Concrete pools,
Gold Coast.
A custom concrete pool is drawn for one site and built in steel and sprayed concrete, to any shape, length or depth. It is the only kind of pool we build, and every shell we spray carries a lifetime structural warranty.
Plate 01 · Custom concrete, drawn for one site
4.9 / 5 · 126 Google reviews
QBCC licence 0000000
Lifetime structural warranty
SPASA Gold 2025 · Hedges Avenue House
N°01 · Overview
Reviewed by Tom Hollis · Founding director
What a concrete pool is.
A concrete pool is a shell of steel reinforcement and sprayed concrete, formed in the ground to a shape drawn for your site. Nothing comes from a mould, so the length, depth, steps, benches and edges are set by the block, the house and the way you swim.
It is the pool every other type on this site is built from. Plunge pools, lap pools, spas and infinity edges are all concrete shells with a different brief. This page covers the family pool most people picture: about 10 by 4 metres, 1.2 to 1.8 metres deep, set into the garden beside the house.
Where they work
A concrete pool works on almost any block we see: flat suburban gardens, beachside sand, river clay, sloping hinterland lots and courtyards reached only by crane. That is the point of building in concrete. The shape follows the site, so a narrow side yard, an awkward corner or a change of level becomes part of the design rather than a reason to say no.
Before we draw anything, a director walks the block and measures levels, access, soil, sun and the view lines from the rooms you use most. Where the pool sits is usually settled by where the winter sun falls and how you reach it from the kitchen, not by where it is easiest to dig.
It is not always the right answer. On a block under 450 square metres a plunge pool usually serves better, and if you swim laps most mornings you need at least 15 metres of straight water.
How we build one
Every concrete pool starts with a site survey and a soil test. A structural engineer then designs the shell and steel for that ground. Sandy coastal blocks need a thicker floor and more steel, reactive clay can call for piers, and a high water table means pumping during the dig and a hydrostatic valve so the empty shell cannot lift.
Our own crew digs to the engineer’s levels and ties the steel, which Tom Hollis checks before the certifier signs it off. The shell is sprayed in a single day, so there are no cold joints, and cured before it carries stone or tile. Coping and waterline tile are laid by the same tradespeople on every Retreat pool, and the interior goes on last so it is never walked on in boots.
Expect 14 to 18 weeks from a signed design to handover. Counted from the first site visit, a typical concrete pool takes about twenty weeks, ten of them on site. Rock, groundwater and wet weather add time, and you hear about it that week.
Design variations
A concrete pool is a set of decisions rather than a product. Four forms cover most of what we draw, and any of them can take a spa, a bench or a wet edge.
Variation 01
Geometric
Straight walls, square corners and a long axis set off the house. The form we draw most often, because it lines up with doors, terraces and the coping run, and reads as part of the architecture.
Variation 02
L-shaped
One arm for swimming and a shallower arm for sitting, children or a spa bench. Useful on corner blocks and around an existing tree or courtyard, where one long rectangle will not fit.
Variation 03
Freeform
Curved walls and soft corners, drawn to follow planting, rock or a change of level. Curves add formwork and hours, so we keep them where they earn their place in the garden.
Variation 04
Raised wall
One or more walls stand above the paving as a seat, a planter edge or a retaining wall on a slope. Usually finished in the coping stone, so the pool settles into the levels of the garden.
Living with a concrete pool
Expect about an hour a week in summer: skim the surface, empty the baskets, test the water and let a robotic cleaner do the floor. A 9 metre pool costs $750 to $1,350 a year to run before heating. A pebble interior lasts fifteen to twenty years and is then resurfaced rather than replaced, because the shell is structural concrete.
Book a design consultation
Start with a site visit.
A director visits, measures the site and talks through ideas and budget. No cost, no obligation.
Reply within one business day · 07 5576 3480
N°02 · At a glance
Typical specification
The pool, by the numbers.
Typical figures for the concrete pools we build. Every pool is drawn for its site, so treat these as a starting point rather than a limit.
Typical size
10 by 4 metres
Depth
1.2 to 1.8 metres
Build time
14 to 18 weeks
Interior
Pebble, mosaic or tile
Coping
Travertine or bluestone
Equipment
Pump, filter, sanitiser
Warranty
Lifetime structural shell
Approvals
Certifier and engineering
N°03 · Pricing
2026 pricing · Including GST
How much a concrete pool costs.
From
$95K
A simple 10 by 4 metre concrete pool on a flat block with good access starts from $95K. That includes design, engineering, approvals, excavation, steel, the shell, coping, interior, filtration, lighting, a glass fence allowance and handover. Most of ours finish between $95K and $180K. Heating is priced as a line item.
What moves the price
01
Site access
Our excavators need a clear path about 1.8 metres wide. A narrow side passage means smaller machines, and no path means a crane over the house.
