Pool Envy LLC

02/01/2025

At Pool Envy, integrity means standing firm on our values. We refuse to support any company, vendor, or individual associated with domestic violence. Our team, predominantly female, deserves respect and equality. Allow us to be clear: any negative comments towards Pool Envy targets every member of our dedicated staff, not just me as the owner.

The pool industry often rewards the loudest voices, but behind that lies an occasional ugly truth we cannot ignore. When we block or ignore messages, it's an intentional stand for what’s right. We also hold accountable organizations that choose to tolerate such behavior. Respect and safety are non-negotiable, and we stand proudly behind this commitment. Thank you for understanding.

Please do your homework before selecting vendors, service providers, or podcasts.

Send a message to learn more

02/01/2025

We can all agree, that there is nothing more nostalgic than going over to uncle and aunts house during the holidays and smelling the scent of mercaptan emanating from the leaking gas oven right? Be honest, you've all been there.
--------------------------------
We focus on swimming pool heaters though and there is nothing more unsafe than smelling that outdoor during spring pool opening. It means, gas is leaking.
--------------------------------
In this instance, we were plumbing a new equipment pad, with an existing heater done by another pool company. When the heater was started, we started to smell something off. I brought in our HVAC technician to pressure test the black iron pipe and valves.
---------------------------------
A leak was located. If you have a pool heater, this is one of the items we safety check before working on your pool.

01/29/2025

Buying a new home? (watches as the hands go up.) - Buying a home with a pool can be exciting. Let's face it, how many of you bought your house thinking that your swimming pool was perfect?
---------------
Why do people sell homes:
1) Divorce
2) Moving on
3) Not having to do repairs
4) Legitimate upgrades to new homes.
5) To save money with less cost
6) To get rid of their pool maintenance costs
7) flipping a house and bs. repairs.
---------------
Fun in the sun right? - During the buying process, you hire an inspector to check out your roof, mechanicals, and conditions; but rarely, do people check the pool. Why? Reputation. Most people are totally ok with, "They've done it for 60 years, it's God's word, that everything is ok; I have a lot of friends that said so; I follow my friends advice; won't pay a dime." -- Then, reality.
----------------
The photos below illustrate a variety of "problems" that pools can experience. All of these would be caught during an inspection. It may give you room to negotiate with a seller too. "But, I'll just take the risk." Say an inspection costs $1200 - You could use the information gained by that to negotiate with the seller.
-----------------
The electrical panel in this post needed several new GFCI breakers; that's several hundred dollars worth of cost. The inground pool with the above-ground pump and improper plumbing? That's several thousand dollars to fix. All would have been caught with an inspection. (That buyer did.)
------------------
Our focus is your safety. Our focus is having your pool be trouble free. My clients pools run well. If your pool require services calls every few weeks, then you are definitely doing it wrong.

Get those pools inspected before you buy one.

01/29/2025

Old water vs. new water - The simple cause: Dissolved solids. A quick example of how solids dissolve in water. When the water is over-saturated; then, it will become cloudy. With certain salts/chemicals, it may cause color to reflect differently in the pool. This can result in lower quality looking water.

Send a message to learn more

01/28/2025

Slap a cover on that pool they say. So, we did a number of times. All around Wisconsin.

01/27/2025

The words licensed and insured go together like peanut butter and jelly. That said, many contractors simply want you to buy their sandwich without providing quality ingredients. Some contractors say licensed because, they received a form from the state that says tax registration. However, this is NOT a license for contracting.
-----------------
A Contractors license means that a business is qualified to contract. In Wisconsin, it's a bit more complicated requiring a "dwelling contractor qualifier" (essentially, a person within the company that holds a license and can pull permits.)
------------------
This is why many contracts you see may say, : "Home owner responsible for pulling permit." -- It means that the business does not have the license to do so, qualifications to do so, and may not have the insurance required. - This means, "Cash for hire." - To make matters worse, in Wisconsin you don't need to be licensed to put a LIEN on a property. If you hire Joe off the street, and he "knows some guys" and Joe doesn't pay his guys; then, they can come after you and your house, and even foreclose if they want.
--------------------
I spent a lot of time talking about licensure vs. swimming pools because it's important that the public here in Wisconsin and other areas across the US understand the risks with hiring unlicensed folks.

