In-ground pool construction - looking for advice

Hi,

I am looking for a reliable Shotcrete or Gunite contractor that will work in the Tyler/Longview Texas area.

It has been surprisingly difficult to find one. Why? I am only building a single pool and am not on a tight schedule or budget, but so far I haven't been able to find anyone interested in this work.

Is there maybe a professional trade organization that will refer me to someone.

Are these companies linked to major pool construction companies in a way that makes them turn down private work?

Thanks in advance,
Jeremy

I think what you may be running into is the risk factor: working for a person building their own pool, with no prior contracting experience, is a tremendous risk for the subs. They don't know whether you will be able to pay them or whether you will be able to manage the job successfully. And, if you fail at either one, they lose money, reputation, or both. Most subs will avoid work like that, unless they are really, really hungry: it's just too risky. YOU may be the exception, and YOUR pool may go as smoothly as silk . . . but THEY won't know that till it's all over.

You've got a couple of options. You can look for hungry contractors, and accept the risk that the contractors who are really hungry may not be really good. Or, you can try to convince them that you really do have all your ducks in a row, have done ALL your homework, and know EXACTLY what you are doing, so they can be confident that the work will go smoothly and be profitable.

Two possibilities:
1. Explore the http://www.howibuiltmyownpool.com/ site, for ideas. Ben Choi did what you are doing successfully, but he's no longer living at that location, and as far as I can tell, no longer active on the site.
2. Use SCP's branch locator, and then call a couple of the branches nearest them. They can give you names and numbers you can call: http://www.poolcorp.com/branch

Good luck!