I went back and forth on whether to write this, and frankly part of me feels bad doing so, but ultimately, we don't feel good about the $100k+ we spent on our pool--and that's not something that should be ignored. 1. Sloppy Workmanship Concrete & deck - The joints are visibly misaligned and the pool deck slopes in places. When I asked for this to be fixed or compensated, they offered a token $400 credit against what I estimate to be a $2,000 mistake--after we had already spent nearly $30k in additional concrete work. Their response? "Our margins are already so low." That's not my problem. It felt dismissive and manipulative. Fence - To meet code, we had to reverse the swing of our fence door. The contractor they sent left a mess--cutting the door unevenly and leaving a large gap. The fact that I even have to spend my time following up on this speaks volumes about their quality control (or lack thereof). Heater install - They installed the pool heater with no condensate line, so water spilled directly onto the concrete deck and left stains (photo attached). I had to chase them down just to get that fixed. Their "fix" was running giant exposed PVC lines across the deck. And now the unit is leaking again. Pool finish - The plaster work is uneven, with rough, jagged steps and visible spots of chipped gunite. You can feel it every time you get in the pool. 2. Disorganized and Disruptive Crews Scheduling was a total mess. Crews either didn't show up on scheduled days or showed up unannounced. One morning we woke up to find the owner tearing out our landscaping to lay skid boards for the bobcat. This was never even discussed. During excavation, the bobcat tore through our irrigation system, flooding our front yard. Despite multiple follow-ups, the issue was never fully fixed--and still leaks to this day. We often felt like pushing harder for resolution would jeopardize our relationship or our warranty. That's not how a customer should feel. We have email after email where we're left chasing basic updates: "What time tomorrow?" "Actually, he can't make it; we'll reach out in a day or two." 3. Condescending Customer Service Any time we raised concerns, we were met with either silence or thinly veiled condescension. The concrete credit negotiation was especially frustrating--using their internal cost pressures as a reason not to fairly address our complaint. When we brought up the heater runoff issue, the response was to "come take a look sometime"... and then nothing. Radio silence. Bottom Line We spent over six figures and ended up with: * uneven concrete * stained decking * a leaking heater * rough, unfinished plaster * a broken irrigation system * and a pile of ignored emails If you care at all about quality, communication, or customer service--do yourself a favor and go with someone else. read more

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Yelp wasn't around when my pool was built by Courage Pools 20 years ago. They build durable quality pools. My original main pump is still running. The spa heater still works. The only items that broke are 3 of my 4 pumps but they lasted more than average. Replaced jet pump in 2013, waterfall pump in 2015, salt chlorinator in 2016 and pool sweep booster in 2019. The control panel still works but I plan to upgrade to a newer model with better remote control. I think the dual skimmer design may have helped with the longetivity of my pump besides making sure they are shaded during the triple digit summer heat. Don't pay attention to the one-star reviews that dragged down the overall rating. Read them carefully and they are all petty complaints. Courage Pools is a premium and the best in the county. If you want to pay more for lesser quality go with the other companies especially the acronym PP. read more

Courage Pools - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

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Jessica answered the phone and was such a pleasure to speak with. I could hear how genuine she is through the phone. 10/10 on customer service for her! read more

We are first time pool builders/owners. Courage helped us throughout the process. From the first meeting to the last the Courage team was open, honest, transparent, and helpful. They did what they said they would. They met all the timelines set out and were generally a pleasure to work with. Jesse, Jessica, and the owner Jim were all involved and helpful throughout the process. Highly recommend Courage if you are considering building or updating a pool. read more

Courage Pools - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

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It was a pleasure to build a pool with the Courage Pool team! Their communication and attention to detail was beyond impressive! Looking forward to many years of family memories by our beautiful custom pool!! 110% recommend this amazing family owned business! read more

We absolutely loved our pool project with Courage Pools. Jessica is one of the most fantastic project managers I've ever come into contact with. She does not skip a beat. She is so detail oriented and always kept us up to date on when contractors would be at our house and answered any questions we had as quickly as possible. There is nothing like a Courage pool when it comes to their quality and craftsmanship. Others in our neighborhood had previous homes with a Courage Pool and they too had nothing but good things to say between the quality of contractors and design to the longevity of the pool. You will not be disappointed with getting a Courage pool, worth every penny. read more