Send a message to learn more

01/27/2025

Pool lights have a finite life. The same chemicals that help make pool water safe, eat up and destroy fittings. Here is an actual pool light that we removed from a swimming pool. This pool light was leaking electrical current into the pool water. Check the lights.
-------
For those wanting quotes and estimates please note that we charge for these. Our focus is on safety, not being the best price.
--------
Pool Envy is focused on the whole picture, not simply one piece of the pool job. Our focus is providing quality work.
-------------

01/26/2025

Our Commitment to Safety and Advocacy

At Pool Envy LLC, we take our role seriously—not just as service providers but as advocates for pool safety. We recognize that unlicensed contractors can pose risks to both your pool and your safety. However, we approach this concern with care and compassion, not as a predatory practice. Our goal is to protect the community by ensuring everyone has access to quality service.

If you encounter unlicensed contractors, we encourage you to share your experiences with us. Together, we can cultivate a safer environment for pool owners. Your stories can help us raise awareness and support responsible practices in our industry.

01/23/2025

always, always check your contractors out.

In a complex web of allegations, the owners of a Florida-based pool construction company, Legacy Pools, are accused of engaging in fraudulent activities and racketeering, with ties to Elevation Church […]

01/21/2025

Wanting to get your pool into the 2025 season? Here's a little video about how it goes!

✅Welcome to the Pool Envy family of Green Bay! Here are the next steps towards having your swimming pool serviced by our professional team. ✅ Please enjoy ...

01/21/2025

Ever wondered how your pool ladder connects to your pool? This is a picture of a brass anchor that normally is encased in concrete. The Brass Screw is where your bond-wire connects to ensure electrical continuity. The anchor uses a bolt and "wedge" you can see the angled shape. This pulls "upwards" on the pool ladder, securely fixating it. Pro Tip: Remove the bolt to remove the ladder, and gently hit the bolt with a hammer. It will "drop" and then the ladder should pull right out.

01/18/2025

Did you know? TCNA standards exist to help installers stay out of tile installation trouble. In this instance, many things were wrong. Wrong thin-set, and improper amounts of coverage. The line are trowel marks. If the tiles were set correctly, they would not exist.
---------------

01/18/2025

I do not enjoy seeing missing screws on kiddie-pool drains. - These covers should be checked DAILY. The trouble here? This area is only contained about 12" of water when it was full. You must be diligent. This is part of the VGBA law. - Commercial swimming pools.

01/17/2025

Same photo, different story. Why does my pool plaster look like garbage?

Plaster is complicated, that's why. You can't simply mix it in a barrel and cover a 20x40 pool and hope everything will work. At Pool Envy, we do it with a big white truck (that's a song reference for you 90's folks..) We blend 7-8 bags at a time per blender and then full-send it through a pump and spray it into the pool. Did you not hear me say MIX? Because, this ain't no country club, and this ain't no mix-tape; we blend. Mixing causes issues with the material. Our mixers are more of the chop-salad style vs the hibachi grill style. Got that picture in your head? Good.
-----------------------------
After the plaster goes onto the pool the right way. Not pushing too hard, not pushing too light, not causing cold joints between layers, not doing 10,000 things that can make it go bad, you get plaster applied and call it a day.
-----------------------------
Then what happens? If your plaster guy is like us? Nothing. We go home and enjoy our 3rd Dr. Pepper for the day. (none of which we do on site) because any drop of sugar that gets into the mix will cause delamination problems; and we, don't think that's cool. Neither would you.
-----------------------------
The next day, it looks like your pool saw a ghost, it will be white and pasty looking. This is when we get to bring our cool spray rig out thanks Plaster Logic for your insights, and helping the plaster industry. -- We use their product to remove all the white gunk. There's more to it, but we call that our proprietary method of application. It is a fancy word for it's not diy and you'll have to pay for that part!
------------------------------
After that? You fill your pool up and go swimming. What? No 28 days like the two other guys said? No. Just go swimming. - But what about dust? - We don't create any? No Flipping way?!?! Serious. Did you see the pool we plastered in October? Literally, from plaster application to filled with water and the pool robot was in the pool. That's how we do it. That's why we cost more. That's why we only use CL Industries products.
-------------------------------
Did I just turn that into a bait? So, why does your pool look like below? Well, they finished plastering and then decided to dump acid over it the second the plaster was done. Like, Muriatic acid. like battery acid pH 1.0 like burn baby burn. Your plaster got weak. Additionally, there are metal stains, trowel marks too. (look hard at the top step face) You'll see the guy with the tool made an impression. It was probably a rush job. That is why the tiles are falling off. "getting it done is better than getting it done right." - Ain't nobody got time for that. -- That's not our way of doing things.
----------------------------

