Swimming pools designs : Family Values

Family Values

Downes Swimming Pool Company, Inc., family-owned for 42 years, works hard to cultivate a business that delivers outstanding customer service and a superior product. It succeeds on both accounts, as the number of awards it wins each year clearly attests.

The builder has been honored with 20 international design awards and more regional awards than any other pool builder in the Midwest. Meanwhile, its award-winning service division—offering a total pool maintenance and 24-hour emergency care—is second to none.

Indeed, the company’s success comes from making each client feel special and by addressing individual needs during the design and construction process. Downes builds magnificent custom gunite pools, spas, and water features (including koi ponds) that are designed for each client. This often leads to innovative solutions to unique problems, and inspirational solutions that boggle the imagination.

“We talk to our clients to discover what they want out of their pools,” says Mike Downes, vice president and general manager. “Then our staff goes to work and designs and builds an aquascape that makes us both proud.” Currently, Downes has about 85 experienced artisans and craftsmen working for the company.

A newly expanded showroom—with grand displays of building materials and exciting amenities, such as laminars, LED lighting, stone waterfalls, and fire features—makes it easy for homeowners to visualize the materials chosen for their one-of-a-kind poolscapes. Prospective pool buyers can touch and see materials in a real-life setting. The design team at Downes Swimming Pool Company specifies a Type III high density dolomitic limestone for the pool coping and deck paving from Valders Stone & Marble, Inc., and veneer stone and landscape materials from Eden Stone Company.  Downes specifies both for their beauty and long lasting durability for its customers.

In addition to designing and building its own pools, Downes consults on projects throughout the United States, as well as internationally in such places as Jamaica and Portugal. In fact, many of Downes’ new projects are completed for customers who previously had a pool built by the company, and several Midwestern clients have hired Downes to consult on pools for their second homes in warmer climates. For anyone with a tired pool in need of a facelift, Downes also excels at pool renovation.