Do you need a water tank when installing a pool and why is it important to know your pool’s water capacity?

Video transcription: We’re often asked, if I install my pool, will I need a water tank? That is a really good question. As a general rule, pools up to around about ten metres generally don’t need a water tank. As soon as you exceed the ten metre mark which correlates to the number of litres in that pool as a rough rule of thumb, if your pool has more than 40,000 litres of water in it, under the BASIX rules it’s generally required that you install a water tank with your swimming pool.

The other tipping point is not just 40,000 litres, because you could have a pool or a volume of water that is a lot less than 40,000 litres, the other trigger is whether the overall project exceeds $50,000 in cost.

Here is another tip. When you’re thinking about the pool, if you’re just trying to avoid a water tank, and you think, I’ll cut down the size simply so I don’t have to have one, really think about. This is something you are likely to live with for a very long time. Most people who are thinking about installing a pool are not thinking about moving from the house in a couple of years. So you’ll soon forget the little bit of extra money you spent on the water tank in the planning of your pool. This is something that is going to be with you for life. If that means you’ve got a greater swimming area or something that suits your lifestyle better, that’s really what we would suggest is the most important consideration. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Video transcription: One of the great things about Compass Pools and one of the great technological breakthroughs is that we won an Australian Design award for creating a product called Maxi-Ribs. Maxi-Ribs lets us take our unique ceramic core shell and free stand the pool without using retaining walls. What I mean by free standing is a that this pool is not necessarily a pool that is actually inserted into the ground. In some cases that pool may be partially out of the ground, meaning it is above ground, or it might be fully out of the ground. There are many approaches and versatile aspects of actually installing a Maxi-Rib pool. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Learn more about how we use Maxi Rib to build infinity pools.

Video transcription: A lot of people who come into the display centre to have a bit of a chat about what sort of pool might be right for them, the first question they always want to talk about is what shape or what size is going to fit in their block or the space that they’ve got in mind.

That is important definitely, obviously for what is going to fit in the area that you’ve got. But more importantly, or just as importantly, is how you see yourself using your pool. If you’ve got a heap of kids and you’re imagining it’s going to be pool party at your place every weekend, then you want to make sure that you’ve got a really kid-friendly pool. What that means is a nice say, a 7, 8, 9 metre pool is perfect for a big family, great for kids.

If you’ve got a shallow to deep, that’s great for kids. They do like to have that deeper spot they jump in. If they’re the type of kids though who just want to put the volleyball net up and be playing games against each other, then the deep in the middle pool is great for them.

Little kids love having somewhere to hold onto all around the edge of the pool. There’s a safety step ledge around all of our pools which makes it really easy for them to do that. Or if you’ve got someone who might have had an injury or has a bad back, a nice idea might be to pop a hand rail on to that pool to assist them in using the pool.

Really shapes and sizes don’t just come down to the space that you’ve got, it’s how you see yourself using your pool. I would have a good think about that prior to locking anything in. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

What are your design options for fibreglass pools?

Video transcription: Compass technology gives us some incredible versatility. We’re now able to build lap pools up to 30 metres in length and at custom lengths. So we’ve moved on from just having a pool that is one set size. We also have the ability to add optional side steps to some of our swimming pools. We can do things such as recess Sunpod water features and create elements to a pool that are just not regularly seen in the fibreglass swimming pool market.

We have the ability now to connect bodies of water where we install a pool and we might install one of our wader pools or a nice spa or something like that and make all this connected and flow. It just adds to the overall wow factor of having a swimming pool. Let’s face it, a swimming pool is swum in a lot and that’s fantastic but for the other half of the time it’s a water feature. So we want this thing to look as amazing as possible. If you’ve got ideas and concepts and you want to talk to us about them, we’re all ears.

Often we build pools and because of the nature of our product, because we have a shell that is capable of being installed in places that have not been the domain of traditional fibreglass pools, we get some complicated jobs. We certainly don’t shy away from the complication. What that will often involve is our in-house engineer working with you and us to work out exactly how we’re going to ensure that pool is going to be installed in a way that is effective and stable for the duration of your life.

Over the last thirty-five years, Compass has put a tremendous amount of effort and focus into working out how to make a swimming pool as easy and as friendly to own as it possibly can be. Come and talk to us about all of the unique Compass options. When it comes to swimming pools, we are truly different in every approach that we take to ensure that you have a pool that you’re going to enjoy for as long as you’re in your house. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Video transcription: When thinking about installing your pool, thinking about where it goes may come naturally. This might be, ok, that’s the spot I’m definitely going to have my pool installed. Other properties might have tremendous flexibility. There can be a little bit of consternation about where that pool is exactly going to go.

When we’re generally talking about installation of a pool and you’re thinking about it in relation to your lifestyle, what is most ideal is that the pool becomes an extension of your living area. It’s an area that is connected to your house. You may want to see your kids swimming and so forth, which is an important factor as well.

