Paragon Pools and Design

The only thing that is true about this compliant is that Paragon signed a contract on July 4, 2017, a signed change order in July 2018, and that work commenced in late Aug 2017(due to a delay caused by the homeowner financing arrangements). The original agreement did not cover the full cost of all the items that the home owner wanted installed: i.e., raised wall, 3 water falls, slide, and rock facia. Paragon Pools refused to preform any additional work on the project until the Change Order was signed, which was required by the original agreement. Work continued throughout the Winter and experienced several weather and scheduling delays that are typical with construction during this time of the year. A change order was submitted April 2018, and was signed Jul 2018, and work commenced immediately. The slide was a special order, and it was delivered in Aug 2018, and Paragon’s portion of the installation was completed within several weeks afterwards. The decking, landscaping, and fence (required by law/ordinance) was not part of any contract. Also, Paragon had no agreements with any of the homeowner’s neighbors that would affect their property in any way. After the concrete decking was completed by the homeowner in early October, Paragon Pools scheduled the Plaster for Oct 4, 2019. However, that date was conditional on the homeowner installing a 6-foot high fence around the area where the pool is located. Since the fence was not installed, Paragon cancelled the plaster installation, and the homeowner refused to provide a date in the future for the fence installation. About Nov 20, 2019, the homeowner informed Paragon that they wanted the pool plastered and they agreed to install the fence before the plaster inspection by the City of Orem. However, since the weather was freezing, Paragon installed a wood and plastic canopy over the pool area (at a high cost to Paragon), and then proceeded to heat the area for plaster installation preparation. The pool was plastered and filled with water by the end of November. At that point, the pool was completed as per the terms of the Agreement.After the pool was completed, Paragon installed a temporary fence around the swimming pool at no expense to the homeowner, and then we removed the protective wood/plastic canopy that was covering the pool. We showed up on Christmas Day and New Years Day to assist in opening the pool cover (which had been partially frozen) to allow their family to use the spa. All the major items listed in the Agreement have been completed (vault, wall, raised wall, etc.). Some minor items have been left to be installed when the weather warms up.”

Attached is both the Original Agreement (dated 7/4/2017) and the Change Order (dated 7/23/2018, but was not signed until the 1st week of August, 2018). These are complex issues that might only be decided in a court of law. The following is my best effort to explain what happened.Key to Understanding the Delay of Work. The most important and significant issue that caused the delay of work was that the Customer initially refused to sign a Change Order for the additional work, and Paragon refused to do the work at no-charge. Key to Understanding Completion of Job. The work is deemed complete as defined in the agreement, not by the customer. Although the State of Utah does not define the completion of a swimming pool, but the State of California has defined it as when the plaster is installed. The agreement that the Customer signed defines the swimming pool complete after the plaster is installed. On page 2 of Addendum A (Construction and Schedule) of the original Agreement, the Customer agreed to the following: "Construction shall be deemed complete when the pool is plastered, and if applicable, (not withstanding) the fact that buyer has not connected water, electricity or fuel or that repairs or warranty work may be outstanding.” These clauses are in most swimming pool agreement in Utah to avoid any misunderstanding when a job is complete.Scheduled Completion Date. Customer is claiming that Oct 31, 2017 was the completion date. The Agreement (see attachment) does not state a completion date. It does, however, list certain “Est. Due Date[s]”, but each of these estimated due dates are dependent upon certain conditions listed Addendum A, and Customer’s initials are placed at the end of each condition signifying that she understands each of these conditions. The only portion of the Customer’s backyard that Paragon was responsible for was the swimming pool and equipment area. The completion of the pool was caused by other issues other than the Change Order and additional work that was the responsibility of the Customer.Complaint: “hole in our backyard.” The job was at the “Gunite/Shotcrete” stage when the work was delayed. This means that the concrete pool shell had been installed, and the swimming pool was 60% complete. The 18” raised wall (included in the OPTIONAL “Additional Swimming Pool/Spa Features) had been partially installed; and to complete this wall, Paragon needed a Change Order to include this important change with the original agreement. The job site was NOT a “hole” in their backyard. It was not dirt, but it was a concrete structure and it was equivalent to the money that had been paid thus far.Delay of Work. Paragon admits that there were several delays from October 2017 to Mar 2018 that were caused by weather (winter in Utah) and scheduling conflicts with other jobs. After March, the main delays were caused by (1) late delivery of a custom built slide, (2) the Customer’s refusal to sign the Change Order (see attachment), and (3) work that was being completed around the pool that were not the contractual responsibility of Paragon.Tile & Rock Facia on Raised Area. The waterline and step tile was installed correctly. The step tile was shipped short by several