In late 2017 we had Jim design our pool and provide contractor bids and contacts to do an owner build on pool and back yard. We had gotten quotes for a basic plaster pool from contractors at a much higher price than the quotes for our very upgraded pool and back yard. Jim was a pleasure to work with as were all of the contractors we hired per his referrals. If you want to do a little legwork and save a ton of money, owner build is the way to go. My husband and I both work full time and were easily able to work with each contractor individually. We will definitely contact Jim for our next pool! read more

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If there was a star less than one that's what I would be using. I asked Jim if he would come to my house to draw plans and he originally said no and then texted me later said he would do so for a travel fee of 195.00. I agreed. He made arrangements on three different occasions and cancelled on me three times indicating his medicine was a problem the first two cancellations and the last one was the heat. My husband took off work for each of these cancellations and cost us a lot of money. I would not recommend his services if you are looking for reliable service. He specified he is 76 years old and I understand that may be an issue however if you cancel on people this many times maybe it's time to enjoy your retirement rather than costing people a lot of money and time to make your life convenient. read more

Hello Yelp community, currently me and my wife were having a hard time with finding the right company to build our pool and with contractors not showing up, or charging a small fortune, we decided to take on the idea of building the pool ourselfs. Therefore we contacted OBAG, Jim to consult with us and direct us in the path necessary. Little bit about me, I'm a tile contractor out of San Diego, company is The Tile Guys, License 877631, in the industry for 20 years. Jim meets us at our home, on time explains to us his services, as owner builder and says all he really does is design, engineer, assist with phone calls, dissect bids basically provides the guidance one would need to assist in building the pool correctly, and basically would sell you the pool equipment needed, of course at my discretion with an 8% mark up, totally fair. Listening to Jim and his experience, my experience in dealing with people and trades over the years, we opt to go with him and offer to pay him in full for his services upfront, because we are excited and ready to move forward with design and planning. We set up an appointment for the following day for Jim to come and measure the yard, my wife stayed home from work, and i left early to get home to meet Jim, Jim texts me and says he will not be able to come that day about 1 pm, OK thats Jim, i said no worries, he said ill see you tomorrow around the same time, Ok Jim thats fine see you then. I sent Jim an email around 10 am confirming that he was coming ? Jim responded back about an hour later, saying how got this huge job offer last night and that he was thinking of taking it, the money was great, etc. and basically NO he was not coming, and he decided to take the job he wouldn't be able to do the job, he would be to busy, but if he didn't take the job he would be tomorrow.also said if i get this job i could provide you with and estimate to build your pool...( Thats what the email said, with the NO actually big caps, and that's the second pool building company he tried to push our way??????????????? I responded back to the email, as states...I invited you into our home and listened to you bad mouth other pool contractors,our drawings, you said they didn't know how to design pools and these are all wrong.You even insulted me as mason by stating well i have been in this trade 47 years and if have heard of you, you must not be that good...of course jokingly. but point taken. I accepted this a form of confidence, not arrogance....hence why i wanted to use you.You looked me in the face, shook my hand and told me don't worry about it you'll be here tomorrow. I said Jim as fellow contractor you give the rest of us contractors a bad name, by not following through with what you promise people, your an old school contractor and should know better, do what you say your going to do. Show up when you say you are, simple as that, don't think im asking to much. Jim calls me on the phone, and basically insults me again saying that me and my wife are drama and that he is glad he didn't do our design, and that i was wrong for expressing myself the way i did in the email. I explained my frustration in him not showing, we ended the call civilly. My point, I felt good with Jim, although he didn't produce what he stated. He tried to push 2 different pool building companies on me, which is exactly what i didn't want, hence i wanted a consultant to guide us...this seemed incorrect, being hes a consultant, not a sales man for X NAMED POOLS. Not showing up twice, we had arranged our schedule, to meet him...we lost money from making the time to meet with him, and days lost towards moving forward on our build. So yes this irritated me very much, as a fellow tradesman, i hold a standard of being on time, showing up when i say, most importantly basically just doing what i say im going to do, we have owned our company 11 years, and i have missed an appointment or 2 as im not perfect and yes have had unhappy clients. This is just one persons experience, honestly...the man does sell pool equipment, and consults..I have a feeling he sells the pool equipment , when he found out i wasn't interested in the pool equipment, and that i wasn't interested in hiring either of the 2 company's he tried to push, he figured he couldn't really make any money on me and made excuses. read more