Being able to look out of the windows onto something that, when you’re not swimming in it, let’s face it, is just an expensive water feature, this is an important factor for putting the pool in. When we put that pool in, that pool is going to stay in that position for as long as you own it. So some careful consideration about how that is done is a really important factor.

Yes, we have to take into consideration what the rules are and whether there are any issues in terms of putting in the pool there from another point of view such as pipes or things like main sewers and different things and certain setbacks from fences. But we have the luxury and the ability to even incorporate parts of the house inside the pool area.

You can never have an area that basically steps up or doors that open up and flows straight onto the pool area. That is an issue. You always need to have some sort of fencing between it, but you can certainly use a wall, modify windows and so forth so that they comply with the pool fencing code and allow that area to be basically connected to the house. That may or may not suit your property, it just depends.

But some careful consideration as to where that pool goes is a really important thing. Really we have a lot of customers who are out there who are building and designing their house so the whole pool is a feature. That is something that we think is tremendously valuable when it comes to not only your enjoyment but even resale.

So when we’re thinking about where that pool is going to go, at Compass, we put a lot of effort and energy into training our people so we’re in a position to come out, consult with you and really determine what we think is going to be the best place to maximize the enjoyment and the long term benefits of you owning a Compass pool. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Increase the WOW factor of your pool by customizing its colour

Fantastic colour options from our fibreglass swimming pools

Video transcription: One thing that you really have to consider when planning your new pool is what colour it’s going to be. The good thing about the Compass pools range is the Bi-Luminite and the Vivid series of colours offer a huge range. You can go from a nice grey base, the stony rivers, the creeks, through to shallow water of the beach, through to the deepest part of the bluest oceans.

The reason we’ve got such a great range is to cover what everyone’s choices are. If you want a real wow factor, bright, modern sort of design, there’s definitely going to be a pool colour that is going to fit into it.

The beautiful thing about the Bi-Luminite surface of the pool is it’s reflective of the mood of the day. So the colour you’re going to get in the morning is going to be different to full sun, to early evening. You’ve got so many choices and there is definitely something for everyone.

Go out and have a look at the pools. A lot of my customers, if they’re a little bit nervous about it or they can’t quite decide, I always find who is in their area, who has got that colour and we give them a call. They go straight out there and have a look at their pool. Each pool will be a little bit different in the surrounds that they’re in, so it is a really nice thing to do. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.

Concrete vs Fibreglass, which is best and why

Video transcription: We’re often asked, what is the difference between a concrete and fibreglass pool? That’s a great question. The one tremendous advantage that concrete has over fibreglass is that you can shape that concrete pool any way you want to shape it. If you want to go round a right hand bend in your yard or so forth, then you can certainly do it. But if there’s a Compass shape that appeals to you, that you certainly think is going to suit your backyard, then the benefits of a fibreglass pool over a concrete pool seriously stack up on the fibreglass side.

Generally fibreglass pools are much quicker and easier to install. This cuts down on both the build time and sometimes some of the associated costs that are unforeseen in relation to concrete pools. This is because of the nature of the job and the fact it is an ongoing building process.

One of the biggest points of dissatisfaction for a lot of people who own a concrete pool is surface finish. When you swim in a Compass pool and you brush up against it or the kids are playing and they get a bit rough in that swimming pool, they’re going to be hitting up against a surface that is glass smooth. It’s a really nice finish on your skin.

Most concrete pools, because of the frightening costs associated with tiling the whole pool, are usually left with a finish that is quite rough and abrasive, like small stones, like a pebble creek or such. That is one aspect that I tend to talk about to a lot of people who’ve owned both, that they’re certainly concerned about.

Talking to people who own concrete pools, they often talk about the fact that they’re much colder than a fibreglass pool. So temperature can certainly be an issue for some people. Another difference between fibreglass and concrete is warranty. When you build a concrete pool, it’s considered construction work. Construction work is covered by a six year building warranty. When we build a Compass pool shell, we’re backing our pool shell with a lifetime warranty that has even got a bigger story than that. I’d encourage you to come and talk to us about it.

The great thing about a fibreglass pool versus a concrete pool is fibreglass pools are much easier to look after. Anyone who has owned a concrete pool and has subsequently owned a fibreglass pool knows the difference. There is more work associated with a concrete pool generally because of a combination of two things. One, most pools suffer from circulation issues and concrete pools generally have a porous surface. So unless you can get your chemicals moving to the very bottom of the pool, if you get algae in that pool which usually starts at the radius and down at the bottom of the concrete pool, it’s very difficult to get out.

A fibreglass pool has an inert smooth surface making it much easier to look after and much less susceptible to algal issues. Give one of the team a call today on 1300 667 445.