Across the globe, pool builders have experienced a myriad of challenges, as detailed by Pool Magazine. As demands for new pools have skyrocketed, a growing shortage of necessary building materials and workers has grown as well. Because of each of these issues, pool prices are continuing to increase, also recently detailed in a different Pool Magazine article.

We’ve felt the growth at Nautilus Pools like never before, working hard to create new processes and procedures to accommodate the increase of interest but also knowing, realistically, we can only build so many pools, annually, without affecting the quality that is expected of a Nautilus Pools.

In parts of the country, construction timelines have gone up to 3 months or more, compared to previous time frames of 6 to 8 weeks. Many pool building companies have extensive backlogs of customers just waiting to get on a list for construction. The pool industry has grown by 24% since last year, according to the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance.

Being even more transparent about our pool timelines has been the number one priority for us to communicate to our current and potential customers. We always hope to build faster but there are many factors that add to a pool timeline that are unfortunately out of our control.

As COVID-19 has caused a serious strain on the manufacturing industry, Industrial Specialties Mfg. (ISM) predicts these problems are far from over, with a severe plastics shortage continuing to grow. The demand for plastic is booming, especially for products such as food packaging, personal protective equipment (PPE) and automobile components.

This disruption in consumer buying behavior is trickling down and affecting pool builders by impacting their supply inventory. Some pool builders have seen the cost of necessary parts and components double or even triple in cost.

Additionally, when winter storm Uri hit parts of the United States in February, chemical and plastic processing plants were forced to close, crippling production of many necessary pool building components. Specifically in Texas, the storm caused a halt in the production of 75% of polyethylene, 62% of polypropylene, and 57% of PVC in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal. Polyethylene is the most commonly used plastic in the world, and 85% of the United States’s supply is produced in Texas. Due to these challenges, most pool markets throughout the country are predicting a 15 to 25% increase in new in-ground swimming pool costs compared to last year.

All this is combined with the challenges of a shortage of qualified skilled tradesmen. We pride ourselves on the craftsmanship of our pools and are working to grow our team while still maintaining a high quality of expertise.

Unfortunately, each of these situations has caused many Florida families a great deal of frustration. At Nautilus Pools, we never want our customers to feel this way, and are working diligently every day to provide new pools for families to love for years to come. We’ll continue to work to provide new pools to as many Florida families as we can, navigating these unusual times. We also hope that all our customers will continue to be kind and patient, as we’ve appreciated so much in the last year. We know having to wait an even longer period of time to dive in and create backyard memories with your families was not something you signed up for. We didn’t think we’d have to make you wait longer, either. But, we promise, it will be worth it. As we continue to navigate through these challenging times, we appreciate your patience and understanding.