reviews, some raved about Custom Pools and others hated them. Anyway, Having a pool replastered was a big decision for us. Our neighbors on both sides had their pools done but had some cracking in the tiles that were put in. On our pool we left the old tiles on since they looked fine and had no cracks. Jeremy was the supervisor and he stayed in touch and was available when I had questions. Daniel (who apparently is not there anymore) also would drive up from Ceres to the Bay Area. Having never had a replaster Daniel was pretty good about saying, «Don’t worry about it, we’ll take care of it».
They came by with the draining equipment, the pool was drained, then two guys came by and chipped our the cracks, chipped around the pool ladder, chipped out weak areas on the pool floor. Then another fellow came by and replaced the pool skiimmer which he said was cracked. He cut out the old concrete out, replaced the skimmer, put new concrete in, and that was his part. Then the coping guy came out, he was really a good guy. He said that most of the coping needed to be resealed. I called Jeremy and he said that could be done. The coping guy showed up again and reset a bunch of coping blocks and did a fine job.
Then the replaster crew came out and, wow, did they work hard and fast. What a team they made. I took lots of video and photos and they were laughing and joking around for the camera. The foreman of the crew was pleasant and real patient with me. They finished up and set the hose in to fill the pool. All seemed to go well.
I was told to brush the sides and bottom of the pool (a job I can’t stand) a couple of times a day for a week or so. This would help the plaster color come up and get rid of the rough areas.
SORRY, this is longer than I thought it would be. We filled the pool and had a pool service come in to set up the right chemical balance. We had a great 4^th of July party and the pool looked good.
A few months later, maybe longer, I was trying to get in touch with Daniel, no response to emails. Finally Jennifer emailed me and I talked with her. She was great and said that Daniel wasn’t with the company anymore. What I wanted to find out was if they pressure tested the bottom drain and skimmer to pool filter line. Jennifer said that she didn’t see any indication of this in Daniel’s reports.
I told Jennifer I was concerned because I seemed to be losing water in the pool a little too fast. She got right back to me and said that Stefan would handle this. It seems, if I recall, that Jennifer phoned and said there would be two guys coming out to do the pressure test.
Sure enough they came out, one guy got into scuba equipment and dove down to the drain, plugged it and the other guy check the pressure at the skimmer. Then they checked the pressure from the skimmer to the pump. Their assessment was that the pressure held and there was no leak. To test the three lines coming into the pool would be $ 350 but for what they did Jennifer said there would not be a charge since it should have been done when the replaster process was taking place.
So… At this point, I’m pleased with the work Custom Pools did. I’m happy that Jennifer jumped in to help us out. I would and have recommended Custom Pools to several other people. I’m still hopeful that I won’t see any cracking BUT as of today I could almost give five stars but there were some things, at this point, minor that could have been done.
I believe their warranty is pretty good so that is nice and from the customer service I received from Jennifer, I would be optimistic if I did have a pool problem in the future. Keeping my fingers crossed that the pool replaster will last years and years.

I have just had a complete pebble tech finish job completed by Custom Pools. We have been in touch with Scott for a couple years discussing our choices, no pressure sales, very professional with our individual needs and concerns. From start to finish communication was on point. I had several calls from Stephen, keeping us up to date and what to expect. We had minimal mess, professional crew came out and was very respectful of my property and family. We could not be happier with our choice and experience and results. We definitely will and have recommended already!

I have worked exclusively with Custom Pools for the last 10 years on my customers pools. I’ve worked with Stefan & Scott closely to have my customers pools plastered, leaks repaired, tile replaced, broken skimmers replaced and any other construction needs.
I appreciate having a local family oriented company to work with and have never had any issues being able to get a hold of them by a phone call, text or email.
The Pool Guys! Uses Custom Pools exclusively for any pool needs that I do not do myself.

