Plunge — 5.5m × 2.8m

5.5 m long, 2.8 m wide, with a full-length bench along one side. That is a deliberate step up from our compact Pause at 4 × 2.4 m: the same idea with the length back in, so you can stretch out, and the width back in so two people are not negotiating for space.

One depth, the whole way: 1.45 m. Bayside publishes depth as shell height — measured on the shell itself, top of the shell down to the base, as dimensioned on the engineering drawing — not the modelled water level, so the figure here matches your specification sheet exactly.

16,150 litres, which keeps the Plunge below the 35,000 litre consent threshold. That threshold is the figure that decides whether a consent is needed, and the exact volume is published here — ask us and we will put the modelled volume for your shell in writing.

No — and it does not need a Producer Statement either. Under 35,000 litres the Plunge is exempt work under Schedule 1 of the Building Act: no consent application, no PS1, no engineer to engage. It is still built to AS 1838 / NZS AS 1838 and installed to AS 1839 / NZS AS 1839, and pool fencing requirements still apply.

That is exactly what it was drawn for. At 5.5 × 2.8 m it fits medium outdoor areas and stylish urban settings, and it leaves room for paving, planting and the part of the yard the dog has plans for. Send photographs or measurements and we will tell you honestly whether it fits and whether the digger can get in.

The shell is delivered and set by your local installer, with a standard excavation included. Access is planned before the dig starts — where the truck stops, where the digger goes, where the spoil goes, and how the shell gets from the street to the hole. At 5.5 × 2.8 m the Plunge is one of the more forgiving shells to crane over a fence.

A standard dig-out is included in your quote. Beyond that, what varies is your ground: how easily machinery reaches the backyard, how far excavated fill has to be trucked, whether stormwater, soakrings or wiring are in the way, and whether the shell has to be craned over a fence or the house. Landscaping, ground levels, concrete preparation, topsoil and tree removal are all priced separately. Your local installer prices your property before anything is committed.

The Plunge is heat pump compatible, and at under 35,000 litres it is the sort of volume a heat pump brings up to temperature and then holds without straining. What a full system costs depends on your equipment package and your location, so your local installer prices it against your property.

Q360 in-floor cleaning can be added to compatible Bayside models, and it is the option most Plunge owners ask about because it removes the vacuuming from the weekly routine. Ask your local installer to confirm compatibility and the equipment package for your install.

Shells are manufactured to AS 1838 / NZS AS 1838 — swimming pools: premoulded fibre-reinforced plastics, design and fabrication — and installed to AS 1839 / NZS AS 1839, its installation companion. Together they set the layers a shell must be built from, the loads it has to carry, and the curing and defect requirements before it leaves the factory. We build to them on every pool, consented or exempt.

By hand, in layers, each with its own job. Working outwards from the water: a coloured gelcoat cosmetic surface; a resin-rich corrosion barrier that keeps water out of the laminate and is what prevents osmotic blistering; the structural glass laminate carrying the loads and holding the shape; core and rib reinforcement stiffening the walls and the top flange; and an outer sealing layer against ground moisture. The swimming surface is finished with ChlorShield, our chemical-resistant surface technology.

It varies by location, deliberately. Walls, floor, steps and corners each carry different loads, so each is laminated to suit. As a guide, wall laminates run around 7–9 mm while corners and steps run 12–15 mm, because that is where the loads concentrate. If you want the layer specification for the Plunge in writing, ask us for it.

Yes. Every shell is built in our Whakatane factory with the production data recorded against it — batch numbers, amounts used and thickness sprayed at each layer. Ask for the lay-up details for the Plunge, or for the exact pool you are quoted, and we will put them in writing.

It is the most straightforward pool in the range to make a decision about, which is why it sells the way it does. 5.5 × 2.8 m, one 1.45 m depth, a full-length bench, under 35,000 litres so no consent no PS1. There is nothing on the spec sheet you have to think your way around.

No, and that is rather the point. At a single 1.45 m you can stand anywhere in the Plunge. This is a pool for people who want to be in the water rather than train in it — walk in, stand in it, sit on the bench, cool down, get out. If you want lengths, talk to us about a longer model.

Comfortably. The bench runs the full 5.5 m, the water is clear of steps and obstacles in the middle, and there is no sharp depth change to catch anyone out. It is the pool that people gravitate to at a barbecue — and 35,000 litres is a volume a heat pump keeps up with.

Usually the same two things, in this order: “that fits there?” and “when can we come over?” At 5.5 × 2.8 m the Plunge is the quiet achiever of the range — a pool you will genuinely use daily, without the whole backyard given over to it.