Slope, trees and tight access
North Shore blocks are rarely simple. The land falls, the trees are tall and protected, many streets sit inside heritage conservation areas, and the only way into the backyard is often a narrow path down the side of the house. Those are the conditions we plan for on every pool we build here.
In Mosman we built a fully tiled pool around protected trees and heritage sandstone. In Willoughby we delivered a pool, an outdoor bathroom and a converted pool house in one build on a tight access site. If your block has other pool builders hesitating, it is probably our kind of project.
North Shore pools, built
-
Heritage, handled
A fully tiled pool and a complete landscape woven around a heritage home, with protected trees, the original sandstone kept and an engineered gate that runs on rails. See the Mosman pool and landscape →
-
A whole backyard in one build
A concrete pool, a new outdoor bathroom and a brick shed converted into a gym and office, all delivered together on a tight access site. See the Willoughby pool and outdoor rooms →
-
Sequenced with a new home
Excavation and shell in before the house went up, while machinery could still reach the backyard, then finished as the home was completed. See the Pennant Hills pool →
Family pools and plunge pools
Fully tiled interiors, stone copings, wet edges and a landscape designed with the pool rather than after it. We engineer for the site, design the levels and the garden as one, and quote the whole finished result rather than a shell price.
On a smaller or steeper block, a plunge pool is often the better answer. It leaves room for a garden and a terrace, and it is built in concrete to the same standard as a full size pool.
A quality concrete pool starts from around $100,000, and premium finishes take budgets beyond that. Every project is priced on its own merits.
What your block will ask of us
Conditions change from the harbour to the upper North Shore. Here is what we plan for before we price.
-
Mosman
Steep harbourside blocks, sandstone close to the surface and heritage conservation controls on many streets. Expect rock excavation and engineered retaining rather than a simple dig, and an approval that looks hard at trees and at anything visible from the street. Our Mosman pool was built under exactly those conditions. We also build homes in Mosman.
-
Willoughby and the lower North Shore
Older subdivisions with narrow frontages and tight side access, where the backyard may only be reachable by small machinery. These builds are won or lost on the access plan, so we work that out and cost it before we quote. Our Willoughby project went in that way.
-
Lindfield
Deep blocks, mature gardens and a large share of streets inside heritage conservation areas. Tree protection zones often decide where a pool can sit before the design does, so we start with the trees and the controls and design the pool to them. We also build homes in Lindfield.
-
Turramurra and Wahroonga
Big blocks with real fall, tall established trees and some of the strictest tree preservation rules in Sydney. Slope is an opportunity here: a pool set into the fall, with the retaining designed as part of the garden, sits far better than one perched on fill. We also build homes in Turramurra and Wahroonga.
-
St Ives
Generous blocks, many of them backing onto bushland. Bushfire and biodiversity controls can shape where the pool, the fencing and the planting go, and they are manageable when they are in the plan from the start. We also build homes in St Ives.
Building a new home as well?
The best time to plan a pool is before the house is built. Once the home is up, machine access to the backyard is usually gone. At Pennant Hills we excavated and poured the shell before construction began, then came back to finish the pool as the house was completed.
When we build the home too, the pool, the levels and the garden are resolved in one design and one contract. How a knock down rebuild works with us →
Recent pools
-
Pool + landscape
Mosman
Lower North Shore, NSW
A fully tiled pool and complex heritage landscape with an engineered rail gate and protected trees, managed with the clients overseas.
View project → -
Pool + outdoor rooms
Willoughby
Lower North Shore, NSW
A new pool, outdoor bathroom and a brick shed turned gym and office. A whole backyard delivered in one go on a tight-access site.
View project → -
Pool: staged with a new home
Pennant Hills
Upper North Shore, NSW
The shell went in before the house did. A concrete pool built in two stages around an owner built dream home, finished with travertine and a Bisazza mosaic waterline.
View project →
Common questions
How much does a concrete pool cost on the North Shore?
A quality concrete pool in Sydney starts from around $100,000 once coping, surrounds, fencing and equipment are included. Sloping sites, rock, tight access and premium finishes such as fully tiled interiors take budgets beyond that, and every project is priced on its own merits. We quote the whole finished result, not a shell price with the real costs waiting in the fine print.
Do you build plunge pools?
Yes. A plunge pool is often the right answer on a smaller or steeper North Shore block, where a full length pool would take the whole garden. We build them in concrete, engineered for the site and finished to the same standard as a family pool, with the paving, planting and fencing designed around them.
Do I need council approval for a pool?
Most Sydney pools are approved either through a complying development certificate with a private certifier, which is faster, or a development application with council where the site needs it. Heritage conservation areas and protected trees, both common on the North Shore, usually mean the council pathway. We handle the design, the approval and the compliance as part of every pool build.
Can you build a pool on a sloping or tight access block?
That is most of what we do. When machinery cannot reach, we plan the build around smaller plant, staged excavation and negotiated access. Every access and excavation plan is worked out before we price, so the number you sign reflects your actual block.
How long does a pool take?
Allow roughly three to six months from the first conversation to swimming, with design, approval and engineering at the front of that. Start the conversation over winter and the pool can be ready for summer.
Can you build a pool on its own, or only with a home build?
Both. We build pools on their own or alongside a new home. Many of our pool clients come to us for the pool and the landscape only.
Planning a pool on the North Shore?
Send us your block, the harder the better. You will deal directly with our director from the first conversation to handover.
Get in touch