Will a pool fit in my backyard?

Every pool is sold as a complete kit: the shell, the Essentials equipment package, the engineering pack and freight. See what is in the kit.

It is the first question everyone asks, and the honest answer is that you can work most of it out yourself in about five minutes. The planner above puts a real pool shell, drawn to true scale from our own plans, onto an aerial photo of your actual block. What follows is how to read what you are looking at.

Start with the two numbers that decide everything

Almost every pool that does not go ahead fails on one of two measurements, and neither of them is the size of your yard.

Side access. Measure the narrowest point between your house and the boundary fence, at ground level, including the eave overhang and any downpipes, meter boxes or air-conditioning units. If you have more than about 900 mm clear, a machine can usually walk the shell down the side and set it in. Under that and it goes over the house on a crane, which is a real cost rather than a deal breaker. Budget roughly $1,800 to $3,200 for the crane day plus float.

Setbacks. Councils generally want the water’s edge set back from the boundary, and your barrier has to sit somewhere too. As a rough working rule, leave at least a metre between the pool and the fence, and more if you want to walk around that side. Your certifier will give you the exact figure for your block, but if the planner shows the pool touching your fence line, the real one will not fit either.

How much room does a pool actually need?

Less than most people assume. A seven metre shell is about 7.2 by 3.5 metres of water. Add coping and a walkway and you are looking for roughly 10 by 6 metres of usable yard, which is a very ordinary suburban backyard.

Width matters more than length on a tight block. Our narrower shells run 3.0 to 3.5 metres wide, which is often what gets a pool into a yard where a wider shape simply cannot go.

Do not forget the surrounds

The pool is only part of the footprint. Whatever you put around it, concrete, stone paving, timber decking or turf right to the coping, takes up space and costs money. Set the surround width in the planner and it shows you the area in square metres as you go.

That number matters. Paving and decking is the line with the most movement in a pool budget, and the difference between a one metre path and a two metre entertaining area on a seven metre pool is roughly thirty-five square metres of finished surface. It is worth deciding early rather than discovering it at quote stage. Our cost guide breaks the rates down with sources.

Check the things the photo will not tell you

• What is under the ground. Sandstone is common through much of Sydney and the Illawarra, and rock excavation runs several times the cost of ordinary digging. Neighbours who have put in a pool or a basement are the cheapest survey you will ever get.
• Services. Sewer and stormwater lines, and the sewer main in particular, can move a pool by metres. A dial-before-you-dig plan is free.
• Trees. Established trees may be protected by your council, and roots inside the excavation zone are a real constraint.
• Overhead power. If the lift comes off the street, clearance rules can add a traffic management plan to the job.
• The sun. Look at where the shade falls in the aerial. A pool in permanent shade is a cold pool, no matter what size it is.

Is the planner accurate?

The shells are drawn to true scale from our own plan drawings, and the imagery is government aerial photography, so the proportions are right. Two honest caveats. Aerial imagery can be a year or two old, so recent building work may not show. And it is a planning tool, not a survey: it will tell you whether a pool is worth pursuing and roughly where it should sit, but the final position comes off a real site measure.

A good sanity check is to find a neighbour with a pool and compare. If theirs looks about the size the planner draws, you are reading it correctly.

What happens next

When you have something that works, send it through. The address and the exact spot you placed the pool come with it, so we can price the shell delivered to your door rather than quote you a range. If the access looks difficult from the aerial we will say so before you spend anything. We supply and deliver across NSW, QLD and VIC, with a focus on Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast, Wollongong, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Common questions

How much side access do you need to install a fibreglass pool?

About 900 mm of clear width at the narrowest point lets a machine walk the shell down the side. Less than that and the pool is craned over the house, which typically costs $1,800 to $3,200 for the crane day plus float.

How far from the boundary does a pool have to be?

As a working rule leave at least a metre between the water’s edge and the fence, and more if you want to walk that side. Your certifier confirms the exact setback for your block and council.

How accurate is the yard planner?

The shells are drawn to true scale from our own plan drawings and the imagery is government aerial photography, so proportions are accurate. Aerial imagery can be a year or two old, and it is a planning tool rather than a survey, so the final position comes off a real site measure.