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Stainless or fibreglass plunge pool? What changes around each one
Choosing between a stainless and a fibreglass plunge pool is a conversation between you and the pool supplier, and we're not the supplier. Our part is what each one means for the ground, the access and everything built around it. We've built around both: Outback stainless shells at Mission Bay and One Tree Hill, and a Little Pools Co fibreglass Plunge 3 at Herne Bay, all three supplied by The Pool Distributor.
The short version
Stainless (Outback): a corrugated stainless wall with a vinyl liner. Round on both our jobs, and light enough empty to carry by hand or lift with a small Hiab.
Fibreglass (Little Pools Co): a one-piece shell. The Plunge 3 at Herne Bay is rectangular, and on that job it went over the house on a large Hiab with a winch.
Either can go in the ground or above it, according to The Pool Distributor. On our jobs, the site decided.
What the supplier says
The Pool Distributor lists the Outback Classic in corrugated 316 stainless steel or COLORBOND steel, fully insulated, with a commercial-grade vinyl liner, in diameters from 2.2 m to 3.4 m. They describe their fibreglass plunge pools as freestanding and self-supporting, for in-ground, above-ground, rooftop and platform installs.
For the full range, specifications and prices, talk to them directly: The Pool Distributor. They deal with you directly, organise delivery and handle the plumbing. We build the ground and everything around the pool.
Stainless: Mission Bay and One Tree Hill
At Mission Bay the pool is an Outback shell, 3.2 m across and 1.3 m high, with a blue liner. It stands fully above ground on a round concrete slab, and the crew carried it in by hand off a flatbed truck, with no crane and no Hiab. The corrugated wall is part of the look: it stands proud of the Kwila deck rather than hiding behind it.
One Tree Hill has the largest Outback model: round, 3.4 m across and 1.5 m deep, with a top lip, an insulation layer inside and a blue liner. Empty, it weighs under 200 kg. Powerlines over the street ruled out a large crane, so a small Hiab lifted it in, and it sits partly in the ground where volcanic rock stopped the excavation. The plant sits open behind the pool, out of sight but easy to reach.
A round shell means a curved edge. Both jobs have half-moon Kwila decks, built in opposite orders. At One Tree Hill we built the frame first, leaving room to drop the pool in, and laid the boards afterwards, each one scribed to the shell. At Mission Bay the deck was finished before the pool arrived, with the circle drawn from a board bolted to the slab at the pool's exact centre.
Pool barrier. At One Tree Hill, frameless glass finished into the boundary with two custom black aluminium panels, installed and certified by Profit NZ and consented separately. Which applies to your site is settled before we quote.
3 weeks and 5 to 6 weeks on site
Fibreglass: Herne Bay
Herne Bay has a Little Pools Co Plunge 3, made in Australia and sold in New Zealand by The Pool Distributor. It sits fully in the ground where a reinforced-concrete fireplace used to stand.
The only way into the back yard was a gap of less than 850 mm between the garage and the front door, under a 2.2 m ceiling. A one-piece shell doesn't fold, so it went over the house on a large Hiab truck with a winch, while every load of spoil went out the other way by barrow.
Straight sides meant a straight edge. The pool and its paving surround take up about 7 m by 3.5 m, finished in Jagas precast pool pavers and copings with an arris profile, with a new 1.4 m timber retaining wall along the back of the house holding the levels.
Pool barrier. Aluminium Delta panels, installed by Profit NZ and consented separately. Which applies to your site is settled before we quote.
10 weeks on site
What actually changes for us
The material doesn't change how carefully the ground is prepared. It changes four things about how we get there.
Getting it in. On our jobs, the stainless shells were light enough to carry or lift with a small Hiab, and the fibreglass shell needed a big lift over the house. Your access, not the brochure, decides what's realistic.
What it sits on. At Mission Bay, a raised round slab formed to the pool's shape. At One Tree Hill, a partial excavation into rock with the deck making up the difference. At Herne Bay, a full dig where the fireplace had been.
The edge. A round wall asks for a curved deck, cut board by board. Straight sides ask for coping and pavers laid dead to a line. Both take time; they take it in different places.
The look. A stainless wall can be part of the design, standing proud as a feature. A fibreglass pool set into paving reads as a pool in the ground. Both are legitimate, and some families know which they want before we arrive.
Where we fit
We don't sell either. The pool comes from The Pool Distributor, and the choice of shell is yours to make with them. We build the slab or the excavation, the deck or the paving, the retaining and the equipment housing, and we're on site on delivery day because the pool has to fit what we've built. The useful order is a site visit first, so you know what your access, ground and levels allow before you pick a shell.