Putting in a pool is a huge endeavor, and having a top notch team is the key! When we made the decision to put in a pool in the backyard, the challenge was finding the right company. We had interviewed a couple of other pool companies who gave us proposals, but we didn't feel quite right with the vision they put together. When we met Ryan from Courage Pools, he seemed to almost read our minds as to what size, shape, and design of pool we wanted. That's a skill. It comes from experience and knowing what kinds of questions to ask. We really appreciated his professional yet personal approach. Once we approved the design, the actual buildout took place like clockwork. Every step along the way, things went as per the schedule they provided us. From excavation, to the concrete pour, to gunite, to the tile, to fill and swim, the whole process evolved without a hitch. That's not just luck. That's teamwork and leadership. We loved Jessica in the office who kept us abreast at all times. The cost was not cheap, but top quality work NEVER is. As a business owner, I was in full appreciation of the customer service and care they took every step along the way. I highly recommend them, and give nothing less than 5 STARS! read more

Courage Pools - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

Courage Pools is the company to go with! Highly recommended and worth waiting for, they are busy for a reason! This is a family-owned business, and Jim Courage and his team were great from start to finish. Our designer, John was fantastic; relaxed, easy going, honest, and he lets you decide without any pressure. We loved John's input and felt we could ask him about any of our ideas. John was accommodating to our needs and found solutions to what works best. Jim Courage took a personal involvement in our pool. He came out many times. Jesse and Jessica + their entire team was amazing. We felt they never once cut corners. Jessica was available to us and helped us get everything done throughout the process. This is a hard hardworking team of professionals who are friendly and seem to really like their jobs. Working with Courage Pools was one of the best decisions for our home. They helped create a unique design, worked with suppliers to make our ideas come to life, and provided us with an amazing landscaper referral as well. The finished pool is gorgeous, and we continue to be happy with our decision to use Courage Pools highly recommend using them! Courage Pools was recommended to us by four or our neighbors, and since our build we've met even more people who have used Courage Pools and been very happy with their work. This is by far THE company to use! read more

I cant say enough great things about Courage Pools. I met and got quotes from several other local builders and Jordan Courage was one of the only ones that had great follow through from the first time we reached out until the final inspection. If they gave me an estimated time frame they either met or exceeded it. All of their subs were excellent, polite and cleaned up on their last visit. Jordan and Jessica, her project manager in the office, kept me in the loop at each stage. Not only was Jordan the salesperson but also the over Project manager so I never had to speak with anyone else. When we had questions (which we had a ton) she always responded. Overall super satisfied and can't wait to enjoy our pool and finish our landscaping in the spring read more

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As the most recent review stated, Courage Pools is great. We cannot say enough about Jessica. She kept us informed every step of the project and was very organized. The level of communication from Jessica and Jim was top notch and extremely prompt. We always heard back from them very quickly if we had questions or concerns. It felt pretty instant. The most we had to wait only felt like hours which is unexpected but very much appreciated. Ryan designed our pool. It is such a cool design and turned an ugly, small backyard into an at home paradise. We've had so many contractors and people come into our backyard saying it's one of the coolest pools they've seen. Due to relocating, Jim took over and managed our project. For stepping in at the last minute, he did amazing getting to know the details we had already sorted with Ryan. Jim was onsite frequently during many steps of the build and also was working himself. He was very knowledgeable and has great attention to detail. I agree with reviewer Tiana, the real proof in an awesome pool contractor and company is how they handle issues. It's not a matter of if but seems to be a matter of when issues will arise during any construction project-and it can be very stressful. What really makes or breaks a project is how they handle and control it. Our project had several challenges and hiccups that I know we all wished didn't occur-including Jim and Jessica. Every single challenge was handled promptly, professionally, and with attention and care. We received immediate responses, action, and attention from both Jim and Jessica to get them taken care of. That truly makes all the difference. We've had friends and family who have built pools with other companies complain about lack of communication and being very unorganized. Or never being able to reach their project manager during issues or challenges. That is not the case with Courage Pools. They are there with you every step of the way. Everyone who comes to our pool raves about how beautiful it is and that they can tell it was built with quality. It has been a dream come true for our family and we have no regrets. We would highly recommend Courage Pools to anyone considering building a pool. Jim stands by his company's work and Jessica is fantastic. If we were to ever move and build another pool we would definitely choose Courage Pools again. Thank you Courage Pools. read more

