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How To Create Your Backyard Environment

By D Magazine |

Spring is the prefect time of the year to begin thinking about building a pool or spa and finding the right contractor is the first step. “At any level in the -pool industry, the key to success is honesty above all, and really striv-ing to make your word your bond,” according to Richard Prince, presi-dent of Advance Pool Designs, Inc. “You have to give your business complete integrity and you have to give service after the sale.”

Reputation is everything according to Prince. This commitment to maintaining an untarnished reputation has paid off for the Texas builder. Following several years of building pools of moderate cost and complexity, Advance Pool Designs broke into the high-end market and now concentrates on elaborate pools and aquatic presentations. The company, now in its 11th year, completes between 60 and 70 projects annually, ranging from single fountains to entire backyards.

Creating the pool or water feature you want is a multi-step process.

For most of the firm’s work, you can approach Advance Pool Designs directly. A sales representative will schedule a visit to your family to see your property and discover what you want in a pool, spa or water feature. The repre-sentative will note any special requirements of the lot regarding slope, elevation or utility easements and will then present to you an assortment of photographs of a broad selection of pools and fountains that the company has built. “We make notes on all the things our customers like and don’t like about the pictures they see,” Prince says.

With more than 800 projects in the ground. Advance Pool Designs will be able to help you select the class of pool you are interested in. Then, armed with this information, the sales representative will develop a custom design, and a proposal, pricing out the design so, you can see where your money is being spent. The design is then presented to you for your inspection and approval. At this stage in the process it is important to remember to keep cost figures in line with your finances. Be realistic about what quality costs. Simple pools start at around $25,000 while Advance Pool Design’s average project runs $40,000 to $50,000. If you want a truly unusual project, there could be a higher price associated with it.

Considerable skill is necessaryto bring these lush aquatic fan-tasies to life. “The degree of com-plexity of the job dictates the amount of time necessary for each job. Daily visits to the job site, combined with extensive customer interaction, has developed a very satisfied customer base for Advance Pool Designs. As a project develops and unfolds, a cus tomer’s special touches are added on quite regularly,” Prince says.

Customer service is important both as the pool is being built and after the construction to maintain your new investment. Advance Pool Designs, Prince says, has built its reputation through cus-tomer service. “Our company fea-tures three service trucks with two-way radios for constant com-munication. Our technicians are fully qualified to work on all major swimming pool equipment and we have spent thousands of dollars and man hours sending our employees to technical seminars and factory schools to be trained in swimming pool equipment,” Prince says.

Repeatedly, Advance Pool Designs’ work has brought the firm praise and recognition. Prince says his company has received 48 regional and national awards from the National Spa and Pool Institute (NSPI), including several gold medals. Recent regional and national awards were earned not only in the new construction division but also in the fountain category and remodeling division.

As a member of NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, Prince’s company was awarded the famed Contractor of the Year (COTY) Award on the regional level.

As far as Prince is concerned, “Our quality of work speaks for itself.”

For more information on Advance Pool Designs, please call 214-248-4360 or visit the Dallas/Fort Worth Home and Garden Show March 5 through 8 at Market Hall. 2200 Stemmons Freeway. For more information on the Dallas/Fort Worth Home and Garden Show call 214-749-5488.

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