Wednesday 24 August 2016

Helpful Resources for our Owner Builders - Soil tests and Council Approval

Australian Plunge Pools is a manufacturer and supplier to Pool and Spa industry and building professionals.
While we do not install we do like to provide resources for our Owner Builders to access and be aware of in the course of preparing to receive our pool delivery.
Scroll through our links and tips below.....

1.Dial Before You Dig

See www.spasa.com.au or visit your State SPASA site

Dial Before You Dig www.1100.com.au Dial Before You Dig is a free national referral service designed to prevent damage and disruption to the vast pipe and cable networks which provides Australia with essential services.
Dial Before You Dig creates a unique partnership with Australia’s underground asset owners. They act as a single point of contact for you to receive information about underground networks at your excavation site so you don’t have to contact the utility organisations individually. You tell them your dig location and they pass on this referral to the affected asset owners. They then send the information directly to you.
The Dial Before You Dig service is also designed to protect Australia’s excavators. Whether you are a back yard renovator, an individual tradesman or a commercial excavator the potential for injury, personal liability and even death exists every day. Obtaining accurate information about your work site

significantly minimises these risks.

2. Get a soil test

Personally I would not even think of placing a $30,000 + investment in any landscape without first ensuring it was supported on the correct base.
Our plunge pools have specific engineers drawings not just for the pool as a product but for each  pool and their placement on various soil types - and there are a few. ( Sand, Clay , reactive, problematic, and various classes of each may be present on the same site ) The report will cost around $400+ be about 10-20 pages in lenght and show detail over the whole site . When we receive your soil test we can then order your engineers drawings and compliance certificate for your state, all appropriate to your site address, ready to accompany your council application.
If your pool manufacturer or installer is not recomending a soil test for their product then chances are no matter what happens to your pool after you have taken delivery, they will not be in a position to take responsibility or even be able to assess future claims of fault or recomended repairs. What lies beneath the pool once it is in place will be an unknown factor.

3. Council Application and Permits

Not as difficult as it sounds... Drop in to your local council or private certifier. Explain what it is you want to achieve, perhaps have a sketch or plan of your proposed pool site and they will lead you in the right direction. See previous blog on council . Ask for an estimate of Fee's and approval time. Leading into Spring this could be anywhere from 2 - 12 weeks in some councils and may cause delays. I suggest this as one of your first calls.
Australian Plunge Pools has association with private certifiers in most capital cities around the country, if you would like information then please email me.