“I have worked with Rich close to 15 years, first while he was a pool construction manager, then when he owned his own pool building business and most recently as a swimming pool consultant. In each of these capacities he has always proven to be extremely knowledgeable, trustworthy and reliable. Rich has been instrumental in helping our group navigate through some major pool work needed at our facilities. In fact, on one pool renovation project his expert assessment, negotiation skills and project management resulted in a savings of over $19,000 off the bid price we had from another pool contractor for the same work. This savings even included his construction management fees!

Rich's advice continues to be invaluable for our operations, and I would not do any future pool projects without his assistance and guidance. I strongly recommend Rich's services for anyone managing or building a swimming facility.”

Dave Max

Owner, Max Realty

(410) 654-1535

“As a commercial facility, we have greatly benefited from our partnership with Rich as we work through the many challenges that are involved in running multiple pools. Rich has provided advice and guidance on decisions related to everything from repairs to lifeguarding. His wealth of knowledge from vast experience in various aspects of pool management and construction are evident in every conversation, and this has resulted in measurable savings for our facility. As long as we are in the pool business, I don't foresee a scenario in which we won't continue to rely on Rich.”

Rachel Feldman

Director of Business Development, Pearlstone Center

(410) 500-5368

"I first met Rich 10 years ago when he owned a swimming pool design and build company. From the start I was very impressed with his depth of knowledge and easy-going style and we hired his company to build our Olympic-size lap pool. Since then we have heavily relied on Rich’s expertise and guidance on many matters pertaining to our pools, and Rich has become a vital resource for us, even after he sold his pool company. We always try to do as much work in-house as possible to keep costs down. Rich has advised and assisted us on such repairs as tile, coping, concrete, caulking, filter plumbing and winterizing our pools etc. Even with doing the work ourselves the finished product has been very professional with the savings being very worth while thanks to Rich's help.

For example, not too long ago, in preparation for swim season, when we filled our recreation pool (which Rich had not built) we discovered that we had a major leak in the underground piping. We knew that finding and fixing the leak was way above our skill set, so we made some calls to pool repair companies. Of the ones that actually returned our call, the earliest any of them could come out was one week away. The leak repair company promised to locate the leak at a cost of $1,200, but this price did not include fixing it. Rather than just waiting for the leak repair company to come out and only locate the problem, we contacted Rich to help us try to find and fix the leak on our own. With Rich's expertise and under his guidance we were able to pin point the leak beneath the pool and repair it ourselves. The work was even completed prior to the leak repair contractor's start date (which we happily canceled)! We saved over $6,000 based on the estimates that we had for the work.

Likewise, this past spring when we filled our pools, we once again turned to Rich for guidance and assistance. After adding chlorine to our 150,000 gallon pool, it turned a strange tea-color. As it was the pool opening Memorial Day week, we thought our only option was to drain the pool, acid wash it, and truck in the water to refill it (this would have cost us over $3,000!). In a panic we called Rich hoping for another option. He recommended that we first try to add a metal removing agent to the water. The next day although the water had cleared, the white plaster walls and floor were still badly stained. We called Rich to let him know this and he said he wanted to try one last thing before we drained it. He came by and tossed a handful of vitamin C tablets into the pool. Almost instantly around the tablets the stains disappeared. He then did some calculations and had us order in bulk ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on line. It arrived Thursday the day before opening and we added the required dosage. To our amazement the stains quickly disappeared from the pool walls and floor. Rich's expertise once again helped us avert a pool-opening disaster as well as saving us lots of money and time.

We know that we can always count on Rich to come up with a solution to whatever our pool issues may be, or at a minimum point us in the right direction to get them resolved."

Gregg Newman

President, Four Seasons Sports Complex

(410) 239-3366

“I have been working with Rich Gruber for a little more than one year now. Rich has been contracted by our organization as an independent consultant to help us manage major repairs to our nine swimming pools at three of our facilities. Rich has proven to be extremely knowledgeable of all aspects of pool construction, maintenance, and water chemistry. He has been a valuable member of our team helping to insure efficient and practical design standards in addition to managing the work when it is performed. He is involved in our projects from: Identification of needs, multi-year budgeting and prioritization, specifications for the work, bid procurement, and full oversight of the project construction. I am happy to recommend Rich as a top notch swimming pool consultant, in addition to being an all around team player.“

 Ben Gershowitz

 Vice President of Facilities, The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore

(410) 369-9287

“We engaged the services of Rich in 2016 for managing our contract with our pool management and maintenance vendor. Rich also provided construction management services. In all of my interactions with Rich, I always felt that he had our best interests at the forefront. He approached every issue that arose thoughtfully and comprehensively. He was always professional and always responsive (even on very short notice!). It was a pleasure working with Rich, and I would be very pleased to do so again in the future.”

Abby Weinstock

Operations Director , Pearlstone Center

(410) 500-5417