It's May now.

We always get blamed for delays, when in actuality there are several other trades that stand in the way of us finishing the project.

Yes, you were right, it was May.

But you were wrong, it had nothing to do with other trades. MDP incorrectly elevated the pool, then we spent months trying to just get them to return phone calls. When they are 'at lunch' at 10:00am and 'gone for the day' by 2:30, and take a week to return a call, you pretty much know they are the ones responsible.

BTW, the pool is lovely because of the wonderful work by GREATSCAPES landscaping. They did all the paver work, and they could not have been more professional and skilled. It was the first job they had ever done for MDP, and it sounded like it might be the last. When the paver company gets on the phone with MDP and tells them they are losing money because MDP can't keep to their own schedule, it's a problem with MDP.

In the end, we had to get a lawyer involved to get the pool finished. We got to swim for the FIRST TIME right after Memorial Day! For a week, then the filter stopped running. The pool people said it was the electric, the electrician said it was the the plumbing, the plumbing said it was the electric. Two weeks later, the second electrician (THANK YOU!!!) found the wire that had been arcing since the initial set up. He also admitted that the other crew really didn't run the electric properly. After several other issues, the pool we started early February is now available for swimming. Knock on wood.

If anybody wants the gory details, please email me, I'll be happy to share photos of shoddy work and the nightmare that we went through. My biggest fear is that we will never get the warranty work if needed in the future.

I would love as much info as possible, Pics, prices etc. We are in Highland MD and looking at MD pools and Anthony Sylvan.

We also used Maryland Pools for our in-ground plaster pool. I guess I may represent the other end of the pool building spectrum as it relates to MD Pools. We did a split construction that started in early Nov. and finished all but the decking and plaster before it got too cold to work in mid Jan. From our perspective, they actually completed more than we had anticipated, not less. The started back up on in mid April once the weather warmed and were done and the pool was filled by early May. We've had some issues with our SAM lights (two at either end of the pool) and they have always taken care of the issue in an acceptable time frame. The last light issue was actually caused by bad electrical work. Root cause was a broken electrical conduit under our decking that prevented running new wire for a replacement light. They could have easily just sent out a back hoe and ruined our decking and retaining wall, but chose to send someone that actually tunnelled (by hand) under our decking to fix the broken conduit. The light works again and our decking is still in its original state. I was certainly a grateful customer.

In short, my experiences with MD Pools have been positive and I really had no issues (other than miner ones of course) with MD Pools other than their electrical sub-contractor. MD Pools terminated their usage of that company even before I knew of our issue.

Happy Swimming!!

We had a similar negative experience with MDP and would not recommend them.
We had a pool put in by Maryland pools and it seemed from the start that our sales guy manipulated the fact that we didn't know the process of putting in a pool (it was our first) and was looking to do bare minimum to get the job done. We asked for customizations that were never put into the contract, and despite asking for them to be done, were told by their salesperson from the start that they would be added to the contract later, and that it was no big deal. After the pool was gunnited in and the mistake noticed, the company insisted it wasn't in the contract. We told them what their salesman had said, but they essentially stuck with the "shoulda known better to have it in the contract" line. We were told at signing that it would be ready, worst case by July 4th. Turns out is will now be ready by Aug 1. We escalated our concerns on an almost daily basis to their sales guy, who was constantly apologetic but nothing really changed. We requested a safety fence to be put up during construction (for our kids and neighbor's kids) but it was never put up. Their construction crew left the hose on one day (found it returning from work), they sent the lights to the wrong electrician and insisted my wife was wrong and they were on site somewhere. The small things like that, and the owners approach of stating that is was my problem since it wasn't in the contract, and implying that the problem was because I withheld a payment (their PM was supposed to pick it up - never did, sales guy picked it up after it was taped to our door for a week while we were on vacation!), I would not recommend these guys. If they err, it is clear they really don't care and place the blame on you our other contractors. I will state in all fairness that we went with them because they were recommended by a friend who had a positive experience with them. We think this is due to the different salesperson and office contact they had. If you use Maryland Pools, go through the contract in minute detail, and make sure any nuances or customizations are clearly documented and put on the drawing no matter what their people say. They may play it down, but it becomes their excuse for omitting things later. Also, have them draw out on a calendar week over week the series of events that will occur in constructing the pool, outlining what you need to do to keep them on track. It will help you in the long run so you can manage the construction for them.

We used Anthony Sylvan. Now the thing I found as the contractors showed up is they all work for all the pool builders, so it is all in the 1- timing 2- who you get, I had no problems with my pool, they started in oct and the pool was ready by mid Apr. Some things had to wait till it warmed up, but the gunite was in. You have to look at the builder service and how big they are. in my comunity we had 13 pools, 2 were by MDP and they both had problems, so did not even call them. so far I had good responce from them on any issues I had. I had a leak, which was plumbig, butthe guy was out with his scuba gear almost all day looking in the pool. I made sure I was around too and watch them do most of the work, my neighbor did not and he had problems.

Hope this helps !

I live in Glenwood. We used a company named Pleasure Pools. Incredible service, everything was done on time or early. He kept us informed of each step and provided great information. You deal directly with the owner Paul Horichs. We used him because we had a friend who put in a pool and couldn't stop telling us how great he was. We have several other friends who have had to get attorneys involved to finish their pools, not us. Let me know if you need any other info.

I have had a great experience with MD pools. Yes, I had to harass the electrician to make sure he was not holding up the project, but since I contracted with him separately, that seems normal to me. We also used Heritage Landscaping, which was recommended by MP, and they were great. Take your time during the planning phase and go over the contract carefully; of course it will cost to change things once the project is under way. For us, MD pools did what they said they were going to do, when they said they were going to do it, and the post-sale service has been flawless. My only complaint is that I think they could take better advantage of some of the new equipment that reduces energy consumption.