Measured and Quoted on Site
Not off a photo. We come out, look at the pool, the access and the falls, and price the actual job.
Pool Surrounds
Concrete Pool Surrounds in Launceston
A Launceston pool surround is judged with wet feet, in bare skin, by people who are not looking where they are going. That makes slip and heat the whole decision, and it is why the finish matters more here than anywhere else on a block.
How We Work
The Ground Gets Done Before the Concrete Does
Excavation, a compacted base and reinforcement to spec, the half that decides how long it lasts.
One Price, and We Take the Mess with Us
One written price for the whole job, not a rate per square metre, and the site is left clean.
Wet Feet
Which Concrete Finish Is Best Around a Pool?
Four things decide it: whether it grips when it is wet, whether it is bearable in bare feet in February, what salt and chlorine and sunscreen do to it over years, and how it looks from the water, because it is the biggest surface in most back yards. Here is how the four finishes actually behave.
Finish
Grip when wet
Heat underfoot
Verdict
Exposed Aggregate
Best grip of the three, wet or dry
Stays coolest, the stone breaks up the surface
The safe default around a pool, and the most common here
Honed
Slippery when wet unless it is finished for grip
Middling, depends entirely on the colour
Beautiful, and best kept back from the water's edge
Polished
The slipperiest wet surface of them all
Holds heat like a frypan in dark shades
Indoors. Not around a pool, whatever anyone tells you
Broom or textured
Very good grip, the practical choice
Cool in light shades
Unfashionable and completely sensible
If one thing on this page decides your finish, make it this table. The smoothest, best looking finishes are also the hottest and the most slippery, and around water that matters more than looks.
The Two Real Options
Most Surrounds Use Both, and Here Is Where Each One Goes
Exposed aggregate and honed are the two people choose between, and the answer is usually not one of them. It is aggregate on the wet zone right around the water and honed on the lounging area set back from it. This is what you are trading either side of that line.
Exposed Aggregate
The wet zone, right around the water
- Wet grip
- Excellent, the stone does the work
- Heat
- Coolest of the two
- Marks and stains
- Hides almost everything
- Feel underfoot
- Textured; some people find it coarse
- Sealing
- Optional, and it deepens the colour
Honed
The lounging area, set back from the edge
- Wet grip
- Needs a grip additive or it is a hazard
- Heat
- Depends on the colour, darker is hotter
- Marks and stains
- Shows sunscreen and leaf stain
- Feel underfoot
- Smooth and comfortable
- Sealing
- Wants it, and wants it maintained
One pour, two finishes: aggregate where it is wet, honed where you lounge. The line between them is a saw cut, so it reads as one surface rather than two slabs meeting.
Tell us the shape of your pool and we will mark up which finish goes where, on your plan.
The Edge
Pool Coping, Capping and Cantilevered Edges
Pool coping is the edge that caps the pool shell, and it is the piece people put their hands on, sit on and push off. It gets touched more than any other part of the surround, and it is the detail that dates a pool fastest.
01
Bullnosed Coping
A rounded top edge, the traditional pool coping profile and still the most comfortable to grab and to sit on. Kind to elbows and to small knees.
02
Square-edge Coping
A crisp modern edge with a shadow line. Looks sharp, and it is harder underfoot and less forgiving when someone climbs out in a hurry.
03
Cantilevered Edge
The surround is poured to overhang the shell slightly so the concrete appears to float over the water. The premium detail, and the one that has to be formed exactly.
04
Matching or Contrasting
Coping in the same finish as the surround reads calm and continuous. A contrasting band frames the water and makes the pool the subject.
05
Where It Meets the Shell
Whatever the profile, the coping must not be bonded rigidly to the pool structure. That junction is the one that cracks first when it is done wrong.
What They Look Like
Pool Surround Ideas and Finished Projects
What the different approaches actually look like around water, rather than as a colour chip on a page.
Wrapped Right Around
One pour on all four sides. Easiest to clean, easiest to get the falls right.
Two Finishes, One Pour
Aggregate on the wet zone, honed on the sun-lounge side.
A Cantilevered Edge
The surround runs out over the shell so the concrete floats above the water.
Meeting the Lawn
Generous on the entry side, narrowing to a mower strip on the far side.
Joined to the Alfresco
Surround and entertaining slab poured as one. No step, no join.
The Narrow Side
Every pool has one tight side. It still needs a fall and somewhere for water to go.
Seen one you like? We will walk your yard and tell you what it takes to build it there.
The Junction
How the Edge Meets the Shell Without Cracking
The most common failure in a pool surround is a crack running along the edge of the pool. It is not bad concrete. It is two structures tied together that were never going to move at the same rate.
They Are Two Separate Things
The pool shell and the surround are built differently, sit on different ground and move on different days. Tie them rigidly together and something has to give.
An Expansion Joint at the Shell
A flexible joint runs the full perimeter where the surround meets the pool. It is the single most important detail on this page.