Courage Pools - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

First, if you are wanting a pool start getting quotes and financing together months before you need it. All the good builders are busy. We got 3 quotes from the highest rated companies based on customer feedback. Our sales guy Jim has been doing this for over 25 years and really goes the extra mile to explain what is included in his fee, what isn't and how much extra it would be. He'd even recommend companies that could provide the extra services. That really came in handy because we expanded our patio and driveway, landscaped backyard, added drainage, pool fencing and moved our AC unit. Jim knew all the right people to help us! Our cousin used another pool company because their fee was lower then Courage but they ended up paying a lot more by then end not to mention the extra stress and frustration of feeling nickle and dimed. Plus they faced multiple delays. Jessica is the coordinator, she's amazing! She coordinates all the phases of construction with the contractors and customer. I talked to her daily at times, she is such an asset to the operation. Start to finish it took 60 days, no hiccups or unexpected expenses. We couldn't be more pleased and would recommend them to anyone! read more

Courage Pools - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

Amazing experience, Jim the owner is very detailed and hands on. Very impressed. He was there w his contractors throughout the entire process. John our design specialist, super friendly and informative. And of course Jessica the scheduler was absolutely amazing.. I could not have asked for a better Pool company during this huge process. Courage Pools is amazing, do not go w anyone else. Thanks the Knights read more

The process to find a pool contractor/get bids took about a year. After meeting with, and getting bids from 3 different contractors, I decided to go with Courage Pools. I couldn't have been happier with my choice. Not only did I feel as though I got a great value, the finished product (pool and spa) was exactly what I wanted. Jim Courage and his office staff were easy to work with, always pleasant, and kept me informed as to the daily scheduling of "who would be showing up to do what" each time work progressed at my property. About a month ago, (almost a year after my pool was completed), I had an issue that I thought was pool-related (thankfully, it was not) and Jim came out and not only helped to try to find the source of the issue, but waited for and met with the county (water) folks to talk to them about his experience/knowledge of my property. He truly went ABOVE AND BEYOND in helping me during this stressful time. I've done a lot of remodeling and work on my home/yard in the last couple of years and have dealt with some extremely flaky and unresponsive contractors and am happy to report that Jim Courage/Courage Pools is NOT one of them. From beginning to end, it was a positive experience; great service and great value. read more

Tried to just get an estimate. Called the end of May for an in person estimate for June 12th. No one ever showed or even called. Called again three days ago, left a message for call back to reschedule and still no call back. read more

Our pool had nothing but problems. Jim courage is a nice salesman, but his subs are awful . Here is a picture of our plaster of our pool. C&R tried to do several processes and kept making it worse. The stucco on the walls built around the pool washed off in a rainstorm and were a mess. Finally hired someone else to do it right. The decking cement is awful looking and is of poor quality. I will enclose pictures . Jim did offer us a 4800 credit and sent a bill for $85 . Really !!! read more

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The worst. They charged a $250.00 deposit just to book an appointment. It was explained to me that this was necessary as people would often cancel last minute or not show. After receiving several other pool quotes and even designs without paying a single penny I realized how outrageous this was and called to cancel my appointment 3 weeks ahead. They refunded me $150.00. So essentially they charged me $100.00 to be in their calendar for a couple weeks even though they never did a minute of work for us. Insane business practice. I can not imagine trying to build a whole pool with this company. read more

Huge THANK YOU to courage pools for helping us create our dream pool. The process was seamless and the communication and staff are amazing. Wish I could give them 10 stars and 2 thumbs up. Great people and awesome results. read more

Courage Pools - Happy Courage Pool customers! - Swimming Pools Near Me - Newcastle, California

