Pool-builders, lifeguards swim against economy

The housing market is still in the tank, and so is the pool-building business.

What’s more, many pool maintenance companies, which normally clean subdivision pools and check chlorine levels several times a week, are being asked for less frequent service. That means less income, said Shawn Still, 38, president of the Georgia chapter of the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals.

Still, who runs Olympic Pool Plastering in Norcross, one of the biggest pool installation and repair companies in the area, said pool contractors have had to scramble since the economy sagged in 2008.

Those doing best, he said, are companies like his that are focusing on repairs and renovations of backyard and subdivision pools.

Banks aren’t lending money for new backyard pools, Still said, and installation companies are shifting to repair work to get through the slump.

“The renovation market appears to be up this year on the residential side,” he said. “A lot of pools are putting in new drains because of a new federal law that required them to be safer. This has caused a tremendous number of homeowner-association pools to be drained and brought up to code.”

That’s costly for subdivisions, but a lifesaver for many pool companies.

Frank Gonsales, 64, owner of Acworth Pools, has been installing pools of all kinds since 1975.

“This is the two worst back-to-back years I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I’m surviving on repair work. People are staying home and not moving as much.”

New pool construction is off about 70 percent from peak years, “not just because homeowners are scared due to the economy but because banks won’t lend money for new construction,” Gonsales said. “A lot of pool companies have actually gone under.”

David M. Oliver, senior vice president of the Georgia Bankers Association, said banks, worried that so many homes have declined in value, are checking applications for pool loans closely.

“The bottom line is that banks are dotting all the I’s and crossing all the T’s to make sure they make loans people can comfortably afford to pay back‚” he said.

Still said the lack of credit makes a pool more of a luxury than ever.

“Somebody is going to have to have $30,000 to $40,000 burning a hole in their pocket to get a new pool,” he said. “Building a pool is not like remodeling your kitchen or bathroom, which you know will increase the value of your home. I work in five states, and not one contractor has told me they had a pool sold because a homeowner got a loan.”

Still said it’s hard to know how many pool-builders have left the business because many are small contractors working out of their homes.

Many pool maintenance companies are busier than last year, but still struggling because subdivisions have cut cleaning schedules or lifeguard hours, said Jim Darke, president of American Pool Service of Georgia in Norcross.

Derek Raymer, 47, president of the Kings Cove Homeowner Association in east Cobb County, said his neighborhood now pays for lifeguards only on weekends, rather than seven days a week. The reason is a drop in dues collections.

Some residents aren’t paying because they’ve lost jobs, or are afraid they will, Raymer said.

“We are being very cognizant of the money we are spending,” said Raymer. “We had a bathroom problem. I said, ‘Call a plumber,’ and our pool manager said, ‘No, I can do it.’”

Darke said the grim reality of hard times was evident when he held a recent job fair.

“We had more applicants than jobs,” he said. “A few white collar professionals in between jobs were interested.”

One reason renovations are up is the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, a federal law passed Dec. 17, 2007 after the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker drowned in a backyard hot tub. She was trapped by suction from the drain, and the law required safer drain covers to prevent similar accidents.