Aspire Aquatic Architecture

I never write reviews, but if I could rate a company with negative stars it would be this one. I was initially going to write a review on Google or Facebook, but if you look them up, you will see they have shut off the ability for customers to write reviews there. Google even says Aspire is Permanently Closed. BEWARE.

I have been in business in Omaha for 20 years building businesses and serving customers. I have worked successfully with countless businesses and contractors on many kinds of projects. When I hired Aspire Aquatic Architecture 18 months ago to build my concrete disappearing edge pool, I knew I was taking a chance on a young entrepreneur trying to build his new pool business. It has been the worst decision I have ever made in selecting a contractor. I was fooled by a slick young man that showed a lot of pretty pictures of pools on his iPad and Facebook page claiming he could do it for me. The pool was going to cost more than my first home did, and Aspire promised a beautiful pool my family and friends could enjoy by end of summer last year (2018). I wrote that first deposit check to Aspire in early 2018 in advance of their work and sealed my own fate. By last fall, all I had was a concrete shell in the ground that was an eyesore all of last winter. Now, one year later, the project is still not done, and they have left me the mess.

Here are some examples of what I've experienced with Aspire:

-Very poor workmanship. Concrete isn't square. Pool wall was poured at the wrong height specified in the architectural plans affecting my cover function. Leaks due to poor sealing efforts. Disappearing edge is not level. Plaster looked horrible. Tiles are falling off due to poor tile work. And many more examples.

-Sloppiness of each step. Messy jobsite. Construction trash left in my yard for months despite asking Aspire to clean it up. Shotcrete was done on a windy day and Aspire didn't cover the back of my brand new house. Therefore, concrete splattered all over the back of my house including the glass in my 16 foot patio door to the pool. This caused permanent damage to my house and windows of about $15,000 that Aspire has still not made right. They said they would file an insurance claim but haven't taken the initiative to do it. I know this same thing happened to another Aspire customer except their Shotcrete overspray went on the neighbors brand new deck.

-Pathetic customer service and communication. Countless times they made promises they didn't fulfill. Dates are never met. Texts promising to show up and they don't blaming the weather. Each step seems like it is left 80% complete. I had multiple meetings with the Aspire owner to try to resolve issues. I brought in outside help including others who know him. Each time he promised to do things he didn't do including a meeting early this fall where he agreed it would finally be ALL done by end of September. He promised to come the following Monday to try to fix a plumbing issue. He didn't show up Monday. Didn't show up that week despite us reaching out and asking over and over. He still hasn't showed up two months later.

-Revolving door of Employees. Over the last eighteen months there have been multiple different Aspire employees get hired, come work on my project awhile, and make some promises to "finally" get things finished. They say they have pool experience and are trying to help the Aspire owner dig out of his problems. Then somehow they leave the company. There is zero consistency. Employees do not seem to be able to work with the Aspire owner either.

-Traps you with Draw Payments. The Aspire owner is very charming when he wants a check. Then he gets just enough done that you feel compelled to keep going. Once he gets your new check for thousands of dollars, it becomes a wrestling match to get him to complete that phase of the project because he is off somewhere else. He once told us he wanted to jump off a bridge due to upset customers. I can see why.

-Financial Instability. Several of the customers who are trying to work their way out of problems caused by Aspire have communicated with each other. It is clear Aspire is barely hanging on financially. They have not paid subcontractors to the point they have threatened liens on the homeowners including to me. When I got my first subcontractor lien threat, I told Aspire I wouldn't pay any more until I had reassurance I wouldn't get liens from subs. Then I learned Aspire also didn't pay distributors on various products ordered for my pool. I ended up having to pay thousands of dollars for numerous components of my pool directly because Aspire simply wouldn't pay. The last thing I had to pay for myself was the $2000 winter cover Aspire was supposed to provide. In fact they told us they had it a year ago. The cherry on top was when I discovered after paying myself for the custom winter cover he ordered that Aspire didn't order it in the right dimensions. It doesn't even fit properly, so it sags down in places and bunches up in others. It will hold water and ice during the winter, and I have another eyesore to look at all winter. Despicable.

I can unequivocally say, I have never worked with a worse contractor in my life. Save yourself the heartache and work with a pool contractor with years of experience and good references. If you want more information, I will certainly talk with anyone who would like about my experience with Aspire. My hope is that they have the backbone and pride to at least finish the projects they have including mine. I am sure they will write a response to this and blame everything but themselves. Don't believe it.

Jake, who owns the company will tell you he's handling it... or his plan to get it done. Well it's been over a year on the pad to hold the pool equipment to be cemented.The equipment is now falling back towards the house... after numerous contacts with Jake and many promises to get this matter handled , he has failed to do what he says. Will not return calls or text messages. Please for your own self benefit don't use Aspire Pool with any hope of getting things handled. It's been this way since the beginning. I would give this company a D- or F . Agrivation is what no one looks or asks for. I wouldn't let him fill my kids 10$ plastic pool from ***.

