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FEATURES & INCLUSIONS
What goes in beyond the shell and the tile.
The decisions you make at design time on heating, automation, lighting, water features, finishes, filtration, covers and care all decide how the pool lives — and how the running costs land. Here's what every Bass build can include.
A pool is the shell, the tile, and everything else.
We specify inclusions for each Bass build alongside the design — not as upsell options after the contract is signed. Heating type, automation, lighting, water features, the tile, the filtration and the covers all need to be sized to the pool, the site and the way you'll use it.
Below is what we work with. We don't run a one-equipment-supplier business — we specify what's right for the build, then explain the trade-offs in writing.
Free site consultation, no obligation, straight answers in the room.
01
HEATING
Gas, heat pump, or both — sized to the build.
Heating extends a Bass-Coast pool's usable season from four months a year to nine or ten. We size the heater to the pool volume, the site exposure and the way you want to swim — there's no one-size answer.
Gas is the quickest to bring the pool up to temperature; heat pumps are the cheapest to run over a season; some builds use both. We'll spec the right one with you and explain the running-cost difference in writing.
Gas heaters Fast heat-up, higher running cost, ideal for short-burst usage and shoulder seasons.
Heat pumps Lower running cost over the season, slower to bring the pool up, ideal for regular swim weeks.
Solar boosting Roof panels can pre-warm the pool through summer and reduce gas / heat-pump load.
Spa heating Pool-and-spa shells can share filtration and heating, saving install and running cost.
02
Automation
One tap to run the pool, the spa, the lights, the cleaner.
Pool automation has come a long way. Modern systems run the pumps, the temperature, the lighting, the chemistry and the cleaner from one app on your phone. We spec the system to the build and walk you through it on handover.
Most clients want to set the temperature schedule and forget it. Some want full real-time visibility and remote control from a holiday. Both are easy to spec.
App-based pool control Pumps, temperature, chemistry, cleaner, lighting — all from one app.
Spa scheduling Spa heats on a schedule (so it's ready at 6pm), then powers down.
Chemistry monitoring Real-time pH and chlorine levels, with auto-dosing where specified.
Holiday mode Reduce heating and pump runtime while you're away, scheduled or remote.
03
LIGHTING
In-pool LED, deck wash, spa jet uplight.
Lighting changes how the pool reads at night — and on the Bass Coast, where the long summer evenings start at 8pm and dinner runs to 10, lighting matters. We spec in-pool LED that holds its colour for years, plus surround lighting that the deck and the architecture call for.
For architect-led builds, the lighting plan is part of the design coordination — we work with the architect's lighting designer if there is one.
In-pool LED Colour-changing or single white, dimmable, controlled from the app.
Deck wash Ambient lighting on the deck and surround, integrated with the home.
Spa jet uplight Underlit jets that change the spa's mood at night.
Water-feature accent Lighting on spillovers, water blades and edges.
04
Water features
Spillovers, water blades, wall jets, integrated spa.
Water features are how you make the pool sound the way it looks. A spa spillover into the pool, a wall blade falling onto the surface, jets set into a sun island — each one changes the soundscape of the backyard and the mood of the deck.
We design water features into the shell at engineering stage so they read as one piece with the pool — not bolted on after.
Spa spillover Integrated spa spills into the pool. Visual continuity + ambient sound.
Water blades Sheet or stream blades from a coping wall or feature element.
Wall jets Set into a swim-up edge or sun island, low-flow ambient water.
Spa jet packages Configurable jet count and zones, sized to the brief.
05
TILED FINISHES
Kit Kat, square mosaic, glass mosaic, custom selection.
Every Bass pool is fully tiled inside. Tile holds its colour and surface for decades on a coastal block; rendered finishes don't. The interior tile selection is the single biggest determinant of how the pool reads visually — the water colour you see is the tile colour plus the surface.
We work with the architect and the home on tile selection — typically through suppliers — and walk you through the colour story before you commit.
Kit Kat tile Vertical finger-tile, contemporary, used on the Lighthouse build.
Square mosaic Classic small-format, square or near-square. Pearl-coloured used on Parkdale.
Glass mosaic Rich water colour, premium feel, refracts light beautifully.
Custom selection For architect-led briefs that need a specific colour story.
06
FILTRATION
Cartridge or media, sized to the pool and the climate.
Filtration is the invisible engineering that keeps the water clean. The right system depends on pool volume, expected bather load, equipment-room space, and how often you want to backwash. We specify the system at design time and size the pump and turnover rate to match.
Most family builds use a cartridge or media filter; commercial and high-volume residential go to higher-rate sand or DE.
Cartridge filtrationCompact, low backwash water, ideal for most family pools.
Media filtration Glass or sand, higher capacity, ideal for high-use builds.
Variable-speed pumps Cut running cost 70%+ over single-speed legacy pumps.
Equipment housing Hidden in a service area so nothing visual sits in the backyard.
07
COVERS
Sunbather and similar — automated or manual.
A pool cover does three things: it cuts evaporation, holds heat overnight, and keeps leaves out. On the Bass Coast where the wind is real and the leaf litter is too, a cover is the single best running-cost decision you can make.
Most Bass builds spec a Sunbather-style cover, either automated (track-recessed into the coping) or manual (roller stored at one end). We coordinate the cover with the architect at design time so the housing is integrated, not added on later.
Automated covers Track-recessed, one-button open/close, integrated into the deck.
Manual roller covers Stored on a roller at one end, deployed in 60 seconds.
Solar bubble covers Floating heat-retention, manual handling.
Sunbather-style Industry standard for residential, integrated look.
08
CLEANING
In-floor systems, robotic cleaners, ongoing service plans.
Pool cleaning ranges from full hands-off (in-floor cleaning system + automated chemistry) to fortnightly service visits we run for you. We'll talk you through the trade-offs at design time — in-floor cleaning systems add cost upfront and save time forever; service plans cost monthly but you don't think about the pool.
For pools we built and pools we didn't, we run ongoing service across the Bass Coast and Melbourne.
In-floor cleaning system Pop-up jets in the floor circulate water and sweep debris. Integrated at shell stage.
Robotic cleaners Standalone units that scrub the floor and walls on schedule.
Ongoing service plans Fortnightly or monthly visits across Bass Coast + Melbourne. Includes pools we didn't build.
Equipment service Pump, filter, heater servicing on schedule.
SUPPLIERS WE WORK WITH
Bass specifies premium equipment and materials — chosen for the build, not bundled in.
The Pool Tile Company
Sunbather Pool Heating
Insnrg
Astralpool
Klafs
We're not tied to a single supplier — we specify what's right for the build.