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We moved into our house 10 years ago.  I always knew we would eventually get a pool, but we postponed getting one because my kids were still very little.  When my daughter finally became a fish at the age of 4, we started pool construction!  Oak Wells Aquatics follows a very tight construction timeline, and once we had our pre-site construction meeting with our superintendent, we were swimming in 15 weeks!  We waited for the perfect time to add a swimming pool to our backyard, and now we couldn’t imagine life without it! 

This is why my heart broke for a family that I recently visited.  This family has three active boys, and they decided that the time was right to add a swimming pool to their backyard.  Unfortunately, their pool project was abandoned by another pool construction company, and they have had an unfinished construction site in their backyard for well over a year.   This customer called Oak Wells to discuss finishing their pool. According to a July 25^th news report, there are at least 12 other customers in St. John’s County that are in a similar situation.  All of these people have paid for a product they never received.  The pool company is not based in our area.  This situation really hits hard for the ethical, established, professional pool construction companies in our area.

When the time is right, and your family is ready to build a swimming pool, it is important to do research on the construction company that you hire.  First and foremost, look for a company based in our community.  These are local employers supporting local families.  Community-based companies are here to stay, and they want to ensure that the product they deliver is spectacular.  There are about 8 local companies that have been established in our area for over 10 years.  These are the companies that should be at the top of your list. 

You will want to look up the company’s business license with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You will be able to verify that the company’s license is active, and they are able to do the work that is required.  This is also where customers can file complaints against contracting companies.  There is a very easy to use search engine on the website.

Consider hiring a company that is a member of the Florida Swimming Pool Association.  In order to maintain membership with the FSPA, a pool construction company must maintain an active license and have current liability insurance. The company cannot have any unresolved consumer complaints.  They also require members to abide by a code of ethics.   Any ethics complaints can result in a termination of membership with FSPA.

After you have verified that your potential pool contractor is local, experienced, licensed and insured, it is time to begin looking at their completed projects.  You can find a gallery of work on most websites.  Find your favorite style of pool.  Ask yourself what appeals to you. Can you picture any of these pools in your backyard?  Begin to look at social media pages and read customer reviews and testimonials.  Finally, find references!  Do you have any friends or family that have recently gone through the pool construction process?  How was their experience?  Did they have positive customer service?  Was the pool designer attentive to their ideas?  Does their pool feel like it is custom built to suit their family’s needs? Was there continuous communication throughout the process?  Finally, do they love their pool?

If you follow all these steps when searching for a pool contractor, I’m pretty confident that your road has led you to Oak Wells Aquatics!  Oak Wells Aquatics is a community-based company servicing all of Northeast Florida.  We are a family company, offering health insurance to our employees. Oak Wells has been in business for 10 years, but really, this company was built by professionals who have been in the pool construction industry for a long, long time.  Our customer reviews and testimonials are outstanding.  We have many referrals coming from happy customers.  Our construction process is efficient and professional, and our communication is continuous.  Finally, our work is beautiful.  I invite you to browse through all of our pictures.  We even have our projects displayed on Houzz.

When you are ready to start your project, give us a call!  We will start by discussing where you are in the process, and what ideas you have for your pool.  Now is the perfect time to begin the process so we can have you swimming by spring!