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If you notice by reading the actual reviews, people that ACTUALLY had their pool built by Courage rave about them and with good reason. Yes, they do charge $250 for the first appointment, but that is credited back to you once you start the project and discourages "tire kickers". I could go on and on about how Jordan Courage took a messy side yard with no hope into a beautiful pool and patio area and worked her tail off to be her with every step and every contractor. I could rave about Jessica who managed the project, kept us informed of upcoming timing, next steps, etc., and was just overall AMAZING. I could even say what an amazing work ethic Jim Courage has being out there in the hot sun getting it done to make sure we made the cement pour in time among a ton of other things he did to make our pool project run smoothly. But the real proof in what an awesome pool contractor is comes when there is an issue and how they handle it. We ran into a challenge that could have turned the project upside down, but they handled it with grace and professionalism and will have me singing their praises to everyone that will listen. They finished ON TIME too! We have friends that started building their pool two weeks before us and have no idea when they will finish. Courage is high quality, awesome at communicating, uses quality sub-contractors and is a reasonable price. I highly recommend them. read more

Wish I could write a review, but cannot. Could not seem to get the guy to keep his appointments and after 2 times (more than fair)of calling right before he was to arrive for an appointment and not able to make it, we took our $50,000 elsewhere. read more

When beginning the pool process, Jim Courage must have been referred to us 3 or 4 times by friends and people we know in the business. We have had numerous parties since completing the pool and everyone "RAVES" about the new pool. They all ask who did our pool, and when we say "Jim Courage Pools", they all say.... "Oh yah, we've heard great things about Courage Pools" and we've never heard a negative review of him yet. We could not be happier with our pool and will continue to refer Jim to anyone that asks. They are well deserving of this 5-Star review. We began the bidding/design process in November of 2015 and decided on Courage Pools in January 2016. He started digging our Pool on 02/17 and completed our pool on 04/17. Lucky for us, we started early in the season and happened to catch a break on every possible weather delay!! I've built 2 pools prior to this one and none of them went anywhere near this smooth, or timely. Jim is extremely profession, knowledgeable, and highly design oriented. He helped shape our original plans into a backyard masterpiece!!! Our pool design ended up being quite a bit larger than today's average sized pool, but this never swayed Jim in the least.... nor did it delay our project. Again, we couldn't be happier with the overall process!! Jim and Jessica were awesome to work with! Here's an extra Shout-Out to Jessica (Project Manager), you're perfect for this job!! The Bottom Line..... Not only did we enjoy the overall process, WE LOVE OUR NEW POOL!!! Thank you Courage Pools!! read more

As the neighbor of someone getting your pool you get one star. - no integrity no keeping commitments I agreed to allow you to remove my fence and bushes to access the neighbors yard with the machines under the condition the fence was put back up end of day due to my dogs -- didn't happen. And that the bushes were correctly replayed within a couple weeks - didn't happen. With all the choices out there pick a company with integrity instead read more

So impressed with the product and follow through from this company. I just reached out to Ryan Wilsey over 3 years after he helped build our pool. He was on vacation, but had someone from his office call me within hours of my call. He had nothing to gain, but still went above and beyond to help me. It was a huge help to me and made my day. read more

We love our pool and service of this family/local business. We had three companies come out and Jordan Courage was the only one who listened to out requests. Full on pregnant in the hot sun she was here, onsite, daily. Her father, also here. Crews were on time, if not early, did impeccable work. Pricing was incredible and so easy. We were able to add on last minute requests, move a fence, add stained/colored concrete, add two gas and water and electrical outlets. Jordan suggested items I hadn't ever considered as well such as lighting, salt water, sanitization, heating of pool and spa, phone apps, cleaning service, a raised spa, cabo shelf and even holes for future umbrellas and volleyball. A couple days after pool completion she gave birth to her first child. I was beyond grateful for her work ethic and customer service. When we move we are calling her again. Thank you Courage Pools! The Sloan Family. read more

Called them for building a new Kavian's possibly remodeling our pool, the sales woman didn't let me finish , she was just saying we can't !!! We only works on blank backyard!!! read more

I have been trying to get these guys to get me pricing for months, and they just string me along. Jessica is the worst, tells me I will be emailed or contacted, but it never happens. If you guys are busy and don't want the business then just say it. read more

We completed our pool in 2016 . Project manager Ryan had great ideas, as our pool and back yard were part of new construction. He actually gave us ideas for the back yard and extended cement areas that worked out very well. Every single sub was excellent! The plumbing crew were especially entertaining and remarkably pleasant, even in 100 degree heat. The real star is Jessica, who always answers the phone or promptly returns phone call and is unfailingly polite and kind. She is a remarkable person and wonderful to do business with . The same can be said for Jim Courage. We would do it all again.... read more