Aspire Aquatic Architecture designed and build us the pool of our dreams. The design and execution was flawless. We worked with Jake (who is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to knowledge, creativity, and patience). We got our design and then held off for a bit as life hit us with some stuff. Jake followed up over time and never once did we feel pressured. It let us know he wanted to help us when the time was right. When the time was in fact right, we signed the contract and began the process. Everything from that point on was as perfect as could be with each and every person we worked with at Aspire. Any call or email was quickly responded to and they all work with integrity and a high standard that you simply won't find anywhere else. If you want a pool, this is who you should be calling.

When our family sifted through the countless pool companies in Omaha, no one stuck out more than Jake with Aspire. His true creativity came out when he explained a proposed layout for our dream backyard. As we may not be ready to do everything at once right now, we are amazed how our first phase turned out. Excited for what's to come next year!

We hired Aspire in June 2018 to begin an in-ground pool installation. We interviewed 5 companies and felt we did our due diligence. We could not have been more wrong. As of today, April 2019, the "pool" has yet to be swimmable. The list of problems, both those that were somewhat resolved and those that remain completely unresolved, is extensive but I want to touch on them all so people truly know what they will face with this company. We were told a 4-6 week project. By the end of week 16, Aspire STILL had not come close to finishing it. During this build, there was very little communication from Aspire, numerous mistakes, and poor workmanship. At the end of week 16 with winter quickly approaching, we were forced to consider the project ended having never seen the pool operate and, come spring, would have to hire another company to resolve the outstanding items, though several of the issues are not fixable at this stage. Aspire left our yard trashed with garbage, piles of cement, and random equipment. We had to order a 12-yard dumpster and hired someone to assist us in cleaning in up at our expense.

During our initial meeting, we asked Aspire for a rectangular pool about 12'x28'. Small and simple. The vinyl liner currently has about a dozen wrinkles on the pool bottom, walls, and corners. Upon our request, Aspire attempted to reinstall the liner a second time during the build, but it did not improve. Instead, it just led to us having to pay to fill the pool multiple times. When questioned, Aspire attributed the wrinkles to being the "nature of a vinyl liner pool" and were caused by us opting for bar stools in the pool. However, the bar stools were 100% Aspire's idea during our first meeting and we wouldn't have expected we'd need to doubt their ability to install an acceptable vinyl liner over the stools when, again, the stools were their creative idea. The bar stools are made of cement and are very uneven. They are not uniform in size and one is noticeably leaning. Our build also included a boulder water fall feature and we were provided photos of what is allegedly Aspire's past work representing what the water feature would look like. After being assembled, our water feature does not represent the quality of workmanship shown in their photos. Aspire also forgot to run wiring for an LED light in the water feature despite us reminding them almost daily during the water feature installation and it being in our contract.

During the build, we discovered items that had not been included in our bid even though we'd discussed them in person from day 1 and were documented via email. We were told the bid only included a fraction of the concrete decking we had discussed which, in turn, added another several thousand dollars half way through the project. We also discovered one day that the incorrect filter had been installed. Our contract specified a *** filter and the one they installed was *** brand, too small for our pool size, and we believe it's primary use is for ABOVE-ground pools. Aspire did switch it out when we brought this to their attention, but there was no ownership of the issue, just excuses about how the "wrong equipment was delivered on site." We were astounded that they'd proceed to not only install the wrong equipment, but also not utter a word about it to us.

During the build, Aspire destroyed all sprinklers lines and left them uncapped under the cement pool deck, despite us asking them periodically during the build if we should have our sprinkler company out to assist and salvage some lines. We knew lines would be hit which is fine, but we were continually assured they were being capped off only later to find this did not happen. We will now be forced to pay for a completely new sprinkler system with all new lines. Aspire also cut the gas line to our firepit and the wiring for our patio lights which wasn't repaired until around week 13 (long after it was feasible to fix it) and only because we asked a dozen times.

At any given point in time, we had no idea what was happening our yard. Aspire wouldn't show up when they said they would time and time again, and the lack of coordination between the owners and their subcontractors is astounding. When they "ended" our project, we were left with a half-filled pool, wrinkled liner, trashed job site, sloppy workmanship, and pool equipment that we had never seen operate. During the final weeks, we afforded the company numerous opportunities to rectify issues and no matter how many times they assured us they would resolve the problems, it did not happen. More often than not, they simply wouldn't show up. The owner of this company LOVES to use the weather as an excuse for work not being done. However, perhaps the owner forgot that we also live in this state and over that 16 week period, numerous WEEKS worth of dry sunny days took place where they said they'd be there at 8 am yet nobody would ever show.

We are now here in April 2019 and we have hired another pool company to fire up the pool for the first time. We decided we'd just live with the existing deficiencies with the pool so that we could finally swim in it, but the first time the pool equipment was turned on, we discovered the pool leaks. The water level drops 6-7 inches per day with our home's sump pump running continuously to keep our basement dry. No idea if the rest of the equipment works. Never hire Aspire Aquatic Architecture, I repeat, NEVER, unless you want problems for years to come and a "pool" that you may never get to swim in. The owner of this company is welcome to challenge these claims. However, one of their biggest mistakes in taking us on as a client is we are incredibly meticulous with tracking communication in these situations. Also, the yard has no less than 3 security cameras. This has literally been the largest waste of $50,000 we have ever spent.