Master Pools of Austin

DO NOT USE MASTER POOLS of AUSTIN
1. Master Pools of Austin did not order Fiberglass Reinforced Shotcrete as I was told by my Master Pools Sales agent, John. I verified this with John on 12/​31/​2015 and Dennis, the owner of Master Pools of Austin, affiliated with Atlantis Pools in Abilene, TX (Mother Company) called me and I verified with him as well that Fiberglass reinforced concrete is supposed to be used. The «Shotcrete» work was done on 12/​30/​2016. I have samples of what they used from when they cleaned out the hoses and it did not contain Fiberglass strands.
Steve at Master Pools of Austin wants to upgrade the plaster to Pebble Sheen which is worth about $ 1200.00. All I want is what I was promised.
2. Master Pools of Austin has not furnished me with a 3-​D rendering of my pool as promised by John. This was promised 9÷14÷2015.
3. The floor contour change that was made in the field about 12/​02/​2015, where I would have the 3’6″ deep water extended 4′ and the 7′ deep end would be a bowl instead of a contour was not followed. Now no one at Master Pools of Austin remembers this change being done.(except for the former employees familiar with the job) My signed document, that I was not furnished a copy of, seems to be missing from the file at Master Pools of Austin.
(NOTE: This change was done during the excavation period at the first part of December 2015. I have spoken with Lee [1/​17/​2016], the excavator operator and he told me that he remembers that day and he did the excavation per the changed plan. He also told me that he no longer works with Master Pools of Austin.)
4. No one at Master Pools of Austin informed me that the assigned Foreman/​Supervisor (Shane) no longer works for Master Pools of Austin and there would be a new Foreman. This would explain why there was no Foreman on site during the entire Shotcrete step (12/​30/​2015) as promised. Had I known there was not going to be a Foreman on site I would have stopped Shotcrete pour for that day and rescheduled this phase
5. The skimmer is improperly placed and concreted in (during the Shotcrete phase 12/​30/​2015). Now my «NEW» pool structure will have to be compromised or some kind of patchwork repair to the skimmer area because of lack of supervision by Master Pools of Austin.
The only offer from Master Pools of Austin as a compromise is «Upgraded Plaster»
The owner, Dennis, told me that the skimmer will work just fine, don’t fill the pool all the way up and that will also address your floor contour problem… REALLY???
I now insist that this repair be presented to a licensed structural pool engineer for certification of the repair process that is going to be done to this pool. There needs to be a new blueprint showing the repair that is stamped and certified if we are to keep this pool structure.
Things that I require from Master Pools of Austin for this job to continue:
1. I want ALL of the things that I was promised
a. Fiberglass Reinforced Shotcrete
b. A Master Pools of Austin foreman assigned to my project that currently and in the future is an employee of the company
c. A copy of all of the blueprints and copies of any changes that are made either in the field or in the office.
d. A 3-​D rendering of my pool
They have not responded and it has been 8 days…

Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes of Austin works with many high-​end families from the greater Austin and surrounding Texas Hill Country area. We strive to make the building experience as relaxed, stress-​free and most importantly enjoyable for every client. When working with luxury clientele while building their new custom home it’s critical to have team members that can support the Zbranek & Holt goals and deliver the vision of each client.
Working with the talented team at Master Pools of Austin, affords Zbranek & Holt the ability to connect our clients with a superior pool designer who truly understands every element in creating a unique and special pool that both compliments the home and brings the clients vision to life.
Master Pools of Austin worked directly with ZbraneK & Holt Custom Homes and our client’s on our 2015 Austin Home of Distinction project. This show house benefiting the Center for Child Protection, was a fully custom home and pool that went on tour to benefit the charity for two weeks. The 12,000sf residence was complimented by the largest pool project a client had ever requested. The entire team at Master Pools of Austin drove this project to full completion with a daunting deadline. It was executed perfectly and featured building the pool and surrounding outdoor space 40ft out of the ground with massive fire pit, waterfalls, waterslide and infinity edge! They did excellent work and went above and beyond to meet the deadlines for the show house schedule.
We value our relationship with Master Pools of Austin for the creativity Steve Ast and his team bring to our clients. Their ability to manage very complex projects while delivering completed projects on time and on budget is outstanding. The entire Master Pools of Austin team understand and anticipate the desires of our discerning clients and work with Zbranek & Holt to execute our clients vision perfectly. Furthermore, they becomes part of our team with the shared goal of delivering a luxurious pool to compliment the home that exceeds the client’s expectation. Steve, Jacque and Shane are a pleasure to work with and we highly recommend Master Pools of Austin.

My experience with Master Pools started out very well. I took my design idea to them and they listened to me and did a very nice CAD rendering. They weren’t the cheapest bid, but I felt that they would do the best job based on their presentation and the fact that they told me that all of the pool was going to done «in house» so the process would be seamless.
It took many months longer than I was told. The pool was supposed to be finished at the same time as my new house, June or at the latest, July. It was finished (almost, there are still issues) in November. No swimming in the summer and a lot of mess and dust in my new house.
If you choose to get a bid from them, really look at it carefully as you might find out that things are not included that you thought were, especially if you have a fire pit. Gas lines etc. written in the itemized bid apparently didn’t include my firepit in their opinion. So you end up with an empty cement fire pit with a hole in it where the gas line needs to go. My gas bill included not only putting in the gas line but hooking up the pool heater. I’m waiting to see if they will pay that bill as I haven’t had a call back. So at the moment, I don’t have a working fire pit for the holidays. We actually dug the lines for both the pool equipment and the propane line for the fire pit ourselves, with our builder and I still got a call saying that digging the line for the fire pit was outside the contract. The line was already in.
The stone work and tile work took months as there were only two guys working the whole time, and they were not «in house».It was another company.
I was also given a quote for concrete «to save me money» outside the pool contract. The actual price was double that estimate. If I had gone with my other pool quote, I would have had travertine decking instead of concrete for the same price as I ended up with.
On a positive note, Atlantis Pool Plastering ended up saving the day and moving the pool along and I thank Dennis for that. After he got involved, things started happening. Also, Shayne and Jake as superintendents did the best they could to help, but were limited due to company issues.
Overall, I am very disappointed that this was such a unpleasant experience and I know that I am not the only person that is having issues with this company.

