---
title: "www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com — Swimming Pool Builders | Houzz"
canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/swimming-pool-builders/www-swimmingpoolsteve-com-pfvwus-pf~1511280942
markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1511280942.md
entity_type: LocalBusiness
business_name: www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com
category: ["Swimming Pool Builders"]
image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/01d323dc04e4e8ad_7917-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg
address: "18 Wellington St, Paris, Ontario N3L1S6, Canada"
latitude: 43.1792
longitude: -80.3864
phone: "(888) 818-7665"
website: http://www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com
rating: 0
review_count: 0
followers: 73
last_updated: 2026-08-18
---

# www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com

Original Houzz profile: [www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/swimming-pool-builders/www-swimmingpoolsteve-com-pfvwus-pf~1511280942)

## Professional summary

- **Primary category:** Swimming Pool Builders
- **Location:** Paris, ON
- **Serves:** Ayr, Brant, Brantford, Drumbo, Newport, Paris, Princeton, St. George, hamilton, cambridge, woodstock, london, burlington, waterdown, ancaster
- **Houzz rating:** 0.0 out of 5 (0 reviews)

## About

### Houzz Badges

- Star Houzzer
- Houzz Influencer
- 100 Ideabook Saves

Swimming Pool Steve is the owner behind the brand www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com and is a second generation pool and spa expert located in Canada.  Steve is an active writer and internet personality in the pool and spa industry and has created hundreds of resources for pool and spa owners and pool professionals to increase their knowledge of the trade.

### Services Provided

- Pool Liner Replacement
- concrete pool renovations
- consulting
- filters
- heaters
- new pool installations
- pumps
- salt water

### Areas Served

- Ayr
- Brant
- Brantford
- Drumbo
- Newport
- Paris
- Princeton
- St. George
- hamilton
- cambridge
- woodstock
- london
- burlington
- waterdown
- ancaster

### Typical Job Cost

mostly medium to large scale pool renovation projects

## Business Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Business Name | www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com |
| Address | 18 Wellington St, Paris, Ontario N3L1S6, Canada |
| Phone | (888) 818-7665 |
| Website | http://www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com |
| License Number | 80999 8479 RT0001 |
| Followers on Houzz | 73 |

**Social profiles:**
- Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/swimmingpoolsteve
- X (Twitter) — https://twitter.com/stevethepoolguy
- LinkedIn — https://ca.linkedin.com/in/swimmingpoolsteve
- Blog — http://www.swimmingpoolsteve.com/pages/pool-blog.html

## Contact

- **Houzz profile:** [www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/swimming-pool-builders/www-swimmingpoolsteve-com-pfvwus-pf~1511280942)
- **Website:** http://www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com
- **Phone:** (888) 818-7665

## Selected projects

- [Vinyl Pool Deck, Coping & Liner](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/vinyl-pool-deck-coping-and-liner-pj-vj~1636730)
  - Location: Mississauga, ON
  - Photos: 19
- [Pool renovations](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/pool-renovations-pj-vj~932797)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 28
- [On ground pool renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/on-ground-pool-renovation-pj-vj~1636697)
  - Location: Burlington, ON
  - Photos: 4
- [Neglected Concrete Pool Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/neglected-concrete-pool-renovation-pj-vj~1440552)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 22
- [Artificial Rock Sculptures, Statues & Garden Planters](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/artificial-rock-sculptures-statues-and-garden-planters-pj-vj~933338)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 67

[See all 5 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/swimming-pool-builders/www-swimmingpoolsteve-com-pfvwus-pf~1511280942)

## Ideabooks

- [Large Garden Statues](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/63681529/list/large-garden-statues) — 39 ideas
- [Artificial Rock Sculptures](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/44566756/list/artificial-rock-sculptures) — 40 ideas

[See all 2 ideabooks](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/swimmingpool-steve)

## Community Q&A

**Q: 1970's pool renovation** *(in Pools & Spas)*

I am having a pool renovated that has fiber glass walls and a concrete bottom. The deep end is currently 12' deep and is "bowl" shaped. The fiberglass walls only go down a few feet and then meets the top of the concrete "bowl", so the walls are not vertical to the bottom of the 12'.  We will be pouring a new concrete pool inside the existing structure and making the deep end about 9' deep. Should we follow the existing "bowl" shape or have the wall go vertical to the floor? My concern is children jumping or diving off the side or someone diving off the board on an angle and hitting their heads. The pool is currently 52' long x 26' wide and the new pool will go in 1' on each side.