This business would not even entertain working with me because they did not want to "get into a bidding war with a bunch of other businesses because they have been doing this for 50 years". Oh, if I paid a fee to them they would consider working with me. It is wonderful to find someone who won't even meet with you because they feel they are to good. I didn't even get a chance to ask any questions before I was told no, I don't meet the criteria of who he wants to build for. Horrible experience for a first time pool buyer. If you only want to look at one pool company, this is your guy, if you want to shop around and compare prices forget working with him. Also, he does not include the emails below where he insulted my character or the emails he continued to send to me after I asked him, twice, to stop contacting me. Also, you can see from the emails how he wanted to know if I needed financing, when did I want to start, etc., all very helpful until I told him I was looking at other companies and then it became "I only work with referrals or repeat customers". His fee he is so graciously offering to me is something other pool companies are, in fact, doing for free. As he explains his semi retirement state, please note that at the time of this writing that, nor the referral or repeat customers requirement, is not noted anywhere on his website. read more

I've known Jim Carden since he constructed my pool in 2005, when he worked for "a company". In 2009, I had moved and needed another pool. Jim instantly sprang to mind because he'd done such a great job before. I contacted him and found that he no longer worked for a company but was consulting individuals that were interested in contracting the job on their own, known as "owner builder". I was intrigued and invited Jim over to discuss the details of the project. Jim's years of experience helped me design the perfect pool for my backyard. It is my favorite pool ever (I've had four). His ideas and insight were priceless! He provided me with blue prints, gave me the information on where and how to file the buiding permits and gave me contact information for reputable sub-contractors for excavation, rebar, gunite, plaster, coping, and concrete. Not only was it a simple process, I literally saved thousands of dollars by using Jim's service. I HIGHLY recommend Jim Carden if you are considering contracting the construction of your own pool. You only have one chance to do it right! Save time and money by using Jim's consultation service. Kathie S Temecula read more

The decision to build a pool was very hard because I like to do my own projects. A full rip and replace of my current yard and installing a pool was way above my skill set but still found the thought of turning control over to a pool contractor highly unsettling. While at lunch with a partner I was sharing with him my frustration in dealing with pool contractors and he quickly stopped me and brought up Jim. Jim had worked with my partner to build his pool and he said he would never do it any other way. I was instantly intrigued as this way I could be as involved as possible while not doing the heavy lifting. Calling Jim was the best decision I could have made. Jim is on point, super punctual, very responsive and totally up front with no BS. You can't recreate decades of pool building experience that Jim brings to the table. I'm a complete pain in the butt because I have so many questions, but Jim never batted an eye to help me understand options and go over all the finer details. It's a big investment in the end but using Jim's services made me feel as comfortable as one can to spend the kind of money it takes to build a little paradise and feel good you did it. I'm 10 days into my entire project with demo, excavation, rebar, plumbing and electrical done. Everything is smooth as glass because the planning was done right with Jim's help. It's a super fun project and I'm in control of everything, I love it! My project is big so anticipate water in the pool by mid December. If you're like me, and like to be involved in the process of building your pool I would not hesitate to call Jim, he's worth every single penny. A+++++++ read more

I would highly recommend calling Carden Pools, Inc., if you're considering new pool design and/or construction. We had interviewed quite a few landscape designers and pool builders - and even spent thousands on a landscape plan by another designer, who then wanted a ridiculous amount of money for construction. However, when that didn't work out, we found Jim Carden at the recommendation of a friend. Wow, what a difference... Jim offered his "Owner / Builder" option; a comprehensive design and consultation program which connects the homeowner with a network of skilled contractors. Together with Jim's decades of pool building experience and knowhow, he will advise the pro's / con's of every detail - allowing the homeowner to make the very most informed decision. Since this was my first pool, this was exactly what I was looking for. And through the process, Jim saved me a bundle over what traditional pool companies were quoting. In the end, we finished our beautiful pool in 5-weeks and right on budget. We've since added pergola structures, BBQ island, artificial turf, etc., using the contractors that Jim connected us with - and we couldn't be happier.. Thanks Jim! read more

The decision to go owner builder on our pool was a scary one for me as I have always just hired someone to do big projects in the past. Jim put my mind at ease within the first few minutes of meeting him. I felt comfortable with him and his knowledge of pool building was apparent right from the get go. He took his time and made us feel very comfortable throughout the planning process and was willing to listen to and answer all the questions we had. He is very thorough and made the experience easy and understandable, I highly recommend him if you are looking to save money going owner builder but need someone experienced and easy to work with the walk you through the process. read more

