Fibreglass Pool Ideas East Coast
Fibreglass swimming pools for East Coast, and what to weigh up before you dig.
A Bayside fibreglass pool is made in one piece in Whakatāne and installed on site by our licensed local installer — GCL for Gisborne and the East Coast. Here is the short version of what that means for an East Coast section.
At a glance
Sizes are quoted as internal, water-line measurements — an 8 x 4 is 8 x 4 of water. Depth is the shell height, and capacity is measured to the top of the shell.
The photo up top
What to look at in a pool photo
That is a finished Bayside pool, and it is the best way we can show you what one looks like in a yard — it is not a photo of a section in East Coast. Look at how much room the pool takes out of the space around it, where the water line sits when you look out from the house, and what the yard looks like once the paving and planting are done. For an in-ground fibreglass pool in East Coast, those three decide it.
- How the pool sits in the section Start from the space you actually have. The shell is only part of the footprint once the surround and somewhere to walk have taken their share, and that arithmetic decides what fits in East Coast long before the model does.
- The colour of the water The water takes its colour from the finish on the shell, and it is the one choice on the whole build you look at every day. Worth seeing a finished pool rather than a swatch before you commit.
- What surrounds it Paving, decking and glass fencing are what turn a shell in the ground into a yard. They are priced and chosen separately from the pool itself, and getting them settled early keeps the build moving.
Want to see one in the ground rather than a photo of one? GCL installs right across Gisborne — give them a call and ask. Every shell they set was moulded in our own factory first.
Before you commit
What to work out first, East Coast
There is no such thing as the best pool in the abstract. There is the pool that suits your East Coast section, and it comes down to space, use, access and what you want around it.
Space on the section
The pool is only part of the footprint. Add the surround, the fence line and access to the pump equipment, then see what is left for water.
How you will use it
How the pool gets used decides its length and its depth. Laps want length; a plunge pool wants to be simple and cheap to run; a family pool generally wants both shallow and deep ends.
Getting it in
The base is prepared and the shell is set by the same team that quoted the job — so access gets worked out up front, not left to whoever turns up.
Around the pool
What goes around the pool is a separate purchase and usually a later one. Copings, the surround, fencing and landscaping are worth planning at the same time as the pool even when they are bought later.
Terminology
Three names for the same thing
If you are searching East Coast for an in-ground pool, a swimming pool or a fibreglass pool, you are usually looking at the same job. The names overlap, but they do not mean identical things.
In-ground pool
A pool set into the ground rather than standing above it. Every Bayside shell is designed to go in the ground, so an in-ground pool is the normal case rather than an upgrade. Where digging is not wanted, there is also a Freestanding option in the range — still a Bayside shell, sitting above ground.
Fibreglass pool
Fibreglass means the pool body is a one-piece moulded shell, made in our Whakatāne factory and delivered complete. On site the work is preparing the base, placing and setting the shell, then everything around it — rather than building the pool body itself on site.
Swimming pool
The widest of the three, and the one people type most. It covers a small plunge pool through to a 12 m family and lap pool — the difference being length, depth and how much of the section they take up.
One thing worth knowing about the sizes: the dimensions we sell are internal, water-line measurements — an 8 x 4 is 8 x 4 of water. Depth is the shell height, and capacity is measured to the top of the shell. Whether you type inground pool or in-ground pool, this is the pool that goes in the ground.
The range
What pool size works in East Coast
The fibreglass swimming pool range runs from the 3.6 x 2.2 m Tranquil and the 4 x 2.4 m Pause — plunge pools that fit a courtyard — through the 5.45 x 3.4 m Element, the 6.5 x 3 m Retreat and the 7 x 3.5 m Cove, and up to the 8 x 4 m Satin, the 9 x 4.4 m Shoreline, the 10 x 4.4 m Coastline and the 12 x 4.4 m Big Bertha. Ten models, one shell family, all built in Whakatāne. The sizes we sell are internal, water-line measurements — an 8 x 4 is 8 x 4 — so what you are quoted is what you get to swim in.
Start to finish
What actually happens, from quote to first swim
What people want from a pool company is a straight answer about what happens when. Here it is.
- Site assessment — your section is looked at before anything is dug: where the pool can go, how the machines reach the hole, where the shell can be placed.
