There are production pool builders. There are custom pool builders. And then there’s Cory Lenahan.
Lenahan owns and operates Triune Pools, a Cerritos, Calif.-based builder of residential swimming pools for the last 10 years. Not just any backyard pools, either. “About half the number of my contracts last year were worth more than my house and one of them was double what my house is worth,” says Lenahan.
Success in the world of luxe pool construction relies on word of mouth. Maintaining your place on the short list of a select number of elite general contractors, pool consultants, and owner’s representatives at bid time means top-notch execution of challenging pool designs.
What is Triune Pools’ secret? How are they sustaining a steady pace of 10 to 12 high-end projects a year? Lenahan recently shared his seven keys to pool building success:
- Work with the best of the best. Triune Pools serves as the pool project’s GC, meaning they hire subcontractors to get the job done. “I want to build great pools. So I try to find the best electrician or the best plumber. I want to be the best,” Lenahan says.
- Hire the owner. “Every sub I hire is the owner of the company doing the work. The owner of the excavating company is on the tractor. The owner of the rebar company is tying rebar. I want the best individual at each trade. On the projects we’re fortunate to work on, cross-training doesn’t translate. We want top talent at each position,” explains Lenahan.
- Always say yes. Lenahan likes billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson’s philosophy to business opportunity: Just say yes and figure how to do it later. “Our biggest client started us out on something small before they said, ‘Let’s see what you got. Here’s a big one,’” Lenahan recalls.
- Details. Details. Details. The Triune Pools website now features glamour photos of his projects. That will change soon. “Eventually we’ll post pictures of what I consider the most important thing, which are the construction details,” Lenahan observes. “We’re as much about process as we are the destination. It’s too easy to lose sight of the details if you’re only focused on delivery.”
- Aim high. Lenahan vividly remembers his breakthrough project. It was “four times the contract size of my next biggest project at the time. It caused more than a few sleepless nights. I learned a lot. It gave me confidence. I am proud how our team came together.”
- Be skeptical. Lenahan maintains a healthy doubt about the latest pool building materials and technologies. “The tile subcontractor I use, for example, played around with MiraFlex Membrane C about four or five years before we specified for a project. It’s a two-component cementitious membrane that’s highly flexible and waterproof. We use it a lot now.”
- Specify Miracote. Lenahan is forthright why he trusts Miracote with his reputation: “They know their product and they’re willing to come help. They understand concrete. They understand waterproofing. I hope they’re around for a long time.”
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