An infinity pool adds a real touch of exclusivity and luxury to your backyard, as well as making your swimming experience more relaxing. But what does an infinity pool cost? How is it constructed? And what are the main benefits for you and your family?

Here we answer all your questions about infinity pools, to help you decide if this stunning feature is right for you.

What is an infinity pool?

You will have seen infinity pools in advertising materials for luxury hotels around the world. They have a “disappearing edge”, so it looks as if the water along one edge of the pool is falling away into nowhere.

This gives the swimming experience a whole new dimension. The disappearing edge makes you feel less confined in the pool, so as you swim you feel more like a part of the surrounding landscape. This enables you to become at one with nature, making your pool an even more relaxing place to be. In addition, you can enjoy the sound of rushing water and the gentle movement of the water as it cascades over the disappearing edge, which add to the benefits of your pool for relaxation.

Infinity pools are usually built on sloping sites, making them ideal vantage points for looking down over the surrounding area. Whether this is a rural scene or a cityscape, it provides a beautiful view while you are swimming, sunlit in the day and illuminated with thousands of lights by night.

As infinity pools are so closely associated with luxury, they bring an instant touch of opulence to your backyard, making your pool design the envy of all your friends. This highly unusual and attractive design feature can also be a great selling point when you are trying to achieve the highest price for your property.

What does an infinity pool cost?

Many homeowners believe that infinity pools cost too much for them to ever own one themselves. However, more and more Australians are now opting for infinity pools in their own backyards, as they are so enjoyable and relaxing to swim in, and uniquely beautiful from an aesthetic point of view.

It is true, however, that infinity pools are not cheap. Including a disappearing edge will add between $25,000 and $35,000 on average to the overall cost of your swimming pool. This means that an infinity pool does require a considerable initial outlay, when you consider that a fibreglass pool alone can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000, even without a disappearing edge.

However, the benefits of this attractive pool will last you for a lifetime, and there are a number of good reasons why an infinity pool costs so much:

1. It has a specially adapted design

Fibreglass pools are not constructed in your backyard from scratch, which is why they are cheaper than concrete pools. The pool shells are prefabricated in a range of different shapes and sizes, to suit most customers, making them easy to transport and install.

However, an infinity edge pool requires the design of the pool shell to be specially adapted so the disappearing edge can be included. As this is not part of the regular manufacturing process, it adds to the cost.

2. It requires extensive structural work

Installing an infinity pool is much more complex than installing a regular fibreglass pool. A significant amount of extra structural work is required during the pool construction process to ensure your infinity pool is strong and durable enough. The type and extent of this work will depend on the shape of your backyard and the design you want for your pool.

If the pool can be installed in-ground, like a regular pool, it will still require concrete beam retaining work to support the sides and top of the disappearing edge.

However, if your pool needs to be installed partially or fully above-ground, as most infinity pools do, this requires a different construction process to give the pool the strength and support it needs. Compass Pools Australia’s pioneering Maxi Rib technology has been designed specifically for this purpose. Exclusive to Compass Pools, the Maxi Rib system can support a fibreglass pool either partially or completely above ground, by creating a super-strong rib-like structure beneath the pool to hold its weight. Your infinity pool is then guaranteed to be strong, safe and durable for many years into the future.

Maxi Rib technology enables infinity pools to be constructed on the vast majority of sites, whether sloped, flat or raised. Thanks to this innovation, fibreglass infinity pools are now being created on many sites where previously this might not have been possible, or the owners may have had to opt for a much more costly concrete pool instead.

3. It’s actually two pools in one

The main reason why infinity pools are so expensive is because two pools essentially have to be constructed on the same site at the same time. The main pool that you swim in has the disappearing edge, but the water that falls off this edge has to go somewhere. This is why another smaller pool is constructed at a lower level, which catches the water that spills over the infinity edge.

This second pool is completely hidden so you can’t see it at all from the main pool, as it is built beneath the infinity edge. However, the second pool still has to be able to hold one-third of the water capacity of the main pool in order to be fully functional.

This makes the construction process of an infinity pool more time consuming and complex, requiring a great deal more work than the process of installing a standard pool, as two pools are being built at once.

4. It needs an expert engineer

Each infinity pool construction project requires a specialist engineer on-site. This engineer is responsible for the design of the entire project, including hydraulics, ground support, the design of the pool support and the holding capacity.

This gives you the reassurance that your infinity pool installation has been overseen by an expert at every stage, ensuring that everything goes to plan and your finished infinity pool will be a safe and relaxing environment for swimming.

Does the size affect the infinity pool cost?

The size of your infinity pool does not affect its cost as much as you might think. The same technology is used to create infinity pools of all sizes, and the amount of work required in the construction process is practically the same. Because of this, the total costs for infinity pools of different sizes are surprisingly similar, so there is no need to limit yourself to a smaller infinity pool if a larger pool would be more appropriate for your needs.

However, infinity pool costs can be affected by a number of other factors. For example, the cost can increase if you want your disappearing edge to go round a corner, as this makes the construction process more complex.

