A holistic approach to pool building: Brad Baxter, Award Pools NSW

How and when did you begin your journey in the swimming pool and spa industry?

A long time ago! I didn’t have any grey hair then. I got into the landscaping industry when I was about 18, then moved into pools when I turned 30. I had been working with pool companies in Sydney doing the landscaping around the pools. I must have been one of the first back in those days. It was quite a hurdle to cross. My competitors called me ‘the Gardner’ once I had jumped ship. I learnt on the job, as there weren’t any courses back then. I spoke to as many people as I could to learn from. That allowed me to evolve as a pool builder.

Back then council would take two weeks to approve permits, which we thought was a bit rough, but now it’s much tougher with all the red tape and bureaucracy.

The biggest help to me in the early years was the swimming pool & spa association in NSW. I applied for membership and the president at the time, Mike Moss, asked me how many pools I’d build. I told him “none”.

But they took me on anyway. I’ll never forget the first concrete pool I completed, I turned around and Mike Moss was standing there watching over me! He was a fantastic help to me over the years. He worked for Davey back then. I was president of the Landscape Contractors Association for quite a few years also.

What are some of the highlights of your career so far?

The awards were always great to get involved in but I’ll always remember when they brought out the Innovation award in pool construction and we won that for the first time! The job we entered was a complete pool and landscaping package and it was such a thrill to win. It really stands out in my memory as a highlight. We’ve got hundreds of awards now and not enough walls to hang them on!

Also working with the board on different initiatives has been exciting.

What challenges have you encountered?

There are plenty of challenges. Mainly the red tape we are forced to work with. Also over the past ten years, consumer expectations have changed. Now they want all sorts of different products. They used to have two choices only. The difficulty is that a lot of these new products aren’t tried and tested so we’ve had to be very cautious about using certain products. The raw materials have changed and sometimes untested materials have caused efflorescence or staining and we have to figure out why it was occurring. Ingredients sometimes get changed without the suppliers letting the industry know. So that has definitely been a challenge over the years. We have to be so careful now as products are coming in from all over the world and are relatively untested, so sometimes we’ve had to learn the hard way. The other issue is water balance which can be quite a complicated process that affects things also.

Are fibreglass or concrete pools more popular in NSW?

I build concrete pools but I think they are both very important to the industry. I’d say that fibreglass pools have an important role in rural NSW. They seem to dominate that market. I’d say concrete and fibreglass are almost lineball. Concrete pools would definitely dominate the Eastern Suburbs and inner Sydney. But they both have their place.

What have you seen change in consumer demand over the years? What are you doing in terms of innovation?

Choice is now huge. The customer has so many choices in all aspects from finishes to equipment. There are some great, innovative products on the market. The customers don’t just want a pool dropped into their backyard any longer. They want to see what the project will look like in 3D imaging, plant selection, drainage etc.

Now we’re building pools on rooftops and in all sorts of places where access is hard. We were building a pool in a little inner city terrace recently where you opened the front door and could see the pool right at the back of the house from the front door. Melbourne must be the same, but we get people here who will pay an extra couple of hundred thousand for everything to be built beautifully. It’s the overall look that they’re after.

I say to my customers, “We’re building another room for your house with this pool”. It definitely gives them the look they are after.

Pool builders use just as many trades as you need to build a house and they’re all involved in working on a very small area. There’s a lot involved in a pool build!

Wet decks are the new thing. We’re doing a lot of new design to remove the traditional grate around pools. Now we’ve created slimline stainless steel channels that give a lovely seamless look. Glazing and acrylic panels in pools are increasingly popular.

“I think the cost of a pool comes third or fourth down the list of things that put people off about Pool having a pool. The equipment top thing would be and the automation of maintenance.” that equipment is all the rage now. People want to be able to manage everything through their phone – even the water balance of their pool! They like to be able to monitor their pool at all times. Is the backyard revolution as big in NSW as it is in Victoria? I think the cost of a pool comes third or fourth down the list of things that put people off about having a pool. The top thing would be maintenance. But now, pool maintenance has been made so much easier, and this has been a real plus for us. We don’t just build the pool and move one. We often get asked if we can do other things for our customers as people have more money these days but are time poor. The pool service industry has gone through the roof, but sadly there are not a lot of young people who want to get into that side of the industry. Our customers can enter into a service agreement with us before we even start building the pool. 95% of our customers just say ‘please continue to look after our pool for us’. Our service division is actually a very large part of our business now.

Brad, top left, at a get together for past presidents.

What is the state of the pool and spa market in NSW currently?

With overseas tourism removed from the equation recently, it has opened up a lot of opportunity for our industry. Sydneysiders have also realised that they have big backyards. Instead of taking the family to Whistler over Christmas, they’ve thought they’ll put a pool in instead.

We were absolutely inundated with calls over the lockdown period with people wanting quotes for pools. If we can’t follow up with quotes for all of the calls we receive, we recommend the consumer calls SPASA so that they can put them onto another reputable builder. 90% of our work is on recommendation.

I’m 65 and my son heads up construction now. He suggested that we get onto social media and things have gone even more gangbusters since then. People are wanting the outside of their house to be just as good as the inside, including cooking facilities etc. Many years ago I worked for Don Burke.

I know him very well. Unfortunately he has been knocked about a bit recently but he always used to say that people should continue to evolve their living spaces to keep up the interest and enjoyment of your outdoor space.

What are some of the challenges for pool builders in NSW?

I think the immediate challenge is training. We have to train new people up and make sure that it’s the correct training. I know that the Associations are working hard on training programs.

The red tape is another thing that we all have to be across. We’re good at building pools and creating outdoor environments but we can easily get bogged down with the red tape, but now we can employ companies that deal with red tape. Sometimes a pool with complexities can take up to 12 months to complete due to hold ups. We tell all of our customers that if you’re thinking of putting a pool in, allow at least 6-7 months.

Customers don’t always seem to understand that, so we are very careful to try hard to manage their expectations. Most say ‘oh well we’ve missed the swimming season now so let’s think about it later in the year’.

Brad’s son James, accepting an Award of Excellence in 2017 from emcee Mike Whitney

But by then, they just have to join the end of the queue. I’ve even had people who are so desperate to be swimming by Christmas that they’ll accept a complete change from white to black tiles if it means their pool will be finished in time!

Do you think pool ownership is still the great Australian dream?

100%. It is a dream. I remember when we used to advertise in magazines, people who wanted a pool would have a copy of a pool magazine on their coffee table, even if it was years

“Choice is now old. Advertising is on the huge. The customer internet now and not really in the magazines has so many choices in any longer, but I all aspects from finishes believe that almost to equipment. There are everyone who ever gets a quote on a pool some great, innovate eventually goes on products on the to get one, even if it is many years later. market.”

Another thing I’d like to mention is the issue of succession planning for pool builders. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of this and I’d really like to stress to other pool builders to be strategic with their planning for the sake of the industry.