02
Soil, rock and water
Sand can need shoring and dewatering, hinterland sites often hit rock, and reactive clay can call for piers. Test holes settle it before the price is fixed.
03
Size, depth and shape
Each extra metre adds concrete, steel, interior and coping. Depth costs more than length, and curves and raised walls add formwork and hours.
04
Coping and interior
Natural stone coping costs roughly twice a good porcelain paver, and a fully tiled glass mosaic interior several times a quality pebble. Both last for decades.
05
Approvals and engineering
A flat block needs a standard engineered design and a certifier. Slopes, boundaries, sewer lines and coastal or flood overlays each add fees and weeks.
N°04 · Recent concrete pools
3 of 11 projects
Recent concrete pools.
A family pool on sand at Burleigh Heads, a classic pool in an older Hamilton garden and a pool and spa at Sanctuary Cove. Each shell was engineered for its own ground.
All projects
N°05 · Process
About 20 weeks, first visit to first swim
How long a concrete pool takes.
Allow about five months from first visit to first swim. Design, engineering and approvals take the first ten weeks, and the build on site the last ten.
Our process in detail01
Weeks 1 to 2
Consult and survey
Levels, access, soil and sun, measured on site by a director.
02
Weeks 2 to 6
Design and 3D
Drawn by hand, modelled in 3D, then priced line by line.
03
Weeks 6 to 10
Approvals and engineering
Shell and steel engineered for your soil, then building approval.
04
Weeks 10 to 13
Excavation and steel
Dug to engineered levels, then steel tied and inspected before the pour.
05
Weeks 13 to 18
Shell and finish
Shell sprayed in a day and cured, then coping, tile and interior.
06
Week 20
Handover and care
Water balanced over a week, fence certified, then a one-year visit.
N°06 · Client words
4.9 from 126 Google reviews
“A fixed price, itemised to the last valve. The final invoice matched it to the dollar, a first for us on any build.”
Nick and Sasha B.
Bangalow · Concrete pool · 2024
N°07 · Where we build these
Within 90 minutes of Burleigh Heads
Where we build concrete pools.
We build concrete pools in all three regions, on sand, clay and rock. We stay within ninety minutes of the studio so a director is on site every week.
All service areasGold Coast
06
Northern Rivers
06
N°08 · Related pools
Pairs well with
concrete pools.
Most concrete pools we build share a shell with a spa or sit inside a wider garden plan. Each is drawn and engineered with the pool, not added later.
All pool typesN°09 · Questions
Concrete pool
questions.
What we are asked most about concrete pools. For your own site, a director will answer them in person at the first visit.
All questionsHow much does a concrete pool cost on the Gold Coast?
Our concrete pools start from $95K for a simple 10 by 4 metre pool on a flat block with good access, including engineering, approvals, coping, interior, equipment and a glass fence allowance. Most finish between $95K and $180K. Access, ground and finishes move the price, and you get a fixed price after design and engineering.
How long does a concrete pool take to build?
About twenty weeks from first visit to handover for a typical pool: six weeks of consult and design, four of approvals and engineering, then about ten on site. A signed design to handover is 14 to 18 weeks. Rain, rock and overlays can add time, and we tell you the week it happens.
Why build in concrete rather than fibreglass?
Concrete lets us draw the pool to the site: any shape, depth, edge or step, on flat or sloping ground. The shell carries our lifetime structural warranty and is resurfaced rather than replaced. It usually costs more than fibreglass for the same size, and if a fibreglass pool suits your block and budget better, we will tell you.
What is shotcrete, and why spray the shell in one day?
Shotcrete is concrete sprayed through a line onto the steel, so it packs around every bar and takes the shape of the excavation. We spray each shell in a single day to avoid cold joints, then cure it before it carries stone or tile. The line runs up to 60 metres, so the truck stays on the street.
Which interior and coping should we choose?
Pebble is the most common interior and lasts fifteen to twenty years before it needs renewing. A fully tiled glass mosaic costs several times as much and lasts longer. For coping we use dense stone that stays comfortable underfoot, such as travertine, French limestone, bluestone or granite, and we bring samples to your site.
What equipment comes with the pool?
Every fixed price includes a pump, filter, sanitiser, LED lighting and app control. Our variable-speed pumps run six to eight hours a day for $350 to $600 a year in power. Heating, by heat pump, solar or gas, is priced as a line item at concept stage, and most clients choose a heat pump.
What warranty comes with a concrete pool?
A lifetime structural warranty on the shell, seven years on workmanship covering coping, tile, plumbing and our own crew, and the manufacturers’ warranties on equipment, registered in your name at handover. Queensland builds are also covered by QBCC Home Warranty Insurance, and Northern Rivers builds by the NSW Home Building Compensation Fund.
Is the price fixed once we sign?
Yes. After design and engineering you receive one fixed price for a finished pool, with every allowance written into the contract. It changes only if you change the design or we find something no one could see, such as rock below the test holes, which is charged at the rate written into the contract.