You can also pay more for your infinity pool depending on the extras you choose. A self-cleaning system, for example, will increase the cost of your pool. However, you may decide this is worth it in the long run. An in-floor cleaning system such as the Vantage system designed by Compass Pools Australia saves you the time and hard work of cleaning your pool manually, leaving you with more free time for enjoying your pool. It can also help you save money long-term, as it requires far less chemicals than manual cleaning, which also makes your pool safer and healthier to swim in.

Your pool company will be able to advise you on the range of optional extras which are available for your infinity pool. It is then up to you to work out your budget and stick to it while deciding what your infinity pool should include. Remember, you will also have to consider elements such as lighting, heating and landscaping, so your infinity pool is highly reliable and looks as beautiful as possible in your backyard.

More advice about infinity pools

If you would like to find out more about infinity pools, or discuss the specific options available for creating an infinity pool in your backyard, please contact one of our experienced Compass Pools builders who will be happy to answer all your infinity pool questions.

Infinity pools inspirations

Thinking of an infinity pool?

Infinity pools have gained great popularity over the past few decades. Often placed to stunning effect in holiday resorts and luxurious estates,  an infinity pool is designed to give the impression that it merges into the surrounding landscape. Sometimes, infinity pools are referred to as infinity edge, disappearing edge or negative edge pools. One of their characteristics is that there is at least one optically missing or invisible edge of the pool which enables the scenery to be viewed in a different perspective. The water flowing over this edge produces an effect of water with no boundary. Whether the view is of the sky, cityscape, trees, forest, lake or sea, this spectacular architectural element creates a remarkable showpiece for any home.

Constructing an infinity pool

As you would expect, constructing an infinity pool is not an easy task. At Compass Pools, we have all the knowledge required to master the extensive architectonic, structural, and mechanical detailing required. Our unique technologies enable us to build pools with a disappearing edge and our experienced pool builders can construct infinity pools even in very difficult conditions.

Infinity pools are usually built on sloping sites, so looking down from the hill creates that desired infinity effect. The pools are installed partially or completely above the ground and the pool shell requires a special support that enables this. Compass Pools Australia has developed a unique Maxi Rib technology that uses a rib-like structure to provide the necessary support to enable this type of installation. At some sites, the pool can be installed above the ground on a concrete platform, or it can be set down on the natural ground level. This means that all sites, including sloping, flat, and raised ground, can be catered for. The Maxi Rib system has been specifically created by Compass Pools engineer Charles Rickard. As Rickard says, thanks to this technology “it’s now possible to install a fibreglass pool on sites which previously would have been considered either too difficult or virtually impossible to proceed”. You can learn more about it in the Our Features section.

Are infinitive pools expensive?

You might have heard people saying that infinity pools are expensive. Thanks to our innovative engineering and product development, Compass Pools can now offer you more options  than ever before. In the past, fibreglass pools have been limited to inground installations on level sites. People with sloping or difficult site plans had to turn to concrete, which takes much longer to install and can cost tens of thousands of dollars more. It’s true that compared to an installation on a level site, sloping sites and free standing pools are more costly. However, our pool with Maxi Rib technology is a cost-effective solution. Maxi Rib pools have been installed on many different sites and we know exactly what to do to make your pool project simple to manage and cost effective.

The cost of the infinity edge pool is made up of three main areas:

1. Manufacturing of a special edge on the swimming pool shell.
2. Building the pool shell as free-standing with Maxi Rib technology or building the pool shell for normal installation with concrete beam retaining work to support the sides and top of the edge.
3. The holding tank or hiding pool to hold the water.

Each installation requires an engineer to design the holding capacity, including hydraulics, support design and ground support.

You might also wonder how the size of the infinity pool affects the price. In some ways, size does not have a huge impact on cost. If you were planning on a 6m disappearing edge, it would require almost the same amount of work as a 9m edge. If the negative edge or infinity edge includes a corner of the pool there can be additional costs.

Discuss the project with us

Your infinity pool can have an automated cleaning system which would mean you save a lot of time and money for not having to clean it manually. If you would like to know more about this kind of project, we recommend you locate your authorised Compass pool builder in your area and discuss your ideas on your infinity pool with him, or just call 1300 667 445 to get in touch with us.

Infinity pool case study: Mirboo North, South Gippsland, Victoria

This pool installation was performed by Compass Pools Melbourne, an authorised Compass fibreglass swimming pool builder. Their clients had the most spectacular views of the natural hills of South Gippsland, however they wanted to extend this view by adding running water. Though there was already the perfect drop in thenatural ground, the existing slope had to be cut away to accommodate a purpose-built concrete slab. The pool builder then had to request that Compass build the pool with a 100mm drop in the coping (along the infinity edge).

The pool was also built using Maxi Rib technology to allow it to be freestanding. These ribs were filled with concrete. The pool was built with holding tanks in the ground designed to hold a third of the pool’s water capacity. Says Compass Pools Melbourne: “With this job, we dug the tanks into the ground covered with earth. We then custom built a catchment tank to feed these tanks. Once all this work was completed by us, the deck builder came in and framed out around the edge, tiled the edge and built the deck.”

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You can check more infinity pools case studies on the Compass Pools Melbourne website.

More infinity pools installed by Compass authorised pool builders