Here is the final chapter on ROW Custom Pools and Remodeling. After 3 years of enduring 2 (duplicate) mechanics liens and 1 Lis Pendence, we finally met ROW’s representative for our day in court. We settled by signing a settlement agreement in court and by me agreeing to pay ROW money in exchange for releasing the liens.
We signed the document and wrote the check, gave it to them in court, the check cleared our bank account in 7 days, and still ROW Custom Pools and Remodeling did not release the liens!!!
Instead their shyster lawyer played games (1) saying for weeks he was trying to confirm that the check cleared and then (2) saying he had to confirm that we had a signed agreement (yes, the one that we all signed in court!), and that (3) he had to again confirm that the check cleared, and (4) he had to wait for his client to return from vacation to sign the lien release, and then (5) the attorney forgot to call his client on the phone to come in and sign the form. It goes on and on and on and on!
This was a fun game to them. If ROW Custom Pools would put half as much time and effort into doing their job as they did in playing court room games, their service would be by far the best.

This review is to praise Custom Pools for helping a certain Mr. Lewis Isbel whose review is listed here. However for anybody reading his review a correction is needed in regards to the previous contractor, Lewis Pools. Lewis Pools did not pour his poured in place coping or the deck. All the problems were caused by the concrete contractor Mr. Lewis Isbel hired separately from Lewis Pools.

DO NOT USE THIS POOL COMPANY!!! Trust me. They completely lied to my family, took our money and completely ruined our pool!!! They didn’t come and fix their mistakes, didn’t return our calls And now our pool is worse off than before. Trust me, if you just want someone to take your money and ruin your pool go with them, if not, go to an honest company with morals and integrity.
Ps they have been cited by the California licensing board for several violations.

I called 3 companies to get a quote on replastering my pool. Only 2 called me back, and only Chris from Custom Pools actually showed up at the scheduled time to give me a quote. He was super friendly and very quick, I also couldn’t believe how great the price was. I signed the contract the next day and a few days later they were at my place draining my pool. I stuck with just the white finish, no paint or color, nothing fancy. They cleaned my old nasty tiles too and made them look great. It’s only been a week since they completed the work, but so far I couldn’t be happier!

Custom Pools did a really nice job remodeling our 30 year old pool. Our remodel job wasn’t a standard re-​plaster either. Our remodel included cutting the bond beam and adding a beach entry with rock bubbler, adding a four ton water feature, swim jets, rounding pool corners, adding moss rock to the bond beam, all new plumbing, equipment and a combination of Stonescapes and Jewelscapes all glass beads for the surface. We are very happy with the beauty of the pool. The entire crew was pleasant to work with including Stefan, Neil, Roger, James, Armando and all the workers. The workers were some of the hardest working people I’ve met, especially in the heat. Ramon did a beautiful job on all the stone work, especially our waterfall.

I Baught my house a year and half ago and have custom pool install new plaster and equipment. Everything looks great until now the pool start becoming cloudy and there’s white powdery stuff coming out of the pipes to the pool. I pay pool guy to always mantain my pool. I called Stepan and have them come out to check it out. They said everything is fine just run filter and brush it and back wash it everyday. Called them 3 days later to have them check it again because it hasn’t change. I talk to Armando the guy that did all the work he said that stephan said there is nothing they can do. I ask stephan why and he said it’s not covered under warranty. They did the job for remax and since remax sold the property to me is no longer covered. I told them it was me that wanted the pool fix before purchasing it but I guess there’s nothing they can do. I’m pissed and my pool guy said they new about it something wrong that they did but don’t want to take care of it. I have a new pool practically but now it’s looks like crap. 16k down the drainned. I will never do business with them again and hope you guys don’t fall for it aswell. Poor customer service. By the way stephan will never return your call. Now I gotta find a reliable pool company to fix what they call mikey mouse job they did.

