Dig day is an exciting day for our clients.  The day the excavator rolls in, the first bucket of soil comes up, and suddenly,  after months of planning , something is actually happening. Your backyard is never going to look the same again!

But here’s the thing nobody tells you: what protects your build, your budget, and your experience isn’t dig day. It’s everything that comes before it.

Every client who comes to us at Livin’ wants the pool. What they may not expect is how much goes into making sure that pool is the right pool  – on the right site, with the right approvals, built the right way. At Livin’, we call that the pre-build phase,  and it is where a smooth, well-built pool really begins.

So if you’re wondering what the process actually looks like from your first phone call to breaking ground, here it is. Let’s dig in! (pun intended)

1. The first conversation — and why we come to you

When someone reaches out to Livin’, the first step isn’t a quote. It’s a conversation.

We’ll always want to meet you on site before we talk numbers. This isn’t a sales visit — it’s a proper, practical assessment. Because you cannot give an accurate quote on a pool without standing on the block it’s going to be built on.

Billy (our licensed builder with two decades on the tools) will walk the property with you. He’s looking at everything: slope and grade, soil type, access for machinery, proximity to neighbouring structures, drainage, underground services, trees. All of the things that genuinely affect what a build costs and how it runs.

This is the conversation where we find out what you’re actually after — not just “a pool,” but how you want your backyard to feel. How your family lives out there. Whether the pool is the centrepiece or part of a bigger outdoor transformation. Whether you’re entertaining every weekend or looking for somewhere quiet to swim laps at 6am.

We ask a lot of questions at this stage. We want to understand you before we design anything for you.

And here’s what this visit is not: it is not a pitch, and it is not a hard sell. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so. If your block throws up something we want to think about before we go further, we’ll say that too. We’d rather have an honest conversation early than a difficult one later.

2. Soil testing, engineering, and site investigation — Billy’s world

Once we’ve had that first meeting and everyone feels good about moving forward, we get serious about the site.

This is where the technical work begins — and where shortcuts can cause problems later. At Livin’, we do this part properly.

Soil testing tells us what we’re working with underground. Gold Coast and Northern NSW sites throw up everything: clay, rock, fill, high water tables, expansive soils that move with moisture. A pool structure that isn’t engineered for your specific soil conditions is a pool that’s going to cause problems. Billy has seen what happens when builders skip this step or assume. We don’t assume.

Site investigations go further — checking for underground services, easements, anything that affects where the pool can go and how it gets built. If you’re on a sloped block (very common through the Tweed and Northern NSW areas), the investigation includes how we manage that gradient structurally and aesthetically.

Engineering is where all of this information becomes a pool design that will last. Every Livin’ pool is engineered specifically for its site — not a standard design dropped onto a block, but a structure calculated for your soil, your load, your conditions.

Billy’s take: A good build starts well before dig day. Access, soil, drainage and engineering might not be the glamorous part, but they are what protect the finished pool long-term.

This work takes time. It’s also what the quotes you’ll see from other builders often don’t include — or include in a way that leaves you exposed to variations once the build begins.

When we quote a job, we quote it properly. So you know what you’re agreeing to before you sign.

3. Approvals and council — what you need to know, and what makes our region different

Here is where most clients get their first surprise: how long approvals can take.

Building a pool in Queensland or New South Wales requires the right approvals, certification, and documentation before work begins. The process, the timeline, and the complexity vary significantly depending on where you are — and this is one of the areas where having a builder who genuinely knows your local area makes a real difference.

In Queensland, pool approvals typically move through a relatively straightforward building certification process. Certifiers assess your application against the Queensland Development Code, and for a standard pool on a residential block, this can move reasonably quickly — though “quickly” in construction terms is still measured in weeks, not days.

In New South Wales, and particularly in the Tweed and Northern Rivers region, the process is different. Tweed Shire has specific requirements that can be more involved than many clients expect — particularly around setbacks, drainage, and flood mapping. Northern NSW also has site-specific challenges (soil, slope, rainfall) that make engineering documentation more critical, not less.

For clients building near the Queensland–NSW border (which describes a lot of our projects — Kingscliff, Pottsville, Banora Point, Tweed Heads), there’s an added layer: you need a builder who is licensed in both states. Livin’ holds active licences in QLD and NSW. That matters for your project, your warranty, and your peace of mind.