Fibreglass Shells Move More
A fibreglass pool flexes with the water level and the ground around it, so the joint detail matters more again. The surround is never allowed to bear on the shell.
Concrete Shells Are Stiffer
A concrete pool moves less, but it still moves, and the surround still gets its own joint. Stiffer is not the same as still.
Control Joints in the Surround
Beyond the shell, the surround is jointed like any slab, cut early at spacings that suit the shape so it cracks where we chose.
Drainage
Where the Water Goes, and Why It Matters More Here
Every other slab sheds rain. This one sheds rain, splash-out, and whatever comes off four people getting out at once, all day, every summer.
Always Away from the Water
Fall runs off the surround, never back into the pool. Dirt, grass clippings and sunscreen washing into the water is a filter problem you pay for every week.
And Away from the House
Where the surround meets a wall or an alfresco it falls away from the building, sits below the damp course and keeps the weep holes clear.
A Grate on the Tight Side
The narrow side of a pool usually has nowhere to shed to. That side gets a strip drain as part of the job, not as an afterthought.
Splash-out Is Constant
A surround that ponds around a pool never really dries. It grows algae, it gets slippery, and that is a safety problem rather than a cosmetic one.
Falls and drainage are decided on site, not on a price list. We will set them out with you before anything is ordered.
Maintenance
Salt, Chlorine and What Sealing Actually Does
Sealing gets sold as protection and bought as a magic coating. Here is what it does and what it does not, so you can decide whether you want the maintenance that comes with it.
What a sealer does
Slows Salt DownSalt crystallises in the surface pores and works away at it over years. A sealer and a good mix both slow that down.
Deepens the ColourMost sealers add depth and a little sheen. On exposed aggregate that is usually an improvement; on a light honed surround it can be a surprise.
Keeps Marks on the SurfaceSunscreen and leaf stain sit on the sealer rather than soaking into the concrete.
What it does not
LastIt is a wearing surface, not a coating for life. It wears where people walk, and around a pool that is the whole surround. Expect to redo it.
Add GripThe opposite. A gloss sealer on a wet surround is a genuine hazard. If it is sealed around water it gets a grip additive, every time.
Become CompulsoryExposed aggregate left unsealed weathers honestly and asks nothing of you. Plenty of surrounds are better off that way.
Replacement
Replacing a Surround That Is Already There
A tired surround around a good pool is one of the most common jobs we look at, and almost nobody writes about it. It is a different job from a new pour and it gets priced differently.
The Pool Stays Where It IsEverything happens around a full pool with a shell that must not be damaged. Breaking out beside it is careful work rather than fast work.
The Old Surround Has to Go SomewhereBreaking out, carting and tipping is a real cost on a tight suburban block, and it is the line most quotes leave vague.
It Is the Chance to Fix the FallsMost old surrounds pond somewhere. The replacement is when that gets corrected, and it is worth doing properly while everything is open.
And to Fix the CopingIf the coping is cracked or dated, this is the moment. Replacing it later means going back over new concrete.
Protecting the Shell and the PlantCovers over the water, care around the skimmer and the returns, and the pump and filter kept clear. It is the part that takes the time.
Already have a surround? Tell us what it is doing and we will say whether it wants replacing or resurfacing, before anyone comes out.
Asked and Answered
The Three Things People Ask About, and How We Handle Them
The same three questions come up on nearly every pool surround we quote. Here is what decides each one, and what we do about it on your job.
Keeping It Cool Underfoot
Light exposed aggregate and a pale mix stay comfortable on bare feet through a Tasmanian summer, and shade over the sitting end settles it entirely. It is the dark, dense finishes that hold heat, which is why we steer you off them beside a pool.
Joints Are What Keep It Flat
Concrete moves and a pool shell moves, and they do not agree. Cut joints in the right places, and an expansion joint against the shell the whole way round, give that movement somewhere to go. The surround stays flat and any cracking happens where we put it.
Poured Once, Then Left Alone
A poured surround is not lifted and relaid the way pavers are. What you get in return is no settling, no weeds through thirty metres of joints, and nothing to trip on beside water.
The Order It Happens In
From Empty Ground to First Swim
A surround happens around a pool that is already there, or one that has just gone in. Either way the order matters, and so does what happens to the water while we work.
01
Measure and Set Out
Levels taken off the coping and the house, falls decided, and the shape marked so you can walk it before it is permanent.
02
Dig and Compact
Out to depth around the shell, then crushed rock in and compacted in layers. Careful work beside a pool rather than fast work.
03
Box, Joint and Reinforce
Formwork to the line and the fall, mesh up on chairs, and the expansion joint set against the shell the whole way round.
04
Pour and Finish
Placed, screeded, and finished the way you chose, including two finishes in one pour where the wet zone and the lounging area differ.
05
Cut, Cure and Clean Up
Control joints cut early, the pool cleaned down, plant checked and the site left the way we found it.
What It Costs
What Does a Pool Surround Cost in Launceston?
The same 50m² surround, finished three ways. Liquid limestone is the dearest and the coolest underfoot; plain concrete is the cheapest way to get it safe and tidy.
