The Staton family dreamed of swimming this summer.
Instead, they have a leaning, leaking pool, at their Grant County, Kentucky home during the hottest weeks of the year. And what happened to them should be a lesson to anyone hiring a contractor.
Pool leans and leaks
James Staton says the pool wall is buckling.
"This post is not really supporting anything," he said, pointing too a leaning steel post. "It's buckled under probably 2, 3 inches under the bottom track."
Worse, he says, the support beams are now lifting off the concrete bases on the pool's backside. He says it has been getting worse every day, as the weight of the water pushes on the pool walls.
"It has tore one of the support posts off the bottom plate completely. Another one is getting ready to tear loose."
The Statons say they purchased the pool -- still in the box, and never used -- from another family.
They then hired a local pool contractor, who they found on Facebook, to build it. But that's where things started to go south.
It soon started leaning and leaking. "We have lost probably about 25 thousand gallons. All out in the yard," Staton said.
They say the contractor's attempted repair didn't fix things at all.
Finally, they say, the contractor simply stopped showing up at the house, leaving everyone, including several young children, with no pool to enjoy the rest of the summer.
Kids swelter
Mom Demi Kender said "we have been telling our kids you can go swimming today....no, you can go swimming tomorrow.... and every day it's a new story."
So 9 On Your Side called the contractor, who did not want to so an interview on camera, but promised to come back again and try to make things right.
But don't let this happen to you:
- Beware buying a second hand pool, even if it was never actually used. You have no warranty support.
- Check out the installer with the Better Business Bureau (this one had no BBB record, as he was a handyman who worked off Facebook)
- Talk to another family who hired him: were they happy with his work?
Demi Kender wishes she had checked him out, saying she doesn't even want her kids in the back yard now.
"I am scared standing here right now," she said.
Since the contractor promised us he will return to the Stanton's house and try to repair the pool, we have decided at this point not to name him on air. But we will follow up if nothing is resolved.
And keep this in mind if you are hiring an inexpensive handyman to do a major project at your home, so you don't waste your money.
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