So I called these guys on April 10 and was told by Jessica that the earliest they could come measure to do an estimate / design would be May 9th. I agreed to The May 9 appointment because we knew we weren't going to be swimming this year anyway, so we're not in a hurry to get digging for the pool. Ryan the "salesman" shows up on time, spends an hour and a half measuring and discussing different ideas with my wife and I. Before Ryan leaves, he tells us he'll have something back to us within a week. After 9 days, I call and get Jessica again, so I ask how the design / estimate is coming along and she tells me she'll have Ryan call me. We hear nothing from Ryan. So on May 31st I follow up again and receive an apology and a promise to follow up by 6-9 from Ryan. On 6-12 we still have not heard from Ryan so my wife sends him an email, again asking if he plans on sending a design / estimate, and again no communication from Ryan. I had actually called on 6-22 and asked Jessica what the hold up was, to which she replied "I can't find any record of Ryan ever doing anything under your name or address". As a business owner I make decisions on who I'm going to do business with and who I'm not. If I don't want to do business with someone or if I'm too busy to take on more business I have the integrity to tell them "thanks but not at this time" so as not to waste anyone's time or make any promises I can't keep. You, Ryan, shouldn't agree to meet someone to take measurements and provide a design / estimate if you have no intention or ability to follow through. We had another pool company tell us they weren't giving any more estimates for the remainder of 2017. At least they had the courtesy to be honest and not waste our time discussing design ideas / budget, etc. knowing they wouldn't be able to follow through. As a "salesman" you should know better than to over promise and under deliver. I may have some of my retired friends / family that have no intention of getting pools bring Ryan out to measure and waste some of his time just for the fun of it. In fact, 3 of them already have appointments. Good luck............................ read more

Disclaimer - I have not had a pool done by courage and secondly I rarely comment on Yelp. When I called courage yesterday to set up a time for them to come see my property and write up a bid for me I was told mid December was the earliest they can even come out and folks who sign today wont even start their dig until February. The 2 other major players in this market came out within a week and both do more pools than courage so its not a function of being busy. Disapointing because Ive heard very positive things about Jim Courage as a person so I can only assume they are behind because of lack of in house subs. If you want a pool dont between now and April 2018 look elsewhere. read more

My husband and I had a wonderful experience from start to finish with Courage pools. I am a very detailed person and I like things explained and scheduled. I did not have one question that was left unanswered or one item during the entire installation process that was not completed in the time frame that was originally outlined. I was impressed by the knowledge and detail that was demonstrated time and time again through our construction. I had multiple contractors onsite that had to work very closely with each other and Jim Courage not only communicated with me, but with everyone to assist in a project that is absolutely beautiful! If you are looking for a pool contractor this is the place to come. This was a five star experience and I could not be happier!! read more

Called Courage Pools in April 2016 . I was told they were very busy this time of year and could not be able to meet for Appt until Jun 2016 . Since I was not in an immediate hurry I scheduled my Appt for almost 2mos later . I received a phone call the day prior and confirmed Appt . Sales Rep came out made a few suggestions and I told him that he was the expert and to suggest what he thought would be a good fit . Prior to him leaving I was told I would be emailed in 3-4 days with proposal . That never happened , I waited almost a month and then called to check status . I was told that it would be looked into and I would be contacted shortly . After 3 additional weeks of no correspondence I called again . I asked why the delay and was told that the Sales Rep would be in contact with me for 2nd time , at this point I asked to speak with Supervisor of Sales Rep . I was contacted by Sales Rep who gave Excuse after Excuse why I never received plans at which I was promised . After hearing enough of his dishonestly I hung up on him and Again called the office and Again asking to speak with supervisor . I was contacted by Owner and was told his employee called him previously prior to calling me about how he " really dropped the ball " . I told him I understood the people get busy and ask " Where do we go from here " ? He said he would try and handle himself and that he would he unavailable for a week or two and I was told to contact his office and schedule Appt to do so . After making Appt I asked Familair office staff to call me a day before Appt to remind me as I lead a Busy Life As Well , which she stated No Problem . Unfortunately my Heads Up Call was 5 minutes before Appt , Owner didn't show up when APPT was scheduled . What a LETDOWN after waiting 2mos for Appt , and to think they were Referred . What a Waste of Time ! read more