- Design and quote — the model and size that fit, and a written price. Get the quote in writing and itemised, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
- Manufacture — the shell is moulded in Whakatāne, in New Zealand, under our own roof.
- Excavation and base — the hole is dug, the base is prepared properly, and the shell is set by the same team that quoted the job.
- Fill and commission — water goes in, the filtration and pump are commissioned, and the pool is running.
- Handover — you get the pool handbook, which sets out how to look after the shell.
Excavation and shell placement are quick. What takes the time is everything after: filling, surrounds, fencing and getting the water balanced.
Year one
What ownership looks like the year after
On handover day we walk you through the whole pool — the equipment, the water and what the first week looks like — so it is familiar before we leave. After that it is ordinary care: chemistry in range, the filter looked after, and the pool stays the way it did when we handed it over.
Read the pool warranty Pool maintenance tips Landscaping around a pool
Nearby
Pool ideas for the rest of Gisborne
GCL is the local pool builder and installer for Gisborne and the East Coast, so these pages sit alongside yours rather than instead of it. The team that would quote an East Coast pool is the one on the Gisborne page.
Questions
East Coast pool questions, answered
What does a swimming pool cost in East Coast?
It depends on the model, the size, how easily the shell reaches your section, and what you put around the pool — those four things move the number more than anything else. We do not quote a figure without seeing the site, because a wrong number wastes your time and ours. The pool cost guide carries the bands our own written quotes run across; your installer writes the actual price for your section. Send us your section and you will get a written quote for it.
What size pool suits an East Coast section?
That is a question about your section, not about East Coast in general — the clear space is what decides it. The fibreglass swimming pool range starts at the 3.6 x 2.2 m Tranquil plunge pool and runs to the 12 x 4.4 m Big Bertha, with ten models in between. A tight section usually ends up at a plunge or compact model; a section with room usually takes a 7 to 8 metre family pool. Worth remembering that our sizes are internal, water-line measurements, so an 8 x 4 pool gives you 8 x 4 of water, and the shell needs a little more space than that.
Do I need a consent for a pool in East Coast?
Pool fencing is the part that is not optional. It has to comply with the building code, and it is checked — that applies to any pool in East Coast, whether the pool itself needed a consent or not. Depending on the section, a resource or building consent may also come into it. We work through that as part of the job rather than leaving you to work it out, and the fencing sits outside the pool price, so ask for it to be shown on the quote.
How long from quote to swimming?
The excavation and the shell placement are the quick part — usually a few days once the team is on site. What takes the time is what comes after: filling, surrounds, fencing and getting the water balanced. You get a realistic sequence up front rather than just the fast part, so you can plan the garden and the fencing around it.
Which fibreglass pool model is most popular around East Coast?
It follows the sections rather than the postcode. Where space is tight, the plunge and compact models win — the Tranquil, the Pause and the Element. Where there is room, a 7 to 8 metre family pool is the usual pick, which is the Retreat, the Cove or the Satin. The whole range with its dimensions is on the pool range page if you want to see the sizes side by side before you ring anyone.
Do you cover East Coast?
We manufacture, and a licensed local pool builder and installer puts the pool in. For this region that is GCL, covering Gisborne and the East Coast. Every Bayside shell is moulded in our Whakatāne factory and installed on site by the installer who covers your area, and the person who quotes your job is the person on your site when it goes in.
Is a fibreglass pool an in-ground pool?
Yes — a Bayside shell is designed to be set into the ground, so an in-ground pool is the standard case rather than a special order. The range also includes a Freestanding option for a section where digging is not wanted; it is the same shell family, sitting above ground.
How does a fibreglass shell compare with other pool types?
The shell arrives as one finished piece rather than being built up on site, so the on-site work is preparing the base, placing and setting it, and everything around the water. That is also why the surface matters so much: ours is ChlorShield, the gelcoat system on every Bayside shell, and the ChlorShield page sets out what it is built to do. We will talk about any pool type with you — we just sell the one we manufacture.
How do I choose a pool colour?
Get the colour right before the shell is ordered, not after. The pool colours page shows the palette on real pools, and you can ask to see a colour in person — the light a pool sits in changes how a colour reads.
Thinking about a pool in East Coast?
Send your address or a photo of the section and we will tell you what fits, what it involves, and who installs there.