A: It will really depend on your budget and your soil conditions.  The sloped deep end is common in vinyl liner pools and I discuss this point about whether to leave the slopes angled or change them to vertical walls in this article: how to convert to a concrete pool

**Q: Unusual Pool Leak Caused By Negligent Contractor** *(in Pools & Spas)*

Hi all. I'm hoping for some expert advice. I have 3 Pentair
lighted bubblers on my baja shelf. 2 of the lights failed and need replacing.
Unfortunately the pool plaster company didn't cover up the conduit when they
plastered my new not-even-a-year-old pool (plaster was done in January) so the
conduit is full of plaster, which means it's impossible to get the wire out of
the conduit to replace the lights. The owner of the plaster company (an
extremely surly guy) worked for 2 full days (Wednesday and Thursday of last
week) to try to clear the conduit so he could get the old wires out and the new
wires in. He first tried acid but that didn't work so he tried using a drill
with a fish tape attached and that didn't work.
In fact, not only didn't it work, it broke the conduit under the baja
shelf causing a leak. He broke the pipe
on Wednesday and I discovered the leak Thursday morning (24 hours later) when I
saw that the water level had dropped and the pool water had turned murky from
dirt backing up into the pool from the broken pipe, plus my paver pool deck had
water seeping up between the pavers.
When the owner of the plaster company returned Thursday morning to
continue working on clearing the conduit I told him about the leak and he said
he would use epoxy to plug it. Before he
plugged it up though he again tried all day to clear the conduit for both
lighted bubblers to no avail. When it
became too dark to work he left and hasn't been back. Before he left he plugged the leak, but over
the past couple of days I noticed that the water has been dropping about
3/8" a day (air temp during the day has been in the low to mid 50's,
during the night in the upper 30's, and with no wind) and water is still
seeping up through the pavers. Here are
my questions/concerns:

Is 3/8" a day
water loss under those conditions normal or do I still have a leak? I live on a hill and am worried about the
stability of the soil now with all the leaking.
What is the proper
way to repair this leak (and clear the conduits since they're still plugged)? Due to the plaster company's negligence,
first in filling the conduit with plaster and second with breaking the conduit,
I now have to worry about leaks for rest of the life of my NEW pool, if I accept epoxy
as a proper way to fix this major problem.
I know people use epoxy to plug leaks in pipes, behind lights, etc. but
this leak is under a shelf and the break appears to be where the sweep meets
the pipe under one of the lighted bubblers, which means getting any light in
and out from now on (especially with epoxy in there) will be impossible.

I'm pretty upset and feel that, since the plaster company
was extremely negligent from start to finish, they need to repair the leak
properly and not just put a band-aid (aka epoxy) on/in it. They also need to get both conduit lines
open. I can't figure out any way to properly fix these problems, especially the
leak, other than to demo out the baja shelf (it's 12'x8') to get to the conduit
and replace it. Of course, that would
leave my baja shelf badly scarred with highly visible patches since the water
is only 9" deep there. My pool is
NEW, but damaged now from the plaster company's negligence, so I'm having a
hard time accepting the fact that I have to choose having either a plug (which
is a worry because I think it's already leaking and will cause problems for repairs in
the future) or extremely noticeable patching.
Does anyone have any experience with a problem like
this? Is my only choice the lesser of
two evils or should the plaster company being doing something more for me?
Thanks for your help.
Area in question. (The owner of the plaster company put the pipes in to funnel acid down into the conduit to try to clear the lines.)

A: I think the fact that this fellow has been out working for 2 whole days to solve the problem is a clear indication that he agrees that he is at fault.  He is probably crapping his pants over this situation and the surly attitude is a defense mechanism.  In my opinion, I would not accept an epoxy repair.  As others have indicated you should demo the bench and redo the plaster after the repairs to the conduits have been made.  It sucks, and the repair guy will probably not agree since it should be coming out of his pocket, but if this were my pool that is what I would want.  Lots of pool guys think epoxy counts as a repair...it seldom does.  It is the swimming pool literal equivalent of a band aid.