50m² surround, liquid limestone$7,000 – $10,500The full job: surround, coping, drainage falls, saw cut joints and slip seal.
The same surround, exposed aggregate$5,000 – $9,000Barefoot friendly and hard wearing, at our exposed aggregate rate.
The same surround, plain concrete$3,000 – $6,000The cheapest way to get a safe, tidy surround down.These are indicative ranges only. Final pricing depends on site conditions and finish requirements, which is what the free measure settles.
Get Your Job MeasuredWhat It Depends On
Why a Surround Costs More Than the Same Slab Elsewhere
A surround varies more than almost any other slab, because it is built around something expensive that cannot be moved. That is what widens the range above.
New Pool or Existing Pool
A surround poured while the pool is going in is straightforward. One replaced around a full pool, with plant and fencing in place, is careful work and costs like it.
Access to the Pool Area
Back yards, side gates and pool fencing. If the concrete has to be barrowed or pumped over a fence, that is hours rather than minutes.
How Much of It Is Edge
A rectangular pool with a simple surround is mostly straight boxing. Curves, steps and a spa cut into the shape take far longer to form than to pour.
The Coping
Bullnosed, square-edge or cantilevered are three different amounts of work, and a cantilevered edge has to be formed exactly.
One Finish or Two
Exposed aggregate through the wet zone with honed beyond it is two finishing operations in one pour, and it is priced as such.
Drainage
A surround that can shed to garden on every side is simple. One that needs a strip drain and a connection is a different job.
Before You Ring
Work Out Your Pool Surround in Square Metres
Measure the paved area you want, not the pool. A surround is rarely a neat rectangle, so take the overall length and width of the paving and we will subtract the water when we measure it properly.
Surround size
The paving, not the pool
Area
Concrete, roughly
The overall area with the pool still in it. We take the water out at the measure. A starting point, not a quote.
Have those numbers when you ring and we can tell you how the coping and the surround meet, where the fall has to go so water leaves the pool edge, and what the barefoot finishes do to the number.
The Next Step
Get a Price for Your Pool Surround
Send the pool size and whether it is a new pool or a replacement, and we will come out and measure it properly. The measure and the written price are free.
What Happens After You Send It
- We come out and measure it, free, and look at the pool, the access and the falls.
- You get one written price for the whole job, not a rate per square metre.
- If you go ahead, you get a start date and the same crew from quote to pour.
Would rather talk it through? (03) 6724 3698, or send the details through the contact page.
Pool Surrounds Across Launceston
- Kings Meadows
- Newstead
- Norwood
- Prospect
- Riverside
- Trevallyn
- West Launceston
- East Launceston
- South Launceston
- Youngtown
- St Leonards
- Mowbray
Plus the wider Launceston area. See every suburb we cover.
Common Questions
Pool Surround Questions We Get Asked in Launceston
What is the best concrete finish around a pool?
Exposed aggregate, for most yards. It grips when it is wet, it stays cooler underfoot than a solid colour, and it hides the marks a pool surround collects. Honed looks calmer and belongs back from the water's edge, and polished concrete does not belong around a pool at all.
What is pool coping?
The coping is the edge that caps the top of the pool shell, between the water and the surround. It is what you hold, sit on and push off from. Bullnosed is the most comfortable, square-edge is the sharpest looking, and a cantilevered edge overhangs the shell so the concrete appears to float.
Will my concrete pool surround crack?
It will move, and the job is deciding where. A flexible expansion joint runs the whole perimeter where the surround meets the shell, and control joints are cut early through the rest. A crack along the pool edge almost always means the two were tied together.
Do pool surrounds need sealing?
They do not have to be. Sealing deepens the colour, slows salt attack and adds maintenance, because a sealer wears and has to be redone. If it is sealed around water it needs a grip additive, because a gloss sealer on a wet surround is a hazard.
How much does it cost to redo the concrete around a pool?
It depends on the pool, the access and what is there now, and the rate is only a rate. It costs more than the same area of new work because everything happens around a full pool that cannot be damaged, and because the old surround has to be broken out and carted away.
Is concrete better than pavers around a pool?
Concrete is one surface with no joints to weed and nothing to lift and trip on, which matters more around water than anywhere else. Pavers can be taken up to reach a pipe and cost less to start. Both are legitimate; the trade is maintenance against flexibility.
Free Measure, Fixed Price
Find Out What Your Job Costs
One call and we come out, measure the real thing and put a price in writing. It costs nothing and there is no salesman in it.
One call. We measure it and put a fixed price in writing. Costs nothing.
- We come and measure itOn site, tape out, so the price is for your job and not a guess off a photo.
- A fixed written priceOne number you can hold us to. Not a range, not a rate, not an estimate.
- The crew who quotes it pours itThe bloke standing in your driveway is the bloke who does the work. Who you are dealing with.
- Measured on site, not guessed
- Fixed written price, not a range
- The crew who quotes it pours it
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