Owners claiming their pool is defective are seeking between $200,000 and $1 million in damages in a lawsuit against a PSN Top Builder.
A complaint accuses Houston, Texas-based Pinnacle Pools, which does business as Platinum Pools, of breaching contract, failing to honor implied warranties, misrepresentation and deceptive trade practices.
In court filings, Platinum Pools has denied all claims.
According to the complaint, filed November in Harris County Court, a Houston couple is demanding that the builder reimburse them for, among other expenses, the removal of a pool, spa and deck, which the firm installed in 2007 and the homeowners claim was structurally deficient.
Trouble began when cracks formed along the wall and steps and the vessel began losing “abnormal amounts of water,” according to a court document. Deficient drainage and defective deck design caused the leaking water to pool on the driveway, and pool and spa tiles began falling off, said the couple, who also claimed the decking began to crack and deteriorate.
Platinum attempted to fix visible defects, however, “as one problem was apparently resolved, months later, another similar issue could crop up,” the complaint says. Due to ongoing issues, there were large spans of time when the pool and backyard were unusable, the plaintiffs said.
The complaint says the homeowners became taxed and consumed with having to repeatedly accommodate Platinum’s workers. During this time, they incurred expenses from repairs, large water bills and having to board the dogs during times of construction, they said.
The homeowners said they hired a structural engineer who suggested re-leveling the pool with foam injection, installing a moisture guard around the perimeter and/or stabilizing the soil with chemicals. Platinum agreed to make some of the changes, the complaint said.
Platinum eventually removed much of the plaster, revealing defects in the shell that the plaintiffs called “extensive, latent and widespread,” including voids and visibly rusted and exposed rebar, the homeowners said.
As the homeowners tell it, the firm’s solution was to reshoot sections of the pool. But that didn’t sit well with the plaintiffs. “Having Platinum perform yet another piecemeal, patch-work fix was unacceptable ...” the complaint stated.
In May of last year, the homeowners were informed by a third party that the only solution was to completely remove the structure and rebuild, they said. Platinum refused, they added, so the owners paid another contractor to demolish and backfill the hole.
The plaintiffs argue that Platinum was in breach of its warranty, which they said implied the pool would remain structurally sound throughout the period of ownership. Platinum’s rebuttal, filed on Dec. 16, is a general denial of all allegations.
The builder’s attorney did not return a request for comment.
Platinum has consistently ranked among PSN’s Top 50 Builders for several years running. Last year, it did more than $24.6 million in residential construction and performed 379 excavations. It has three locations serving the greater Houston area.
The company has generally favorable reviews on the rating website Yelp! and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
