X-Trainer Series · Country Victoria
X-Trainer 11.8m Self-Cleaning Pool, Boorolite VIC
A 12-metre Sapphire-blue lap pool built into a sloping country block with off-grid power, a hidden retaining-wall equipment room, and views that made every engineering challenge worth it.
Pool
X-Trainer 11.8
Colour
Sapphire
Install
Above ground
Cleaning
Self-cleaning
The Build
Inside the install
From the first foundation work through to the finished pool with its hidden equipment room and natural stone retaining wall.
The Project
A simple-looking lap pool that took a lot of engineering to make look simple
This was a fun project to work on in country Victoria with a wonderful country ‘can do’ attitude. The customer, an avid exerciser, wanted the simplest looking pool with ample space for swimming laps. The result delivers a striking contrast of bright blue against natural stone, with a generous uninterrupted lap area for exercise — a perfect blend of functionality and aesthetics.
The brief
“Can you get a pool in that location and that height?”
The architect’s plans had a rectangle drawn in — on new fill, technically sitting in mid-air. The customer wanted simple, lap-focused, and at the exact spot on the slope the house was designed around.
The challenge
Build a 10m lap pool on fill, mid-project add a retaining wall, hide the entire equipment room.
A soil engineer mapped the bearing layer; we removed the fill and built a stabilised base. Then the client decided the equipment should be invisible — so a retaining wall got added on the fly, which ended up becoming the standout feature of the site.
The colour choice
Bright Sapphire against natural stone — and bright enough to spot snakes.
The client wanted contrast, not blend-in water. He wanted brightness in a house full of muted natural colours. The second reason: bright blue makes snakes easier to see — serious consideration on a country block.
Why it works
Off-grid power, two-swimmer lap design, simple lines that took real engineering to deliver.
The property is off the grid, so every piece of equipment was sized to live inside the solar-and-battery budget. The X-Trainer shape’s original purpose — the name comes from “Cross Trainer” — means two adults can swim laps without colliding. Rare in residential.
At a Glance
Project specifications
Pool & design
- Shape
- X-Trainer 11.8
- Dimensions
- 11.8m × 4.2m
- Colour
- Bi-luminite Sapphire
- Install type
- Partially above ground (Maxi Rib)
- Location
- Boorolite VIC 3723
Features & equipment
- Cleaning
- Vantage in-floor self-cleaning
- Heating
- Astral heat pump
- Sanitisation
- Astral salt chlorination
- Cover
- Sunline hidden blanket box & blanket
- Lighting
- Spa Electric LED lights
Why Compass For Projects Like This
The four reasons this pool exists where it does
Sloping country sites with off-grid power and complex foundations are exactly the kind of project that separates pool builders. Here’s why this one worked.
Maxi Rib above-ground tech
Our co-developed Maxi Rib structural ribbing lets the X-Trainer sit on stabilised fill above the natural ground level — impossible with conventional fibreglass shells. The customer could have the pool exactly where the architect wanted it.
Soil engineering done properly
We work with soil engineers to test bearing capacity and design the stabilised base — not just “dig and drop”. On sites with fill, this is the difference between a pool that holds for 30 years and one that cracks in three.
Off-grid equipment sizing
When the property runs on solar and batteries, the pool can’t pull more than the system delivers. We sized every piece of equipment — heat pump, chlorinator, self-cleaning pump — to live inside that power budget.
Mid-project change-of-mind, handled
The hidden equipment room with retaining-wall reveal wasn’t in the brief. The client decided mid-build. Our team sketched it, engineered it, and made it look like it was always meant to be there.
Got a tricky site like this one?
Sloping blocks, country properties, fill sites, off-grid power — we’ve built on every kind of site Victoria can throw at us. Free site inspection, honest assessment, no obligation.
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Other X-Trainer installations
From slim 7.15m courtyard installs to dramatic 11.8m infinity-edge builds — the X-Trainer shape adapts to almost any Melbourne backyard.