feet from the manufacturer, but this was not the cause of any delay. The rock facia was a mistake by the manufacturer of the facia rock, and Paragon offered to replace the entire wall with the correct rock facia material. Customer offered to allow Paragon to paint/stain the rock facia. Although the sample sections (painted/stained) were approved by Customer, she did not like the completed wall. Paragon redid the work 2 additional times before Customer approved the work. At no time did any of these corrections delay the completion of the pool.Non-Payment for “Additional Swimming Pool/Spa Features.” The original agreement included a “$25,000 (of contract price) toward options listed below.” This amount was included in the total contract price of $$154,800, but was ONLY considered a DEPOSIT for FUTURE options that were listed on page 2 of Addendum C. In March of 2018, the Customer wanted these additional items to be installed at no additional charge. Their reason for this request was based on the delay of construction from Oct 2017 to Mar 2018. Paragon agreed to reduce the price of these options (or build them at cost), but we would not perform the work at no charge to the Customer. Furthermore, the Agreement (Page 3 of Addendum B) specifically states: “This contract contains the entire agreement between the parties and may not be altered except in writing, signed by a duly authorized representative of Paragon Pools.” Therefore, Paragon Pools proposed that the Customer sign a Change Order that would allow the “Additional Swimming Pool/Spa Features” to be completed and paid for. Change Order Proposal. The Change Order proposal was given to the Customer in March (verbally); and when the Customer's refused to make a firm commitment for payment, it was delivered in writing at the end of April 2017. Initially, the Customer’s accepted the proposed discounts, but they would still not sign a Change Order. Paragon’s problem with their not signing of the Change Order was that we were concerned about not getting paid for the additional work. According to the Agreement that both parties had signed, it would be difficult for Paragon to get paid for the additional work without a signed Change Order. Work Stoppage. Paragon essentially stopped work on the Customer's job in May 2018 until the change order that covered the additional work was signed. The Change Order was signed by the Customer on or about the 1st week of August 2018, and Paragon recommenced work on their project at that time.Delay of Custom Slide Installation. The Customer's job required a custom slide. Although the slide manufacturer had delayed the delivery of the slide from June 2018 to Aug 2018, Paragon would have not installed the slide until the Change Order (that covered the slide) was signed. After the slide was delivered at the job site, Paragon immediately assembled the slide and fitted the exit section of the slide to the raised wall of the swimming pool. It would have been impossible to plaster the pool until the slide exit section was installed or integrated into the raised wall portion. Also, the Customer wanted the rocks surrounding the slide to be done is such a way that Paragon had not done before, and she then contracted with Big Rock Landscape to do this portion. Therefore, it was decided that Paragon would set the Exit Section and then Big Rock would set the remainder of the slide and connect it to the Exit Section. Delay of Concrete Decking Around Pool. This delay was caused by the Customer. The concrete decking was not included in the agreement, and Paragon could not complete the pre-grade until the decking contractor was engaged by the Customer.Delay of 6-ft High Fence Around the Pool Area. The installation of a 6-ft high fence around the pool area is an absolute requirement by the City, and was NOT INCLUDED in the original agreement. Originally, the plaster was schedule for installation before the middle of September 2018. Because of delay in decking and fence, the plaster installation was rescheduled to the 1st week of October 2018. On October 8th, the plaster was cancelled because the Customer refused to install a fence around the pool, which was required by the City.Plaster: Pool is Complete. On page 2 of Addendum A (Construction and Schedule) of the original Agreement, the Customer agreed to the following: Construction shall be deemed complete when the pool is plastered, and if applicable, (not withstanding) the fact that buyer has not connected water, electricity or fuel or that repairs or warranty work may be outstanding. Summary. This is a complex situation, and there are mistakes on both sides of the issue. The responses in this email are the best attempt to explain Paragon’s side of the story. I am not saying that the Customer is a bad person, nor am I saying that Paragon did everything perfect. What I am stating is that Paragon made every attempt to perform on the original agreement. The swimming pool is complete as per the agreement. There are some issues that we consider warranty items, and items that we would like to modify or add to in order to make the job better. But Paragon refuses to do any additional work for this Customer until they honor their agreement to non-disparagement.Next Steps. We would encourage the Customer to adhere to the signed Change Order by not disparaging Paragon at any time or in the future. If they do this, then Paragon will return to the job for warranty, modifying, or adding to the existing and installed items related to the swimming pool. We are not asking for an apology, nor are we asking for any additional payment. But, we are insisting that they comply with the non-disparagement section of the Change Order. This is a reasonable request and a simple solution to this dispute.Please let me know if you need additional information. And thank you for your extraordinary patience!