Retreat 6.5m × 3.0m Fibreglass Pool

Officially we do not keep one; unofficially every family does. The deep end measures 1.34 m from the top of the shell to the base, which is a proper jumping depth for confident swimmers — and the deep end is kept clear of obstacles, so nobody lands on a step. Treat it as a jumping pool rather than a diving pool: never dive head-first into 1.34 m.

There are two corner seats moulded into the deep end, so it is a short argument. They are the warmest spot in the pool on a still afternoon, and the only seat in the backyard where nobody can walk in front of you. If three people want them, somebody is swimming.

Comfortably. At 6.5 m long and 3.0 m wide, with a floor that runs full depth end to end, a 1.8 m lilo floats lengthways with room to spare and there is no shallow shelf to beach yourself on. The Labrador is on its own for nails — keep them trimmed, and rinse the shell afterwards.

Neither, exactly. The floor runs a full depth — 1.31 m at the shallow end through to 1.34 m in the deep end — so nearly all 6.5 m is water you can swim in rather than a shelf you wade across. That is enough to swim properly and turn, but it is not a 12 m training lane. Most owners call it the pool they actually use every day.

No. At approximately 25,650 litres the Retreat is under the 35,000 litre threshold, so it is exempt work under Schedule 1 of the Building Act — no building consent, no Producer Statement, and no engineering paperwork to chase. It is still manufactured to AS 1838 / NZS AS 1838 and installed to AS 1839 / NZS AS 1839, and pool fencing requirements still apply.

1.31 m at the shallow end through to 1.34 m in the deep end. Bayside publishes depth as shell height — measured on the shell itself, top of the shell down to the base — so the figure matches the engineering drawing and your specification sheet rather than a modelled water line.

Approximately 25,650 litres. That is a full family volume without being so much that heating it becomes a project — and keeping the Retreat below 35,000 litres is what removes the consent process from your build.

Wide steps at the shallow end, plus stairs entering either side. You walk in rather than climb down, which matters more than people expect when you are carrying a toddler, a towel or a drink — and because the entry is at the shallow end, the deep end stays clear for jumping.

At 6.5 m long and only 3.0 m wide the Retreat fits most backyards, including the long narrow ones. You need enough room for the setbacks and fencing the law requires, plus machinery access to dig. Send us photos or measurements and we will tell you honestly whether it fits — including whether the digger can get in.

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 or services are in the way, and whether the shell needs craning over a fence or the house. Your local installer prices your property before anything is committed, so the figure you agree up front is the figure you pay.

Running cost depends on your cover, your temperature setting and how long your season is, so we will not put a number on it here — and pricing varies by region anyway. The volume works in the Retreat’s favour: our quotation templates size a 12 kW heat pump for the 6.5 m Retreat, and it runs in three modes (Max, Eco, Silent) with app control.

The smooth fibreglass surface is easy to look after, and a Stanley Delux cleaning kit comes with the package — flexy brush, deluxe vacuum, aluminium leaf rake, 4.9 m pole, hose, thermometer and test strips. Add Q360 in-floor cleaning and most of the routine disappears, and a mineral sanitiser system such as Naked can cut the chlorine routine right back.

Every Bayside shell is manufactured to AS 1838 / NZS AS 1838 — Swimming pools: premoulded fibre-reinforced plastics, design and fabrication — and installed to AS 1839 / NZS AS 1839. Those standards set out what a fibreglass shell has to be: the layers it is built from, the loads it has to carry, and the curing and defect requirements before it leaves the factory. Sitting under the consent threshold changes the paperwork, not the shell.

In layers, by hand, and every one of them has a job. From the water out: the gelcoat, the coloured surface you swim against; the corrosion barrier, a resin-rich layer that keeps water out of the laminate and stops osmotic blistering; the structural glass laminate that carries the load and holds the shape; core and rib reinforcement, which stiffens the walls and the top flange; and an outer sealing coat against ground moisture. The swimming surface is finished with ChlorShield, our chemical-resistant surface technology.

The shell is inspected and signed off at each stage — lay-up, curing, gelcoat and finish — and tracked through the build, so if we need to look anything up about your pool in five years we can. Production data including batch numbers, amounts used and thickness sprayed at each layer is recorded against it. If you want the layer specification for the Retreat in writing, ask and we will put it in your file.