We manage the approvals process for you. We know the kinds of details Tweed Shire, Gold Coast certifiers, engineers, and town planners will ask for — and we know how to prepare the documentation properly from the start. We’ve done this hundreds of times. You don’t have to navigate it alone — and you shouldn’t have to.

Timeline-wise: in Queensland, approvals can often take around 2–4 weeks, depending on the project. In New South Wales, allow around 2–4 months depending on council, site conditions, and the level of documentation required. This is why we tell clients who want to swim by next summer to start the conversation now.

4. Selections with Kylie — “what mood are you chasing?”

While engineering and approvals are underway, we start the design work — and this is the part I love most.

Every Livin’ selections process starts with the same question: What mood are you chasing?

Not “which tile do you want.” Not “here’s our catalogue, pick one.” First: what feeling are you after? Resort? Coastal? Subtropical? Classic? Bali-inspired? Minimal and architectural?

The reason we start here is that every material decision — pool interior finish, coping, decking, landscaping — should be working together toward the same feeling. If we choose the tile before we understand the mood, we can end up with a beautiful finish that does not quite work with the house — or a coping stone that looks great on its own but fights with everything around it.

From there, our clients meet with our trusted suppliers at Stone Style in Currumbin. Their team is incredible at helping clients work through stone, tile, colour schemes and finish options, and we really trust their eye. Once those selections are underway, we liaise closely with everyone involved to complete the look and bring the whole design together.

We talk about how light hits the pool at different times of day. How the colour of the interior affects the water colour (darker interiors = deeper, more dramatic water; lighter = bright aqua; glass bead = that incredible shimmer). How the coping interacts with the decking material. How the whole thing looks through the kitchen window, from the alfresco, from the bedroom.

It’s not just aesthetics, either. I’ll always flag which selections are going to be easy to maintain and which ones need more care. The last thing I want is for you to choose a beautiful finish that you’re stressed about keeping perfect.

This phase typically runs in parallel with approvals — which is one of the reasons the pre-build process isn’t wasted time. When approvals are granted, we are ready to move.

5. Scheduling, communication, and how clients stay informed

Once approvals are in and selections are locked, we schedule the build.

At Livin’, we take on a limited number of projects each year. This is intentional. We’re not a volume builder churning through jobs — we’re a boutique team, and that means every client gets genuine attention, not a project number in a system.

When your build is scheduled, you’ll know the timeline, what’s happening and when, and who to contact for anything. You’ll have my number. You won’t be chasing someone through a call centre.

During the build, communication is paramount. We’ll keep you updated on what is happening, what is coming next, and what may need to shift along the way. On the South East Queensland coastline and through Northern NSW, rain can come and go quickly, and it can push schedules back. Trades, weather, site conditions and sequencing all play a part, so if something changes, we will let you know. You will receive email or text updates from us with rough schedule notes, so you know when trades are expected on site and what the next stage looks like.

This matters more than people realise going in. The pre-build phase can take several months. The build itself can shift with weather and trade timing. And in our experience, the clients who feel most comfortable through that period are the ones who know what is happening — even when the answer is, “we are waiting on approvals, and we are across it.”

We’ll never leave you wondering.

What this all adds up to

A Livin’ pool doesn’t start on dig day. It starts the moment you reach out and we come to walk your block.

Everything in the pre-build phase — the site assessment, the soil testing, the engineering, the approvals, the selections, the scheduling — is what helps the build itself go smoothly. It’s what helps us quote properly, reduce surprises, and make sure you understand what is included before the build begins. It’s what means the pool you end up with is the pool you actually wanted.

“A good build starts well before dig day.” — Billy

If you’ve been thinking about a pool for a while and you’re not sure where to start, start here. Come and have a chat with us. Tell us about your block, your backyard, what you’re dreaming of — and we’ll tell you honestly what’s possible, how long it takes, and what it looks like to do it properly.

That conversation is free. And it’s where every great Livin’ pool begins.

Livin’ Construction Co. are licensed builders in Queensland and New South Wales, specialising in custom concrete pools and outdoor transformations across the Gold Coast, Tweed Coast, and Northern NSW. Founded by Kylie and Billy Stanley.