What the Pool Dig Includes
Your pool builder sends a dig sheet: length, width, depth, overdig for shell clearance, and sometimes a bench for plumbing. The excavator cuts to that profile, keeps walls reasonably square, and loads spoil straight to tippers. On most jobs we take the clay off site the same day — backyard piles block the crane or delivery truck later.
Access Is Half the Job
A 7 m fibreglass pool needs either side access for a larger machine or a mini excavator with spoil carried out in buckets. Point Cook knockdown rebuilds with 2.4 m side fences are a different job to a 15 m wide Melton acreage block.
Check overhead powerlines, gas meters, and whether the pool company needs a flat staging area for the crane. We walk the backyard before quoting — photos help but don't replace measuring the gate width.
Rock and Clay on Pool Digs
Same basalt plain issues as house site cuts. Hit a shelf mid-dig and the hammer goes on — see our note on pricing rock fairly. Reactive clay needs a clean dig to the pool company's tolerance; overdig is normal, but random gouges aren't.
Timing With Your Pool Builder
Book the dig for the day before or morning of shell delivery. Empty hole + rain = collapsed walls on clay. Most builders want the hole inspected, then shell in within 24–48 hours. We coordinate start times with the pool company so you're not paying standby while you wait for fibreglass.
Measure the side gate. Seriously — half the pool quotes we knock back are access problems, not dig depth.
Getting a Pool Dig Quote
Send the dig sheet PDF, gate width, and a photo down the side path. Include whether you need all spoil removed or some kept for landscaping. Fixed price beats hourly on pool jobs — you know the shell size, so the volume is predictable unless rock appears.