Spoke with Jeremy very understanding i will update review if things change.
This is the worst company to hire, from not knowing how to bid a job to non standard work. They cover it all, then they won’t call you back and claim they are already losing money on this job. Again they don’t know how to bid a job. After repeated calls, the owner Roger said they would look at it but they have new stores and don’t have time for me for 2 weeks, Never showed up. Apparently not being truthful is the type of man he is. Looks like he prefers to handle this in court. They also sent two guys to do the prep for the deck, Very shady, both said the had been to prison. :(Not people you want unsupervised at your home). My pool Has cracked decking after only 6 months, This due to apparently due to thin concrete. Jeremy arrived as promised. He approved work and since being corrected looks better. No concrete replaced cracks are not wide enough. seal replaced though 8 /​20/​25

Background: The initial pool company (Lewis Pools which is out of business) installed the coping along with the decking at the same time and did not install any slip material between the top of the pool shell prior to the concrete pour. Thus the concrete decking was attached to the pool shell. Upon expansion and contraction of the decking, the pool shell cracked under the tile and 30% of the tile was falling off exposing the cracked concrete and allowing the pool to leak.
Custom pools was commissioned via a nice gentleman named Jim to cut the simulated coping away from the pool decking to make them two separate things, and then to replace the tile. This would allow the decking to expand and contract without further cracking of the pool shell. However, the sequence was not performed exactly as requested. They started separating the coping from the decking, but did not go deep enough, and then they replaced the tile. I went home to inspect the work and discovered the cut was only about 2.5 inches and needed to be more like 4 inches. They came back the next day with a better saw and cut the decking through as far as I can tell, and then put in the tile grout. 5 days later the grout started cracking and falling out.
To their credit, after many phone calls, they came back and fixed the grout and cut the decking between the top of the tile about 2.5 inches and put in some gray silicone. This should also help further cracking. It’s not the same as performing the sequence of events as specified, but better than the experience that other folks appear to have dealt with. Time will tell if this patch does the trick.
it appears that when serious and difficult issues with construction are encountered, and specific events in certain sequences need to be performed, those instructions are not easily transferred from sales person to the person doing the work. It almost becomes mandatory for the homeowner to be in attendance during the process. But the issue is, who can take off work and suffer the loss of pay and at the same time be shelling out tons of cash for these expensive projects. It’s a dilemma that we seem to face without solution.
The situation I (and other homeowners) face seems to be widespread and not just a symptom of Custom Pools. I certainly think the workers were trying hard to do a good job, I just don’t think that is was explained well enough to them why they were doing it and why the sequence mattered.
Wishing all of us better experiences in the future.
For fun, let’s estimate the expansion that the decking is doing during the course of the year:
concrete expansion coefficient is 8 X10−6 in/(in R))=alpha
tR = tF + 459.67
Temperature change from winter to summer is 32 °F to 105 °F (estimate it’s probably higher).
The foundation to the pool is about 12 feet, or 144 inches=D
Delta T is (105 – 32) +459=532
change in concrete length from pool to house is (delta T) x (D) x alpha=.612 inches.
This .612 inch difference comes at an extreme force.

I had Custom Pools & Remodeling refinish my pool in September of 2013. Over a period of about one year, it progressively went from Tahoe Blue, the color recommended by the sales representative, …to a dirty greyish-​white. I sent them pictures to access concerns in October of 2014, and all they did was send a guy to test the water… then claim the ugly appearance was due to the chemicals.
I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in April, and Custom Pools denied my request, again, stating that it was due to chemicals and that I «signed a contract acknowledging mottling could occur», and therefore they are not responsible. I submitted a rebuttal, noting that the mottling or discoloration in my pool cannot possibly be an acceptable industry standard. I also documented that my pool had a Quartz finish, which according to their own filling instructions, the pool may need an acid bath upon initial filling; however they did not follow their own instructions. Of note is that when I first sent pictures of the discoloration to Custom Pools, they told me to do an acid bath.