01/17/2025

Why do we require an inspection before taking on a swimming pool? Insurance.

Imagine what happens if someone is harmed in a swimming pool and we miss the problem? Who get's blamed?

We'll save the hard part --- See the Electrical surge strip? The one sitting on the top of this pool filter? Next to the drain for the water fountain? Under the port for the pressure relief? Not in the photo, the absence of the GFCI.

How do accidents at commercial facilities happen? Quite easily. I get it, other folks cost less and they make claims....

The reality is this situation could hurt someone.

01/15/2025

Hey, does this sound familiar?

1) We purchased our pool over a year ago, and we are STILL waiting for the builder to complete it.

2) The pool is done, but we have so many problems, we still cannot enjoy it!

3) It takes the first 4 weeks of the pool season to get my pool clear enough to swim?

4) I have no idea what I'm suppose to do with chemicals, they just tell me buy, buy, and buy.

Did I read your brain? These are common problems I run into within Green Bay, mostly, Allouez, and Bellevue and a hint of De Pere. Pure chaos. If it's not a builder cutting a power line with an excavator, it's 8 months to get plaster. Why does this happen?

You cannot build a concrete swimming pool "good AND cheap." What you can get is a cookie cutter pool at a low price, lock yourself into YOUR expectations and get stuck with it.

My job is to help people go from a pile of trash, into a pool that they can use. Often involving re-engineering, structural repairs, plumbing, or other projects that are often advertised "low price" by others, only to fail after the first year.

Swimming pool engineering, design, and construction has come a long way in the past 60 years. So much so, back when pools were first being built, we were landing people on the moon.

Our pools work. Yes, they are expensive too. A well built concrete pool though, is much nicer looking than a fiberglass pool. You can have fun with shape, plaster, and color. All of this sales propaganda out there though; it sucks.

Concrete pools can last a VERY long time. IF they follow standards. Properly applied concrete can last 50+ years or 100! The problem is short-cuts taken during the build process.

Then the fiber-glass world came in with their 5 day drop in pools. These pools can be tossed into the ground, check collected, and the builder on their way well before any problems show up. When they do, those builders run like professional marathoners!

The reality is pools are luxury items. They require work and when you do the work right, you'll see the pay off. Properly balanced water isn't easy.

I work with my clients to help them achieve those skills with close monitoring. It's about relationship vs. product. We base our solutions on proven fact, science, and transparency along with construction standards. We know that these standards work. We know that they have been tested, and lastly: proven.

Everyone online claims they take the guess-work out of pools. Reality? Proven results require following standards FOR YOUR SITUATION. If you apply a result that worked for one pool to another, you may never have success.

Now is the time to start your exploration if you want to do something with your pool. This might be Green Bay, WI but we are removing pools already in January! When it comes to plaster and tiles; there is a set temperature range for installation that offers success. Our window for this type of work is limited and when folks call in June - 100% of the time, you'll be told "next year."

Swim Safe. I know this family is!

01/15/2025

Here is an example of when auto-cover bearing wear hits the extremes! This bearing is GONE. When covers start veering off and cannot be correctly adjusted, this is what needs to be examined.
------------
In Green Bay, I see this all the time. "Oh, the last guys were here and tried 3x, 4x, times and it's still not working." -- It takes a few moments (especially with on deck tracks) seconds to take this part out and examine it. I carry these around on our summer route just for this very reason.
-------------
Keeping parts maintained correctly reduces trouble. With deck mounted auto-covers, it's very easy for debris, leaves, and dirt to get into them.