**Q: Is this tile job acceptable?** *(in Pools & Spas)*

We are having our kidney shaped mid-1980's pool re-plastered and re-tiled.  Having a bit of a disagreement with the PB as to whether this tile installation is acceptable or not.  (I, as you can imagine, don't think it is a very good job).  Tell me the truth now, am I being difficult or should I expect a better job?  The PB says it is a matter of taste.

A: This looks like a pretty good tile job for a person who is not a tile setter.  As far as paying for this tile work, I would think that your builder has some explaining to do.  The reality is that this tile work is substandard.  They could have used bullnose tile to marry the transition edges, and they clearly did not worry too much about the tile placement or grout line consistency.  This is the problem with things like tile work...the tiles are on the wall, so what is the problem?  The old world artisans that I learned how to set tile from would, for sure, call that work garbage.

**Q: Do I Really Need to Replace Pool Coping??** *(in Pools & Spas)*

In the process of having a 30 year old pool demoed to remove plaster and replaced with another surface. There is about 40 feet of damage to the beam which is being repaired as well. Got the news today that a large amount of the coping needs to be replaced even though no visible signs of cracks or damage. Contractor went around coping and tapped on it with a hammer and some spots sound firm and others sound hollow - is this a sign I need coping replaced? I live in the desert and when the pool deck was laid there does not appear to have been an appropriate expansion joint laid and the contractor indicates that with heat expansion the pool deck has pushed against the beam and the coping causing damage. Is there any solution other than removing the coping and repairing what is underneath it (I guess it is mortar or something?)? The coping style is mid century and no longer available and the contractor could not guarantee that they could remove, repair underneath and replace the existing coping without breakage. I am wondering if it is an option to instead remove the pool deck and come in from behind the coping to do the repair then replace the pool deck which I don't care for? Either way $$$$.

A: Sounds like your contractor is describing a delaminating coping section.  While this does need to be fixed, and that does require replacement usually, my problem is that this should have been picked up during the estimate.  Checking for delmainations of the tile and coping are basically the only things you can check for an estimate since everything else is still underwater.  The coping, tile, expansion joint and interior pool surface are all connected and if any one of them is deficient it can damage the rest of them.  Sounds like your contractor is giving you some decent advice, just would have been nice for you to be aware that this might be an issue back at the beginning of the project.

**Q: Are hot tubs expensive to run?** *(in Pools & Spas)*

Once you are past the cost of the actual hot tub and installation, are they expensive to run on an ongoing basis? I am starting to really want one and am now concerned at the potential increase in my power bills keeping it hot.

A: The answer to this also depends on where you live and the ambient temperature that your hot tub operates in.  There are much more efficient hot tubs on the market that are designed for cold weather operation.  These usually have thicker, more advanced insulation systems and often are designed to recapture heat generated from the circulation and booster pumps by employing a perimeter insulation instead of a "full foam" insulation which often places the filtration equipment outside of the protected inner cabinet.  In my area a high end hot tub would be expected to run about $30 / month for heat and electricity.  This goes up the more you use booster pumps in the tub.  An older and much less efficient model might use $100 per month.  Keep your cover in good condition.  A lot of heat is lost through there.  When the cover feels heavy the foam is compromised and you should replace it right away.

**Q: What happened to my pool?** *(in Pools & Spas)*

Hi,
We had a vinyl in-ground pool installed July 2015. Upon opening the pool this year, it looks like the concrete deck is pulling away from the pool. What caused this and am I right in thinking the pool builder is at fault and should fix the problem and replace the decking? Thanks!

A: Is this a natural stone coping around only the edge of the pool?  Do you have a picture from the top you could share?  What did the builder attach those stones with - I am guessing construction adhesive (epoxy).  It looks like it has failed either from delamination or from freeze / thaw conditions.  Is it cold in the winter where you are?  Take a hammer or something heavy but not sharp, and drag it around the pool on the surface of the coping stones.  The delaminated ones will sound very hollow.  How much of your coping has delaminated?  Waiting until next year may be the contractor trying to push the problem past his warranty period.  Make sure everything is documented in terms of your communication with the builder regarding this issue.

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*Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-08-18.*