After my last review Jim contacted me to make things right. He became the person that made me decide to go with his company and followed through on his word. Unfortunately now the tables have turned these days and I am the one not easily accessible to respond due to work. However, Jim has been patient , following up, and has really improved since the previous communication opportunities in the past. read more

I decided to go owner builder for our pool. Contacted Jim who came over to our residence and answered all the questions we had for him. The experience was a pleasant one. He designed our pool and made sure we were happy with his work. If changes needed to be made he fixed them without hesitation. I was nervous taking on a huge project like this, but overall our pool came out great. Jim is very knowledgeable and comes highly recommended! read more

Jim Carden is one of the most professional people I've ever met, when I was looking to put a pool in I searched 4 or 5 companies in the IE. Jim was the first company that came to my home and the first question he asked was "have you talked to any other companies " I told him no, he showed me what he could do for me within in my budget; then believe it or he asked me to call a few other companies and then call him back. I called those places all of which tried to sell me on stuff I didn't need, not Jim. He did everything he said he'd do, my family and I enjoyed that pool for many years. There were many neighborhood kids that learned to swim in that pool, Jim ended up building pools for 3 of my co-worker. If I were ever going to have a pool built again, Jim Carden would be the only person I'd call. As a police officer of 23 years, you learn to read people, Jim is as stand up as they come. Jon Seabron read more

If you are thinking about building a swimming pool please DO NOT hire a pool company. You will save a TON of money by subbing everything out yourself. Jim is a great resource and will help you every step along the way in this process. He designed my pool for me and got the structural engineering plans for a very reasonable price. He also gives you a list of subs for every stage of the pool building process. It was very easy to do and it saved me about $20,000. Great customer service! Highly recommend! read more

I would recommend every person I know to use Jim at Owner Builder Assistance Group. He is so professional, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. We saved thousands of dollars thanks to Jim. In fact, I just referred my neighbor to call him. If you want a pool you won't go wrong with working with Jim. read more

If you want someone who is knowledgeable,honest, reliable, and dependable - please contact Jim Carden for assistance in building your pool. Jim built my dream pool and every step on the process was a pleasure. There was never a time when I had a question that he did not get back with me the same day. In addition, he gave good advice that I did not get with the other pool companies that had given me a bid. I would not hesitate to refer Jim to anyone interested in building a pool . He is THE BEST!!! read more

Jim has been very helpful in the process of us building our own pool. One thing I love about him is that he is super prompt to reply to any concerns or questions I have. He has good ideas that helped me in our process that I wouldn't have thought of on our own based on his past experience. His has opinions as to certain things but didn't force any of those us, just let us know how he felt about things. I think you'll be pleased if you use Jim and his company. We are happy we found him. read more

We decided to go the owner builder route after getting several pool quotes that were very high and out of our price range. We contacted Jim, he got back to us rather quick and soon after we met with him. He explained the process and we moved forward on the project. Jim provided us with a bid plan and 3-D design. Jim has decades of pool builder experience. We made a few changes to our liking and soon approved the plans. We contacted some people on the reference list and felt comfortable proceeding with our project as owner builder. The entire process was smooth and we would recommend it to anyone who wants to save money. All in all we saved about 15-20% by going the owner builder route. I contacted Jim several times throughout the project and he always returned my phone calls and or emails promptly. Jim is very professional and is not afraid to give you his best recommendation, of course he does keep in mind that the owner can ultimately chose whatever makes them happy. By going the owner builder route, it allowed us to have total control of the project and add a multitude of upgrades at no additional cost. there were times that we made last minute adjustments/ changes without having to compromise quality and there was no one to tell us otherwise. We started the excavation on June 22, 2016 and we were done and swimming on August 20, 2016 (60 days)(keep in mind this was the busy season). We are very satisfied with the way our owner builder project turned out! Ubense read more

Jim rescued us from making a big mistake ! We were ready to build a pool with another company and fortunately I called Jim before we lost any more money to someone who claims to be a pool contractor. I can't say enough nice things about Jim and Owner Builder Assistance Group. Jim is very informative , detailed , straight forward and very professional . Jim knows his stuff . My husband and I now know what exactly what we will need to move forward with building our dream pool . You can not go wrong with Jim and Owner Builder Assistance Group . A real gem ! read more