Sounded like it might turn out into a positive experience, but after waiting over three months for a quote and still nothing, I’ve given up!

Had Adam come out to do a design & pricing… a bit overpriced & the pool/​spa was very basic. I had to call to even get follow-​up info & pricing.

We’ve been working with a few top Austin area pool builders for a renovation for a couple of months now. Out of all of them Master Pools has been the most professional and reasonably priced. I’ll update after we’ve completed our project — I just wanted to put my experience out there to dispel the less than favorable review.
Our project has taken a really long time. We’re pleased with the finished product at the end of each stage. Hopefully this continues to the finished product. We’re almost done.

My wife and I decided to look into pools. Made a short list of three Austin vendors to visit with. Fairly unimpressed with two, but one — Master Pools — was the one we chose. Not because they «were the only other vendor», but because they treated us well, listened, promised to deliver.
Justin took plenty of time, over the course of several appointments, to help us design our pool with the decorative and equipment options we wanted. Then he interfaced with water district and city for permit and inspections. Nothing for us to do… nice.
Shane managed our project, always keeping us informed of what was coming next and when. No surprises. Michael and Jonathan did great work. Owner Steve even popped by a couple of times to check on things. All very professional and courteous.
Would have given 5 stars except for slight house trim /​gutter damage caused by bobcat. Accidents happen, not a big deal, and fixed without issue.
So stinking cool to see your idea /​design come to life. Thanks Master Pools for delivering on your promises!
Until warmer weather returns we’ll just enjoy the sounds of the deck jets and the beautiful pool lights… Thanks Master Pools!

We had looked at several pool companies to create the design we were looking for in our fairly large sloping backyard. Justin from Master Pools of Austin came out and listened to exactly what we were looking for and nailed it! Their whole team was very professional and quick to resolve any questions or issues we had throughout the process. Having been a previous pool owner, we really like the very low maintenance required with our new in-​floor cleaning system. We are very pleased with the end result and can’t wait for warmer weather to start enjoying our new backyard paradise! I would highly recommend Master Pools of Austin.

Master Pools of Austin did a complete renovation of our pool and completed all work professionally, on time and within budget. We purchased a house with an existing pool that needed help. We had designed and built all of our previous pools and didn’t know much about pool renovation. We requested bids from 4 companies and quickly narrowed it down to 2. Master Pools was always first with answers to questions and advice. Once we decided to go with Master, they completed each phase quickly with a high level of supervision during the work. Eric and Ted kept us informed throughout the process. Our pool is beautiful and we couldn’t be happier with the results. I would highly recommend Master Pool for any pool project.

Master Pools level of service, professionalism, and value is beyond compare in the Austin pool and outdoor market. We spent about a month in search of a pool renovation company. We had to replaster our pool bottom that was heavily damaged with scaling and black mold due to the lack of attention by previous owners.
By far, our most important factor in the whole experience was price. We really desired a pebble aggregate bottom for our pool but were afraid that we would be unable to fit it in our budget so would also be happy to just do plaster.
We evaluated over 40 different vendors in the Austin area! After compiling a lot of data, prices, samples, and different levels of contractors, we narrowed our list to about 5 vendors. Several companies promised a visit, and a quote, and delivered neither even after recontacting. During the entire process Master Pools was extremely professional and were one of the first to respond with a visit as well as a very reasonable bid.
Steve was very courteous and professional to me and my wife, and even followed up with us several times. Steve went out of his way to drop samples off when it was tough for me to do so, and let me keep them for a long time.
When it came down to us liking samples from other vendors, Steve was even able to give us a custom color dye kit to mix in with our aggregate to make it exactly as we desired at no extra cost, and was even able to throw in mother of pearl accents for free.
When it came down to making a decision, Master Pools was completely negotiable, and bent over backwards to provide us a competitive quote that topped the competitors. Master Pools is a full service renovator, and they even topped the price of simple contractors. Surprisingly Master Pools price for the top rated Pebbletec materials was even cheaper than some that were simply offering plain white plaster!!!
When it came to construction time, Master Pools was able to start work on our pool within a week of signing the contract. We never had to deal with contractors directly. They came in quickly and drained and saw cut out the plaster in a single day. They then acid washed and completed the plaster the next day. The next day they did a final acid was and started filling the pool. From start to finish the actual work only took 3 days, and filling the pool another full day. They then even came in on the fifth day to add startup chemicals, and came in yet again to retest chemicals! They also did a superb job of cleaning up the very messy process of replastering with little to no residue remaining.
They went above in beyond and installed a replacement lightbulb that they did not need to do. Finally, there was an issue when it came to turning on the pump, that it would not come on because the breakers became overloaded and a fuse went out. They sent out an electrician the same day to fix, because they realized the importance of the pump coming on to circulate the chemicals once the water was filled immediately. They did this at no cost.
I would HIGHLY recommend Master Pools for any renovation needs. Not only they do deliver the highest quality name and product on the market (Pebbletec), but they will work around your budget, your desired sample and materials, and will deliver professionally and quickly. I enjoyed my experience so much I even welcomed Master Pools future customers to come by to our house anytime to see the results for themselves.
Thank you Master Pools for a pool that is worthy of a daily swim!