Composite deck around a backyard pool, glass pool fence sunk into the boards, banana palms and frangipanis right up to the edge.
Brooke had a tired pebblecrete surround and a pool fence that looked like a rental car park. She wanted the back yard to feel like a holiday let in Bali. Soft underfoot, low-maintenance, kid-safe, and tight in around the existing landscaping so the palms could push right up to the deck edge.
Salt and chlorine sit on a pool deck every day. Hardwood would have been gorgeous for two summers and then she'd be sanding it back. Composite was the right answer. The challenge was making composite look premium against tropical planting instead of plasticky.
Modwood Natural Grain composite boards in Sahara Stone — the colour shifts with the light and reads as natural timber from across the yard. Frameless 12mm toughened glass pool fence on 316 marine-grade stainless spigots. Treated pine H3 subframe with hot-dip galvanised hangers and stainless deck-screws so nothing rusts out. Self-closing pool gate with magnetic latch sized for AS 1926.1.
Three weeks. Demo and footings in week one (concrete had to cure before the frame went down). Subframe and deckboards through week two, with cuts dropped in around the existing palms so we didn't lose any of the established planting. Final week was glass install, gate hardware, pool inspection and a tidy-up. Pricing landed in the standard composite band of $1,200–$1,650 per square metre.
Pool fencing built to AS 1926.1: minimum 1,200mm height, no foothold within 900mm of the top, gate self-closing and self-latching. Council pool inspection booked direct with Northern Beaches Council and passed first pass.
Family swims most weekends. Composite stays cool enough underfoot in February and doesn't stain when wet leaves drop on it. The glass fence disappears against the planting, which is the trick — you stop noticing the barrier and just see the garden.
"The boys from Bark really brought our vision to life! Better than expected actually. They worked efficiently."
— Brooke R., Avalon