68 | POOL INDUSTRY Auckland Inground Pools T T Kelly Deeks Nine awards to add to the mantle An inviting entertainment loggia is interestingly set into a circular shape at the top of the pool, and can be accessed from the poolside via stepping stones. Auckland Ingound Pools had another busy night at the SPASA New Zealand Awards of Excellence 2023, bringing home four Highly Commended awards and five Gold awards including the well-deserved Pool of the Year award for a luxurious outdoor retreat at Coatesville. “We are very proud of all of our creations but hearing our name read out for Pool of the Year was a nice big surprise,” says Auckland Inground Pools sales manager Donna Richmond. “I’m not sure whether our acceptance speech was up to par!” This supreme award joins an array of Gold awards in Auckland Inground Pools’ trophy shelf, including Concrete Pool and Spa Combination, Concrete Pool over $240,000, Freeform Pool over $120,000, and an Acknowledgement of Industry Service award for Auckland Inground Pools construction supervisor Carl Woolright. “Carl has been in the trade for more than 50 years and he’s now retired from his own pool building business. Now he supervises a lot of our sites and points our guys in the right direction. His knowledge and experience are hugely valued by our business, and this award recognises how important he is in the industry itself. He was very humbled by his award, he thinks he’s just doing what he’s always done.” Auckland Inground Pools tradesman Cory Lowe and Donna were also highly commended at the awards for their respective roles. The Pool of the Year is a stunning centrepiece for a large family home. Expertly crafted and finished with the highest quality materials, this generously sized pool has a simplistic and understated style, despite having a lot going on. It is customised with Cooke Deck Jet water features and multi coloured lighting which can both be controlled via mobile app. An inviting entertainment loggia is interestingly set into a circular shape at the top of the pool, and can be accessed from the poolside via stepping stones. It features a central fire pit and a little fridge underneath the seating. “The homeowners chose Ezzari glass mosaic tiles in Dolerite which are my favourites, lovely and classical and not blingey, and they let us have some artistic licence with the colour of the pool plaster so we went with Jewels 4 Pools Ultra glass pool lining in Diamond. It looks really great in a rural setting like this, it’s complementary to the landscape and to the pool.” ““We are very proud of all of our creations but hearing our name read out for Pool of the Year was a nice big surprise.” As the homeowners were looking to use their pool year round and have it always heated to about 28°C, a large, 140kW custom-built heat pump was designed and built by Hot Water Heat Pumps to handle the task. “That’s the service we provide,” Donna says. “With custom made pools, nothing is impossible, we find a way to make it work.” Covid of course was a factor which presented some challenges in the building of this pool. Having been initially dug out in August 2021, a snap lockdown followed closely after and Donna and the team spent the whole time worrying whether it was going to fill in before they were able to get back to site. Snap lockdowns continued thoroughout the build, delaying the project even more. “Our homeowners, just like us, were expecting this pool to be ready far earlier than it was, but the end result was the Pool of the Year so we hope it was worth waiting for.” Auckland Inground Pools has been making families happy since 1999, delivering high end results over a diverse variety of projects in custom pool building, renovations, and refurbishments. SPASA’s arrival from Australia in 2021 has brought massive advantages to our pool industry, raising its profile and bringing in training modules to an industry where training is so important. “This business includes so many different trades, and so many opportunities for young people. “You can be a concrete placer, a plumber, a steel placer, a tiler, and a plasterer from one day to the next.” Distributors of Hide Skimmer Lids and proud of our association with Auckland Inground Pools. austral.co.nz
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