What happens after you say yes
A pool is a big cheque to write to a business you found last week. So here is the whole process, week by week, with who does what at every step. This is the whole process as it usually runs.
The timeline
The factory sets the lead time. Heading into summer it is about eight weeks from deposit to shell on site, and in the off season it comes down to around six. We tell you the factory’s current number before you pay a deposit, so the date on this timeline is a real one.
- Day 0
You say yes
You pick the model, size and colour from the quote pack. A $5,000 deposit books your pool and your slot at the factory, paid by card from your quote page. You get a receipt and this timeline with your dates filled in.
- Week 1
Engineering pack and certificate
We issue the engineered drawings, the standard installation details and the compliance certificate your state needs: Certificate of Compliance in NSW, Form 15 in QLD, Reg 126 in VIC. This is what your certifier or council asks for.
- Weeks 1 to 3
Approval
You or your certifier lodge the pool approval, a complying development certificate for most backyards or a development application where the block needs one. We answer the certifier’s questions about the shell and the engineering.
- Weeks 1 to 8
The factory builds your shell
Your pool is moulded to order in Australia in your colour. We check in with the factory each week and tell you the moment a date moves.
- Three weeks out
Delivery date confirmed
We confirm the delivery day before the balance is due and talk through access: where the truck stands, whether it needs a crane, what has to be clear.
- Two weeks out
Balance due
The balance is due in cleared funds 14 days before delivery, by bank transfer.
- Delivery day
Shell and equipment on site
The truck arrives and the shell goes in. On plenty of jobs it is set straight down on the driveway or in the yard, and where the access will not allow that, a crane lifts it over. The equipment package comes off with it. Your installer sets and levels it the same day, with the engineering pack in hand and us on the phone.
- The week after
Plumb, backfill, fence, fill
Pipework to the equipment pad, backwash line to the gully, backfill in lifts as the water goes in, barrier up, sparky connects the pad. Your certifier does the final inspection and the pool is registered.
- Swim day
Water balanced, gear running
The handover kit has the test kit, starter chemicals, brush, rake and hose. We are on the phone to walk you through the chlorinator and the filter.
How the pool goes in, stage by stage
This is the part your builder or trades do. Every kit comes with the engineered installation details for your shell, so the numbers they work to are on paper, not in someone’s head. Here is what happens, and who does it.
- Before the dig
Set-out and checks
The pool is pegged out on the ground against the approved plan and the setbacks. Underground services are located through Before You Dig Australia, and the soil and water table are checked, because they decide the base and the backfill. Who: your builder or installer.
- Day 1 to 2
Excavation
The hole is dug to the shell’s shape, a little wider and longer than the pool for working room, and slightly deeper than the finished floor to leave room for the base. Spoil is trucked away or kept for landscaping. Rock, clay and tight access are what stretch this stage. Who: an excavator operator.
- Day 2
The base
A bed of crusher dust or fine crushed rock is spread, compacted and screeded dead level, with the slight fall the drawings call for. It is the most important line on the job: a true base means a true pool. Who: your builder or installer.
- Delivery day
The lift and the set
The truck arrives and the shell is lifted off with a spreader bar, onto the driveway, straight into the yard, or over the house where the access needs it, and lowered onto the base. It is checked for level along the coping in both directions and adjusted until it sits true. Who: crane operator and installer. We confirm truck and crane access with you before the day.
- Same week
Plumbing connections
The skimmer box, the return jets and the hydrostatic valve are built into the shell. A licensed plumber runs the suction and return lines to the equipment pad, fits the pump, filter and chlorinator, and runs the backwash line to a sewer gully, never to stormwater. Who: licensed plumber.
- Same week
Backfill and water together
Water goes into the pool and backfill goes around it at the same time, rising together in stages so the walls are always pushed equally from both sides. The backfill material is what the engineering specifies for your ground. A temporary compliant fence goes up as soon as the pool holds water. Who: your builder or installer.
- Week 2
Bond beam and coping
A steel-reinforced concrete beam is poured around the top of the shell. It locks the pool into the ground so it cannot move or lift. Once the concrete has cured, about a week, the coping and paving go on. Who: your builder, concreter and paver.
- Week 2 to 3
Power, barrier and inspection
A licensed electrician runs a dedicated circuit to the equipment pad and connects the light. The permanent pool barrier goes up to the Australian Standard, the certifier inspects it, and the pool is registered on your state’s pool register. Who: licensed electrician, fencer, certifier.
- Swim day
Commissioning
The equipment is started, the salt goes in, and the water is balanced with the test kit from the handover kit. We talk you through the chlorinator and filter settings on the phone. Who: you, with us on the line.
What happens after you pay
This is the part people worry about when they are sending money to a business they found online, so here it is plainly.
| The deposit | $5,000 books your pool and your slot at the factory, and comes off your total. You pay it by card from your quote page, and you get a receipt and your dates in writing. |
| If council or your certifier says no | Tell us before we place your order with the factory and your deposit is refunded, less any costs already incurred. Once your shell is ordered it is made for you, and the deposit covers the costs of that order. |
| If you change the model or colour | Before production starts, a change is easy. Once it is in the mould, a change is a new order. After production starts, the shell is already yours. |
| The balance | Due 14 days before delivery, in cleared funds, by bank transfer. We confirm the delivery date before the balance is due, so you are never paying against a date that does not exist. |
| If the factory date moves | We tell you the moment we know. Your balance date moves with it. Lead time is about eight weeks heading into summer, and three to six weeks off season. |
| If your site is not ready | Talk to us early. A shell can usually be held at the factory rather than delivered to a yard with no hole in it. |
| On delivery day | Someone needs to be on site to take the pool, and access needs to be clear for the truck and the crane. |
| After the water is in | You get the warranty documents, the equipment manuals and a handover walk-through of how to run it. Ring us any time after that. |
The full terms of supply are here, in plain words rather than fine print.
Who does what
| Hull Pools, every job | Shell, equipment package, engineering pack, state compliance certificate, freight, delivery day coordination, crane booking advice, answers to your certifier, the phone call whenever you need one. |
| Hull Pools, install jobs | In NSW and Queensland, on sites that suit, a licensed install can be arranged, priced for your site after we have seen it. Most customers use their own builder. |
| You, every job | Council or certifier approval, the safety barrier, the electrician, the final inspection and pool registration. We tell you when each one is due. |
| You or your builder | Excavation, crane hire, the base, setting the shell, plumbing, backfill, bond beam and coping, with your own trades. The stages above, and the engineered details in the kit, lay it out. |
The paperwork you get
- A written quote, one delivered number, valid 30 days.
- A deposit receipt and this timeline with your dates.
- The engineered shell drawings and standard installation details, stamped by the engineer.
- The compliance certificate for your state.
- A tax invoice for the balance, and the delivery confirmation with the access plan.
- Warranty documents: 25-year structural on the shell, the makers' warranties on every piece of equipment.
Want your dates on this page?
Tell us the model and your suburb. One delivered number, then this timeline with your weeks filled in.
See my priceOr call Will on 0415 140 001