First I used the one in El Cajon Ca. Dan is a great guy and held to his dates. The crew of Antonio and his son did a great job on the tile and coping. Three weeks from the time we signed the contract till the chip out and re-​plaster and water back in the pool. The price was below all other bids (way below) and I used them because Dan out of the other guys knew what he is talking about. Easy to check on what they say using Google. I would use them again and again JB

Just want to let you know that this matter still has not been resolved…

We had a struggle in the beginning just because the dye was not the right color. It took them a while to get out to us, BUT overall they followed through with their commitment to our project. They replaced our plaster and we’re very happy with them. Scott Pike is an amazing representative of ROW and without him it would be hard to give a positive follow up review. So because they stood by their product I’m giving them a 5-​star review.

My back yard looks bran new thank you on time stayed in budget

Custom Pools & Remodeling did a great job on the resurfacing of our pool. Scott assisted us in the color choice for the «StoneScapes» pebble finish in Tahoe Blue. He also assisted us in deciding to upgrade our pool pump to a more efficient product which included re-​plumbing and putting everything on a remote control activation. The decision to replace the equipment has lowered our PG&E bill. Their ability and willingness to negotiate the pricing was one of the many reasons we selected Custom Pools after getting many bids.
Stefan and his crew, led by Armando were professional, timely, efficient, friendly and very knowledgeable throughout the entire process. They informed us along the way as to what was happening and how to maintain this beautiful pool. Each day the crew completely cleaned the yard, leaving nothing behind for us to do. The job was completed within a couple weeks and Custom Pools does not use sub-​contractors. Once the initial job was done which included replacing our lights as well Stephen and Armando came back several times to adjust some minor things but more importantly they wanted to make sure we were completely satisfied with the end product.
We have used our spa and pool more now than the 10 years we have lived here due to their suggestions for making our system user friendly and most of all BEAUIFUL! We have had several parties at our house this summer and have had nothing but rave reviews from our friends as to how beautiful it is and now that we added a salt-​chlorine generator your skin feels so good when you get out, without the chlorine smell!
Custom Pools doesn’t try to sell you equipment or upgrades just to make money. They work within your budget to optimize your system and if something didn’t need to be replaced they told us that. Our tile was still in great condition it just needed to be cleaned. This alone saved us quite a bit of money and came out beautiful, looking brand new actually.
We can’t thank Custom Pools enough for all that they did. Thank goodness Scott was at the Modesto Home Show last year and was so friendly and willing to spend time with us to explain the process and some basic costs. The information we received that day is actually what led to our decision to take on this project. We look forward to many years of enjoyment from our remodeled pool and spa.
Thank you Roger, Stefan, Scott, Armando and Jennifer! We highly recommend that anyone choose Custom Pools & Remodeling!
Bryan & Sue Anderson

In 2009 we contacted Custom Pools and Remodeling. We had a rental that needed the pool replastered. We dealt with Scott, very nice guy, but did he sell us a load of goods. We just wanted a low maimtence pool as it was a rental. We just wanted a white plaster, but no he assured us if we went with a darker color it would not show any flaws! What a load of crap. These pictures 3 years after the job was completed. When I contacted them they tried to blame it on pool care. We had always used their perferred pool care professional. They have no customer service unless they are trying to sell you something. Nothing is their fault. Please check out the pictures I posted! They speak for themselves. I wish I researched them more. :/

As a new « Unilocaler» I have zero experience in review postings but a nerve was touched when in the «talks» section I read about Custom Pools and the negative reviews that had existed previously. I thought this may be a good opportunity to replace one of those negative reviews with one of my own.
Although it has been several years since I had my pool re-​plastered by this company, I am reminded often what a poor job that was done when I look at the uneven surface and crooked edges that were the outcome of their work. I found out that the poor workmanship by the laborers was a good reflection of the deceptive and unprofessional persons that employed them. Do not allow this contractor on your property.

Professional, for sure! Scott our salesman was extremely helpful with decisions regarding my 1970’s pool so as not to disturb the integrity of my 1928 home and yard.
Efficiency, for sure! The crew came out and prepped and the job was complete within a few days. It looks absolutely gorgeous. I live in Santa Rosa and highly recommend this company, you will not be disappointed.
Thank you Custom Pools!