Today we’d like to introduce you to Brock and Mark Williams.
Brock and Mark, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out working in a commercial construction after school as a teenager then 1996 I started building custom homes in Burleson Texas just east of Hidden Creek Golf Coase in Burleson Texas. I was building a 3500Square Foot Custom home in Hidden Creek for a Doctor and hired Blue Haven to build the pool. The manager for Blue Haven Pools (Bill Stable) a pioneer of building pools for over 50 years in South Texas and North Texas came out to meet and we made a connection during his visit. Bill and I met for lunch on several occasions and talked shop. In 2000, I joined Bill at Blue Haven Pools in Arlington, TX. I decided since I was building homes I might as well learn the pool business which I had always been fascinated with. Bill shared his knowledge with me and was a great experience and he was a good mentor, I became his right-hand man and close friend. We built 350 plus pools a year and was ranked #1 Blue Haven Franchise throughout the United States after I joined. In 2005 Bill passed away and Blue Haven offered me a franchise in West Texas. My daughter begged me to stay in Burleson, TX in order for her to finish high school with her friends. Being a widowed father, we stayed in Burleson close to family and I continued building pools for people who knew of me, then made it official and started the company Serenity Custom Pools & Spas.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a smooth sail being in construction especially and after building 100 pools plus a year.
Serenity Custom Pools & Spas – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Most ALL of your pool companies have sales staff, schedulers, superintendents, managers over each department, and a secretary to answer the phones. This is a large circle of people and when your pool goes into construction guess what, this is all the people you will be dealing with instead of who is actually in charge of overseeing your building process. This makes the communication level not so great especially if you have an important question or concern and call the office only to get the runaround, not to mention the cost you are paying for your new pool to employ all these people. With Serenity Custom Pools & Spas, simply pick up the phone and call me directly …that simple! AND, imagine paying less and not for all that overhead group of people, we will save you as much as $5,000 plus on an average pool. Think about it, this is how your traditional custom home builders conduct business on a daily basis and it’s simple without the headaches of a large company.
It starts with integrity, we offer a Lifetime warranty on the structure of the pool itself. We use all 1/2” steel throughout the entire pool instead of the customary 3/8’’ rebar. Not only do we use ALL 1/2” steel but we also lay (ALTERNATE BARS / TRANSITIONAL BARS) across the belly of the pool and all the way up both sides of the pool to the 4 BAR BOX BEAM. This keeps the pool from flexing in our North Texas Clay Soils which in return prevents cracking; leading to leaks, and eventually total loss and failure of the pool structure. Next – the plumbing on the interior of the pool is inspected to ensure its buried deep enough so that the steel in the pool is not resting on top of the pipes which in return can cause future breakage and major repair expenses. All the plumbing on the outside perimeter of the pool is inspected to ensure it’s buried below the frost line. ALL the plumbing is then pressured up to a minimum of 25 psi for 45 minutes to make sure no leaks are present before gunite. Serenity believes in plenty of returns throughout the pool to keep your pool pristine and minimizes debris, and algae build up. We also plumb your main drains separate so you can drain your pool with ease or circulate your water equally between your skimmer and the belly of the pool. Next – the gunite crew is supervised during the process to make sure the steel is blocked up off the soil and center of the Gunite. (I’ve seen in several instances where pools come apart due to the steel laying on the ground and not up in the center of the Gunite) Next – Serenity Custom Pools & Spas only uses (STONE MASONS) being the complexity of the designs and “Rock work” required. All of the stonework is precision cut & chiseled to fit perfect and look natural. A lot of times we use custom mortar dyes to enhance the stone and help give the mortar a natural look. Next – the pool decks have concrete piers and turned down beams in ALL required areas that have fill dirt and sloped yards. Your decking is just as important as the integrity of the pool. We use an expansion joint around the perimeter of the pool and decking which is filled with custom color mastic blended with sand to give it a natural stone look. Next- The plaster… we have several colors and textures, we can plaster your pool with a traditional white plaster to an exotic Abalone sea shell Caribbean blue plaster or stone-scapes plaster finish to enhance the beauty of the pool, just depending on what price point you want to be at. Final – The operational equipment is all Hayward; Serenity Custom Pools & Spas is a Hayward partner and that being said this extends the warranty on all your Hayward equipment to 3 years instead of the traditional 1-year warranty
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being a Custom Pool Builder and not a cookie cutter.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.serenitycustompools.net
- Phone: (817) 507-9902
- Email: serenitycustompoolsnspas.net
Image Credit:
Brock Williams
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