A Daisy Hill Family Build — Done Right, On Budget
Cathy DillonDaisy Hill is one of our most active building areas, mainly because the suburb has the right mix — generous family blocks, school-age kids, owners settling in for the long term.
The Murphy family build in late 2025 was one of the more straightforward ones we did that year. No major drama, no surprise costs, no timeline blowouts. Sometimes those are the most useful stories to tell, because they show what a regular suburban pool build actually looks like when everything goes to plan.
The brief
Two adults, three kids (8, 11, 13), bog-standard 700m² Daisy Hill block. The Murphys wanted:
- A family pool with enough room for three kids to actually use
- Some sort of seating in the pool for adults
- Reasonable cost — they had a clear budget of $55K all in
- Done before Christmas
They'd had two quotes already. One was $48K but didn't include the fence or paving. One was $62K with all the bells and whistles.
What we recommended
Mike's first call: Family Pool II (7×3m) with a sun ledge at one end and an integrated spa. Total package price $56,790 + $3,000 for upgraded travertine coping + $1,500 for additional paving = $61,290 turnkey.
The Murphys baulked at the spa. They didn't see themselves using it.
We dropped the spa and added the sun ledge as a custom design feature. The sun ledge gave the adults a place to half-recline while the kids went mental in the deeper section. Revised total: $54,200 turnkey. Within their $55K budget.
The decisions they made well
Two specific decisions saved them money without compromising the build.
1. Skipping the spa. Honest call. They knew themselves and their kids. The spa would have been $11,890 of equipment they wouldn't have used regularly.
2. Aluminium fence instead of frameless glass. Saved $4,500. The aluminium they chose was a charcoal powder-coated panel system that looks tidy. Not as premium as glass, but for a family with three kids constantly running through, it's actually more practical (no fingerprint marks).
The build, by week
- Weeks 1-2: Council lodgement, drawings, structural certificate
- Week 3: Approval came back, build scheduled to start
- Week 4-6: Excavation, steel, engineer inspection
- Week 7: Shotcrete sprayed
- Weeks 7-9: Curing, then plumbing and electrical roughed in
- Week 10: Coping, paving, fence panels
- Week 11: Pebble-crete (charcoal, looks fantastic against the charcoal fence)
- Week 12: Water in, equipment commissioning
- Week 13: Handover
One weather delay — a 5-day storm event in week 6 paused the shotcrete spray by 3 days. Made up by working a Saturday in week 8. Final timeline matched the original within 24 hours.
The kids' first swim
The Murphys had us schedule handover for the Friday before Christmas. Travis did the walkthrough at 4pm, the family did the pool inspection together, and by 6pm the three kids were in the water having a swim before dinner.
Mrs Murphy sent us a photo Christmas Day — the whole family in the pool, gift wrap on the deck, grandparents on chairs. We use that photo (with permission) at trade shows because it captures exactly why we do this work.
The first six months
Travis has called in twice for routine post-handover check-ins. Chemistry has been stable, equipment running clean, no warranty issues.
One small thing came up: the kids managed to scratch the pebble-crete with a dropped pool toy in month 2. Travis touched it up during one of the visits, no charge. The kind of follow-up that costs us 30 minutes and earns us referrals for years.
The point of this story
This wasn't a hero build. No impossible terrain, no architectural ambitions, no unusual constraints. Just a Brisbane family with a normal block and a clear budget getting a great pool delivered on time.
That kind of normal, predictable, well-executed build is actually the most common thing we do. The dramatic stories — sloping blocks, tiny courtyards, custom architecture — are the exceptions. Most builds look like the Murphys'.
If your situation sounds like theirs, come and have a chat. We'll quote honestly and build cleanly.
— Cathy
Family name changed for client privacy. Project details accurate.
