NTX Pool and Patio

The good: NTX was competitive in pricing with two other pool companies we had over for estimates. NTX was able to design a pool based on what we wanted and made a great video presentation. The bad: Excavation started on January 28th even with an extremely rainy forecast which would compound problems down the road. January 29th and 30th the rebar was installed. January 31st was the beginning of several wall cave ins. February 2nd the pergola was installed and NTX never asked or made an option for stain color. Instead we came home to half our pergola already being completed and upset that we had no say in the cedar pergola. The answer from NTX was that was the standard stain. Someone who’s paying $50,000+ for a project should have the choice prior to install date of every item in their own backyard, period. Plumbing was installed February 3rd even though the rebar and walls were still severely caved in. The plumbers also installed the wood frame for where the waterfall feature would be. That night the entire wall caved in again and the framing fell apart. Several attempts were made to dig dirt out, fix the framing, fix the rebar for the next several weeks. March 12 gunite was installed. NTX stated, “we will be done in two weeks.” This solidified that our contract with our landscaping company could still take place as the 45-60 day window ended on March 29th. March 20 the tilers came over to install coping and the water edge tile. Due to the wall caving in several times and the wood form of the waterfall feature being apart of the caving, we noticed the wall was off centered and not even which the agreed upon design shows. March 23rd the tilers completed their work but left the back of the water feature wall bare cement. We figured a stone wall would be just that, a complete stone wall but we had to request to change it to that which NTX obliged. March 26 the electricians show up to install our equipment, run conduit, and install are outdoor fan. Problem is they had no clue what the job was and we’re not provided any materials by NTX. The crew came from Arlington and was extremely disappointed they drove all the way to Rockwall to find out we had no equipment to install. They also advised our pool and spa which were full of water needed to be emptied prior to them completing the work. Our pool and spa had sat with a large amount of water in it for weeks at this point already. The electricians were upset enough to leave the job site without completing any work. Electricians returned to install the conduit to the pool and pre wired the pergola for a fan. April 4th the patio is finally framed out. However we have now passed our landscapers schedule start after being told it would be completed by this time on March 12th. Not our words but NTX’s. April 12th the patio is poured. One of the umbrella sleeves was installed unlike the other 11, but it is what it is at this point. The electrical line that was pre wired was not placed appropriately in the cement pour and to resolve it NTX cut the trim down which makes the post not match the other 3 posts. Also the pool equipment pad ran 2’ past the corner back edge of the house. Meaning you would see the concrete pad and the pool equipment in the backyard even though there is a giant cutout around the corner of the house out of sight. This can be attributed to the plumbers installing the pvc piping where they did. It should have been planned out better and we still don’t think the rest of the equipment will fit on the pad as the electricians said there is no way it will fit now that the pad had to be cut down to take the eye sore away. Over the last several months to this point trash had been left all over our backyard and the subcontractors had not picked up after themselves. Our landscaping company had already pushed us back several times and on April 19th they came to get their part of the project going. I physically hauled all the trash and put it in one pile from all over the yard and inside the pool. Our landscaping company and I were the ones to take the cement wood forms off of the patio. Electricians came back on May 4th to install equipment and NTX no showed again so they left. Electricians came back on May 6th to install the equipment and ran into a problem with NTX still not providing all the necessary equipment. The electricians also stated prior to them leaving that they ran into an issue with the pool light installation. One of the conduit tubes to the main light in the pool didn’t allow for the electrical to be ran inside of it. We were surprised to hear this as NTX was at our house that morning and the electricians had that conversation with them and yet NTX never told us in person. We had to find out at the end of the day from the subcontractors. Electricians advised they may have to rip out part of the patio to be able to run the wiring for the light or move the light completely. The electricians stated that is why you do not pour the patio prior to the electrical being completed and tested and that is on NTX for not following simple protocols (hence why they came out on March 26 to complete the work but NTX no showed). May 7th we were scheduled to have the plaster company prepare for plaster to be installed on May 8th. They showed up at 645pm and stayed for a half hour while cleaning a quarter of the pool and throwing the trash from inside the pool out in our backyard. The prep work was never completed. We were advised that the electricians will have to come back and try and run a camera in the conduit to see what our options are on May 8th or 9th but we doubt that happens by tomorrow because that is per norm with NTX. It is scheduled to rain all next week so this is par for the course to take one step forward 3 steps back and use weather as an excuse for the next set of delays. Grading was supposed to be completed on Friday May 7th but NTX decided on their own to have them not come in case we moved the pool light even though they never asked us our opinion. We want the grading completed so we can move on from this project and finish our yard. It’s been a mud pit since January and we can’t take a step forward without them completing this task. Do we think they will show up on May 9th before it rains for another week? No, let’s be realistic. If you’ve read this far you know that nothing is communicated and nothing is done on time. The ugly: Upfront NTX should have been more forthcoming with how their business is ran. Every single item is subcontracted out to other businesses and none of it is completed by actual NTX employees. Meaning NTX simply acts as a general contractor. This was never discussed during our talks with NTX. Even with that being said iffffffff NTX was on site, reviewing plans, walking subcontractors through the work, having material when needed, and reviewing their completed work to make sure it was up to satisfaction we would accept the circumstances. However we have had to catch every item ourselves. If you have a general contractor for a project you want one that is pointing issues out and making subcontractors fix them until they are up to the customers satisfaction. We tried to address this with NTX on March 26 and discussed in detail the changes we wanted to see with NTX regarding communication, project management, and acceptance of responsibility but as of May 8 we are having the same issues as before. Giving unrealistic timelines to customers. NTX stated 45-60 days from dig to swim. We have completely accepted a delay due to COVID-19 and the winter freeze. However, subcontractors showing up repeatedly to a job site without knowledge of the job, materials to do their job, and completing the jobs in inadequate order are unacceptable. Also it’s come to a comical phase when NTX notifies us of a subcontractor coming over. Why you might ask, because there has only been 4 occasions where subcontractors actually showed up on the dates scheduled. Again communication should be provided and we shouldn’t have to to specifically reach out at the end of the night or days later about what happened to x, y, and z subcontractor. The electricians showed up four separate times to run conduit and install the pool lights. The company that NTX hired stated NTX didn’t have the proper materials, told NTX what they needed, and when NTX showed back up they said it still wasn’t the right items. The electricians also stated to us on every other job site that they complete, they install the pool lights prior to the patio being poured that way in case there is an issue it can be easily resolved. This is important because now our main pool light that faces our water feature is unable to fish the electrical through the conduit. Either the conduit was never completed or it was cracked during the patio phase as there is dirt and sand inside of the conduit 3’ in. Here we are May 8 and we still don’t have the pool lights completed or the pool equipment. You can see the visible frustration from the subcontractors because their hands are tied to what NTX is supplying. Overall, NTX took on too many projects at once with the climate of pool building during Covid. They need more employees to take on scheduling, communicating with customers, and building a better rapport with subcontractors. Admitting when at fault will also go a long way with customers, but when responsibility isn’t accepted it ruins the trust and cannot be earned back. The joy of installing a pool for our family has been ruined by this experience. **Will update review when project is completed.