Origin Building Group

Manuel Verdia and the Origin Building Group came referred to us by a good friend so we were happy about starting a project with someone who was referred. However things turned sour through the process… At the beginning he was helpful and responsive but once we started everything went downhill very quickly. 1) Manuel showed up when signing the contract and we never saw him again 9 months later when he had to come and fix stuff 2) From a professional stand point he did not make things easy for us to move the project along quickly, as he said it will take 90 days, but it took 9 months. 3) Copping defects thought-out which he had to come and re-do 4) Multiple stones inside the plumbing that prevent the jacuzzi from working properly and he failed to clean prior turning the pool officially to us 5) Lack of interest helping us set up the equipment pump and such 6) Failed to properly explain us how to operate the pool equipment and expected us to actually do all the remainder connections ourselves to the point we had to rely in the cleaning company to explain correctly 7) Stalled for MONTHS which prevented us from finishing the pool deck and landscape around… 8) Manuel Verdia failed to keep his cool when speaking to my wife and I, to the point of screaming at us and basically suggesting I tell my wife not to speak.... communication can be as arrogant as you can imagine. The list can go on and on…. Long story short we consulted with an attorney our ways to transition to an other GC and in the long run it was best to eat the bullet and continue with him as a change of contractor would cost us way more money than what we owed him, not to mention attorneys fees. I gave lot of thought to the number of starts I would give and my qualification is based on his overall professional performance as a manager and costumer service…. In the long run we got a pool and that’s what matters. Would I recommend the origin building group again to someone who’s looking for a pool? You must be very careful as I hear horror stories as this and any other GC job is like a marriage you better read that contract over and over and make sure you understand it correctly, and a piece of advise to you reading this, make sure you hold some type of payment at the end until the JOB IS DONE.

I had a very bad experience with this company. Initially, Manuel and the company maintained normal communication up until the moment we signed the contract. After that, everything turned into a headache. Communication became poor and difficult, and the permits were held up without any effort from them to expedite the process (it took almost two years to finish the pool). At one point, after more than 15 months, they asked for additional money, claiming that the soil tests suggested adding more material. Shouldn't this have been determined from the start? Am I supposed to be the pool expert who knows exactly what each pool requires? This resulted in a higher budget than the one agreed upon in the signed contract. By that time, they knew I had no other option but to pay more if I wanted the pool finished. It seems that they lack good communication with the workers. They appear to subcontract the pool stages, and as a client, you end up dealing with each team individually because neither Manuel nor the company provides clear instructions. They also requested surveys that weren’t necessary or required by the city, further inflating the total project cost. The 1,000 square foot paver deck next to the pool was installed with a layout I didn’t approve, which forced them to remove everything and start over, extending the completion time even more. The concrete stairs were built crooked and had to be fixed. As you can see, every step of the project was a nightmare. Finally, while not as important but still reflective of their professionalism, the pool lights need to be turned on manually each day. They didn’t even suggest an automatic lighting system that I could have paid extra for—I only learned about this once everything was already installed. If you want to end up spending way more than the initial budget/contract, micromanaging every team that comes to work on your pool, and dealing with a poorly installed deck, this is the company for you. Otherwise, I strongly advise looking for other alternatives