How long does a pool have to stay empty?

Long enough for the adhesive and grout to reach full cure, which on a typical tank means four to eight weeks from the start of tiling depending on the system and the hall temperature. We give you the manufacturer's figures at tender, not an optimistic one.

Do you use epoxy grout in pool tanks?

In most commercial tanks, yes. Pool chemistry attacks cement-based grout over time, and the cost of epoxy is trivial against the cost of draining a tank to regrout it. We specify it to the manufacturer's system.

Can you work around a facility that stays partly open?

Yes. Tank works need the pool drained, but surrounds, changing rooms and shower blocks can be staged and handed back in sections so parts of the facility keep trading through the programme.

Commercial sector

Aquatic centre and pool tiling

Tank linings, level-deck channels and barefoot-rated surrounds built to survive permanent immersion and pool chemistry.

Request a trade price

Cure time: Programmed, never compressed
Works staged: Around facility shutdown windows
Falls and outlets: Surveyed before the first tile

The package

A pool is the least forgiving surface there is to tile. The lining is permanently immersed, chemically loaded and under hydrostatic pressure, and a failure is not a defect you patch on a Tuesday — it is a drained tank and a closed facility.

So the system matters more than the tile. A tank gets a fully bonded build-up: rendered and floated substrate, a tanking membrane suited to permanent immersion, a cementitious adhesive rated for it, and a chemical-resistant grout. Surrounds are specified barefoot-wet rated, and the level-deck channel is set out first because everything else takes its line from it.

A system rated for permanent immersion

Every layer from render to grout is selected as a compatible immersion-rated system from one manufacturer. Mixing brands across a tank build-up is how warranties are lost.

Cure time that cannot be compressed

Adhesive and grout in a tank need their full cure before filling. We build that into the programme honestly, because a tank filled early fails and the programme saved is repaid tenfold.

Barefoot-wet slip ratings on surrounds

Surrounds, ramps and changing-room floors are specified to a tested barefoot-wet rating with the certificate retained, and falls are set so water reaches the channel rather than sitting in the walkway.

Level-deck channels set out first

The channel is the datum for the whole pool hall. We set it out and confirm levels before any surround tiling begins, because a channel corrected afterwards means lifting everything around it.

Scope we carry

Pool tank linings in fully bonded, immersion-rated systems
Waterline bands, step markings and depth-marker tiling
Level-deck channel set-out, tiling and grating transitions
Barefoot-rated surrounds, ramps and wet-deck areas
Changing rooms, shower blocks and sauna surrounds
Render, float and fall correction to tank walls and floors
Chemical-resistant epoxy grouting where specified
Shutdown-window programming with staged handback

Compliance

NZS 4441Swimming pool design requirements for finishes and detailing.
AS/NZS 4586Barefoot-wet slip resistance classification for surrounds and ramps.
AS 3958.1Bedding, full adhesive coverage and movement joint placement.
NZBC E3Internal moisture control in pool halls and changing facilities.

Send drawings and programme

On site

Swimming pool lined in blue mosaic with tiled entry steps

Blue pool tiles seen through clear water

Blue mosaic pool corner with a tiled waterline band

Geometric pool with a tiled surround and coping detail

Hotel & hospitalityGuest bathrooms repeated to the same set-out across every level, plus front-of-house stone that has to survive luggage trolleys.Sector detail

Apartment & multi-unitRepeated unit typologies with acoustic underlay, membranes to AS/NZS 3740 and a photographic record for every wet area in the building.Sector detail

For main contractors

Aquatic centres & pools tiling, answered

We reply to every quote request within one working day. If your question is not here, ask it on the quote form and you will get a written answer, not a sales call.

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Tell us the room. We will tell you the number

We reply to every quote request within one working day. Measured quotes are fixed and written, broken down by area, with tile allowances and movement joints itemised.