Topic hubs

The journal is organised the way a good backyard is organised: first the idea, then the structure, then the finish, then the climate, then the life around the water, then the paperwork.

Design and planning

The brief, the shape, the sun and the awkward block — work that should happen before a machine arrives.

Photo: Kgbo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

• How to brief a custom pool designer in Australia
• Choosing a pool shape for an Australian backyard
• Orientation, shade and solar gain for Australian pools
• Custom pools on sloping and tight Australian blocks
• Indoor, outdoor and enclosed pools in Australian climates

Construction

Shells, dirt, steel, wet edges and the plant room that keeps the pretty water honest.

Photo: Jorge Láscar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

• Concrete, fibreglass and vinyl pools compared for Australia
• What actually happens during a custom pool build
• Excavation, retaining and structural engineering for custom pools
• Pool plumbing, filtration and plant rooms explained
• Wet-edge, infinity and vanishing-edge pool construction

Materials and finishes

What the water sits in, what the feet stand on, and how the pool looks after dark.

Photo: J Bar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

• Pool interiors: pebble, glass bead, tiles and render
• Coping, paving and pool surrounds that last in Australian sun
• Waterline tiles, mosaics and pool feature walls
• Lighting a custom pool after dark

Water, climate and care

Chemistry, heat and the particular seasons of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and the tropics.

Photo: Mhsb / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

• Salt, mineral and chlorine systems for Australian pools
• Heating a pool in Australia: solar, heat pumps and gas
• Keeping a Sydney pool healthy through summer
• Winterising and year-round pools in Melbourne and Canberra
• Tropical pool care in Queensland and the Top End

Outdoor living

Gardens, cabanas, fences and the smaller bodies of water that sit beside the main pool.

Photo: Daniel Julie / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

• Pool houses, cabanas and outdoor kitchens
• Landscaping around a custom Australian pool
• Pool fencing, barriers and Australian standards
• Spas, plunge pools and swim spas as custom projects

Cost, compliance and regions

What the work costs, which paper the council wants, and how soil and salt change the specification.

Photo: Michael Spencer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

• What a custom pool really costs in Australia
• Council approvals, DAs and complying development for pools
• Building a custom pool in Perth sand and limestone
• Coastal pools: salt air, corrosion and durability