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Fibreglass Plunge Pool, Retaining & Turf — Herne Bay
A flat Herne Bay back yard with a large concrete fireplace standing in the middle of it and 3 m of raised, uneven garden doing nothing at the back. Access to the site was under 850 mm wide. Ten weeks later there is a plunge pool where the fireplace was and a lounge area where the dead ground was.
What was there before
A moderate-sized back yard, flat, with a large fireplace and chimney built in solid reinforced concrete on its own footings sitting in the middle of it. Along the back, 3 m of slightly raised and uneven garden that was effectively dead space. The retaining wall along the back of the house was old and failing, and the gap between it and the house was too tight to work in.
What the client wanted
A pool and somewhere to sit, in a yard that had a chimney in the middle and a strip of unusable garden at the back. The answer was to take back the dead ground rather than build around it: retaining pushed the garden back, making room for the pool where the fireplace had been and a lounge area where the raised garden had been.
What made it hard
Access was the whole problem. The only way in was a gap of less than 850 mm between the garage and the front door, with a ceiling over it capping height at 2.2 m, changing direction and running around outdoor columns on the way. Nothing larger than a 1.2 tonne machine could physically reach the back yard, nothing could be driven out again loaded, and the pool could not come in that way at all.
How it got in, and what went in
Pronto Hire recommended a 1.2 tonne Takeuchi, built for restricted height and width, and it did the demolition and the excavation. The fireplace came out with that digger and Hilti demolition jackhammers. Every barrow of soil was wheeled back out through the 850 mm gap and tipped into bins on the street: 14 bins at 4.5 m³ each. The pool could not come in that way at all, so it was lifted over the house by a large Hiab truck on a winch system.
The shell is a Little Pools Co Plunge 3, manufactured in Australia and supplied here by The Pool Distributor, with roughly 7 × 3.5 m of paving around it in Jagas precast premium pool pavers and copings with an arris profile. The retaining runs about 25 m at 1.4 m high, in 200 × 50 H4 boards front-fixed with stainless 125 mm batten screws onto 125 mm concreted piles, with scoria drainage the full length. It changes direction partway and continues along the back of the house, replacing the failing wall and widening the gap behind it so the space is usable. Synthetic turf is Urban Turf Bayside 25 mm, laid by us.
The barrier, the retaining and who did what
The pool fencing is aluminium — Delta panels, installed by Lane at Profit NZ, and consented separately. The retaining is 1.4 m high and was not engineered. We managed the consent programme around the barrier and coordinated the specialist who certified his own work. Everything else was ours: demolition, excavation and 25 m of retaining.
What made it hard
Access was the whole problem. The only way in was a gap of less than 850 mm between the garage and the front door, with a ceiling over it capping height at 2.2 m, changing direction and running around outdoor columns on the way. Nothing larger than a 1.2 tonne machine could physically reach the back yard, nothing could be driven out again loaded, and the pool could not come in that way at all.
How it got in, and what went in
Pronto Hire recommended a 1.2 tonne Takeuchi, built for restricted height and width, and it did the demolition and the excavation. The fireplace came out with that digger and Hilti demolition jackhammers. Every barrow of soil was wheeled back out through the 850 mm gap and tipped into bins on the street: 14 bins at 4.5 m³ each. The pool could not come in that way at all, so it was lifted over the house by a large Hiab truck on a winch system.
The shell is a Little Pools Co Plunge 3, manufactured in Australia and supplied here by The Pool Distributor, with roughly 7 × 3.5 m of paving around it in Jagas precast premium pool pavers and copings with an arris profile. The retaining runs about 25 m at 1.4 m high, in 200 × 50 H4 boards front-fixed with stainless 125 mm batten screws onto 125 mm concreted piles, with scoria drainage the full length. It changes direction partway and continues along the back of the house, replacing the failing wall and widening the gap behind it so the space is usable. Synthetic turf is Urban Turf Bayside 25 mm, laid by us.
The barrier, the retaining and who did what
The pool fencing is aluminium — Delta panels, installed by Lane at Profit NZ, and consented separately. The retaining is 1.4 m high and was not engineered. We managed the consent programme around the barrier and coordinated the specialist who certified his own work. Everything else was ours: demolition, excavation and 25 m of retaining.
Why it cost what it cost
You need an experienced team to run an excavation and a build like this while protecting the house and everything else on site. That is what the number covers. A machine threaded through 850 mm under a 2.2 m ceiling, past columns, beside a house nobody is allowed to touch; 63 m³ of soil barrowed out by hand through the same gap; and a pool flown over the roof on a winch. Anyone quoting this without walking the access is guessing.
What the client said
We recently engaged with Franc Landscapes for a major landscaping project and pool install, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Kevin and the team completed a great job from start to finish. Undertaking a pool install alongside landscaping can be a stressful process, but their professionalism, attention to detail, and execution made the entire project run smoothly. The craftsmanship is top-tier, and they truly brought our vision to life. We would definitely use them again for any future landscaping needs. If you are looking for a team you can trust with a large project, look no further than Franc Landscapes!
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Pronto Hire case study, June 2026