How tight an access can you actually fit a pool dig through?

Mini-excavator setup gets through gaps from 750mm. If you can roll a wheelie bin through it, we can usually run the machine through it. We’ve dug pools through side gates other crews said needed the fence taken down. Hard to tell from photos — easiest is a quick site visit and we’ll tell you straight up.

Do you sub-contract to Perth pool builders?

Yes. Repeat work for Perth pool builders is a big chunk of our schedule. Trade-rate pricing, predictable lead times, clean handover ready for the form and steel crew. Builders we’ve worked with know they can ring once and the dig’s sorted — no chasing.

Concrete or fibreglass pool — does it change the dig?

Different excavation profiles. Concrete pools are usually rectangular with battered sides for shotcrete crews; fibreglass digs are shaped to the shell with tighter tolerance. We work to the engineer’s drawing either way. Tell us which shell you’re running and we quote to that.

What other earthworks do you take on?

Residential site preps for new builds, stormwater and soakwell installs, retaining wall trenches, bobcat + tipper hire, and house footings. If a mini-excavator or skidsteer can do it on a Perth block, we’re your crew. Bigger civils or commercial scopes are outside our lane — happy to refer.

Do you give fixed-price quotes?

Yes. Free site visit within 48 hours of your call, fixed price in writing, no surprise extras. Truck and bobcat for spoil removal are included unless we flag otherwise upfront.

How fast can you book a pool dig in?

Site visit inside 48 hours. Dig usually within 1–2 weeks of agreement, sometimes faster if a slot opens up. Pool builders booking ahead can lock in dates further out.

What about insurance?

We’re insured for the work we do. Happy to email certificates of currency to the pool builder, the strata, or the homeowner — just ask.

What areas do you cover?

Perth metro — focus on the western and northern corridor (Wembley, Floreat, City Beach, Cottesloe, Subiaco, Mt Lawley, Applecross, Mt Pleasant) plus south (Rockingham, Mandurah, Baldivis). Suburb not listed? Ring us — if it’s metro or south metro and a mini fits, we’ll quote.

How to prepare your yard for pool excavation: a Perth homeowner's guide

The dig itself takes a few days. The prep takes a couple of weeks if you do it right — and saves a fortune in surprises. Here's the homeowner's punch list we walk through with every Perth pool client before excavation day.

Step 1 — Dial Before You Dig (and don't skip it)

Sewer, water, gas, comms and stormwater all sit shallower than most people think on Perth blocks. Hit one with a bucket and you've got a serious repair bill, a service outage for the street, and a job that stops dead until it's fixed.

Lodge a Before You Dig referral at byda.com.au at least 5 business days before the dig. The plans tell us where the registered services run; we do an on-site cable locate as well before the first bucket drops. We handle the BYD lodgement on jobs we run — but on a builder-led dig, double-check who's got that ball.

Step 2 — Clear the access path

The access path is the bit of the yard the gear travels along. On dig day it needs:

Gate width verified (we'll measure on the site visit, but spot-check the day before)
No overhanging eaves, pergola corners, or low gutters that catch a boom
No retaining wall edges within 300mm of the track line
Side gate locks removed or keys handed over
Air-con condensers, washing lines, gas bottles cleared of the path

If a gate is fixed shut with cement we'll need a week's notice to plan around it. A side gate that "doesn't open all the way" is the #1 thing that pushes a dig start by a day.

Step 3 — Move what's portable

Mini-excavator tracks are forgiving, but they're not magic. Pots, pavers, ornaments, outdoor furniture, kids' play gear, the trampoline — all that needs to be 2m+ clear of the path and the pit. Anything left in the work zone gets the "operator's discretion" treatment, which is usually "moved into a worse spot."

Worth photographing the yard before we arrive so you've got a reference for "what went where" on the way back.

Step 4 — Talk to the neighbours

A heads-up text the week before saves a phone call to the council a week later. Tell them:

What dates the dig runs
Approximate hours (we work Mon–Fri, 6am to 4pm)
Whether the truck will be on the verge in front of their place
Whether the fence is staying or coming down
Your mobile number for any issues during the dig

We're as quiet as a tracked machine and a tipper gets, but it's not silent. A neighbour who knows what's happening usually shrugs. A neighbour who comes home to a truck blocking their drive and no warning usually doesn't.

Step 5 — Plan for spoil removal

Pool dig spoil is 60–80m³ of sand or clay. It has to go somewhere. Three options:

Truck it out (most common). We bring the tipper, spoil leaves with us same day, dump fees included in the quote. No stockpile on your block.
Stockpile on site. If you're regrading the yard and want to keep select fill, we can pile it where you want it. Needs space and council awareness.
Re-use on the verge / garden beds. Sometimes the spoil is clean enough to spread. Council rules apply — don't dump on the verge without checking.

Whichever option you pick, agree it before dig day. The dig's a bad time to be deciding where 70 tonnes of dirt is going.

Step 6 — Get the engineer's spec to the excavator

The pool engineer's drawing tells us the dig depth, the shape, the batter angle, and any step-downs for benching or spas. We need it before the dig — ideally with the site visit, at the latest the day before excavation starts.

On a builder-led job, the pool builder usually passes it through. On a homeowner-led job (you're hiring the excavator direct and bringing in the form crew separately), it's on you to forward the drawings. We can't set out from "I'll send you the dims later" — and the next time we get the drawings is usually when something's been dug 100mm wrong.

Bonus: Perth winter weather

May to August in Perth, rain days happen. If your dig falls in that window, build in contingency:

Expect 1–2 weather days lost across a 3–5 day tight-access dig
Clay blocks (Mt Lawley, Inglewood, parts of Mt Pleasant) can need pumps
Sand blocks usually drain fast and lose less time
Pool builders booked tight — if your dig slips, your form crew may slip too

The fix isn't to avoid winter (it's actually the quieter season and your booking sits tighter). It's to plan for it.

Day-of checklist

The morning the dig starts, walk the yard with the operator. Two minutes saves hours.

Confirm the pit setout against the engineer's drawing
Point out any sprinklers, soft spots, or recent landscaping
Show where the closest tap is (for dust suppression)
Confirm where the spoil tipper will park
Swap mobile numbers and walk back inside

From there the crew runs the dig. Most homeowners check in once at lunchtime and again at knock-off. That's the right level of involvement.