"My pool is taking longer than the contract says" — what to do
A pool that is months over is not the same problem as a pool that has stopped, and it needs a different response. Most delay in a slow build is lawful — a variation you approved, a wet week, a council approval or an inspection certificate still outstanding — and some is not. The difference is decided by documents you already hold: the contract, the commencement notice and every approved extension. This is how to tell which weeks are actually late.
First work out the real contracted date: the Date for Practical Completion on your commencement notice plus every extension of time you have approved in writing. On a Queensland contract of $20,000 or more, the notice is due within 10 business days of work starting on site. Only the days beyond that adjusted date are late.
The short answer
- A slow build and a stopped build are different problems. If nothing has happened on site for weeks and calls are unanswered, that is the stopped-build path, not this one.
- The contracted date is the commencement notice date plus approved extensions — not the date you were quoted verbally.
- Queensland allows extensions for owner-caused delay, owner-approved variations adding work, and more rain than could reasonably have been anticipated. The claim must be in writing.
- You should not unreasonably reject an extension claim and should respond promptly in writing. An unapproved claim is deemed ‘disputed’ — not automatically refused.
- Pool builds slip for ordinary reasons. Two weeks of nothing is noise; six weeks of nothing with no explanation is a trend.
| What is causing the delay | Legitimate extension? | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| You approved a variation that added a spa | Yes — owner-approved variation involving extra work | Approve the written claim promptly. Ask for the revised date in the same email |
| You changed your mind on tile selection twice | Yes — owner-caused delay | Approve it, and settle remaining selections in one sitting |
| Three weeks of heavy rain in a wet season | Usually — if more than could reasonably have been anticipated | Ask for the claim in writing with the dates. Seasonal rain is anticipated; a flood event is not |
| Council or certifier approval took longer than expected | Depends on the contract | Ask which clause the claim is made under, and for the lodgement and decision dates |
| Crew is on another job | No | Ask in writing for a revised program and the date work resumes |
| Shell or equipment on back-order | Usually not, unless the contract says so | Ask for the supplier's written lead time and the clause relied on |
| No claim has been made at all and the date has passed | No | The Date for Practical Completion has not moved. Put that in writing |
First: is it as urgent as it feels?
Often it is not, and knowing that is worth more than any letter you could send this week.
Pool construction is intermittent by nature. A trade comes, does two days of work, and the pool then sits while something cures, something is inspected, or the next trade finishes elsewhere. Long gaps are structurally normal, and a build that looks abandoned on a Tuesday is frequently just waiting on a certifier.
A usable rule: two quiet weeks is noise, six quiet weeks with no explanation is a trend. Inside two weeks, nothing you do changes anything and chasing daily damages a relationship you still need. Past six weeks with no communication, the problem is no longer the schedule — it is the communication, and that is worth addressing directly and in writing.
The other test: is anyone answering? A builder who replies, gives dates, misses some of them and replies again is having a bad year. A builder who has stopped replying is a different situation entirely, and our page on a pool build that has stopped is the right one to read instead.
In the next 24 hours: work out the real date
Before you raise anything, find out what date you are actually entitled to. It is almost never the date in your head.
Get out three things:
- The contract. Find the Date for Practical Completion, or the method for working it out — the QBCC's example of a method is “180 days from commencement”.
- The commencement notice. On a Queensland contract of $20,000 or more your contractor must give you a signed one within 10 business days of work starting on site, stating the date work started and the Date for Practical Completion. If you never received one, that is the first thing to request.
- Every extension of time you have approved, in writing. Each one moved the date later by the period claimed.
Then do the arithmetic:
Date for Practical Completion + all approved extensions = the date your pool is contractually due.
It is common for this to come out later than the owner expected and still earlier than the builder is behaving as though it is. Either way you now have a number, which changes every conversation that follows. If no commencement notice was ever issued and the contract sets a method rather than a date, ask for the notice first — without it, the finish date is unanchored.
In the next 7 days: one email, three questions
Send one email. Keep it short, unemotional and specific, and send it to the business rather than only to the supervisor's mobile. You are creating a record as much as asking a question.
“Our contract sets the Date for Practical Completion as [date / method]. The commencement notice dated [date] records work starting on [date]. I have approved extensions totalling [X] days. On that basis the pool is due on [date].
Could you please confirm: (1) whether you are claiming any further extension of time, and if so under which clause and for what period; (2) your current expected practical completion date; and (3) the next three stages and their dates. I am happy to consider a reasonable extension claim in writing.”
That last sentence is not a courtesy. In Queensland you should not unreasonably reject an extension of time claim and should respond promptly in writing, so offering to consider one is both the correct posture and evidence that you took it.
What comes back tells you which situation you are in. A written extension claim with clause and dates means the process is working, even if the news is bad. A revised program with no claim means the date has not legally moved and the builder may not realise it. Silence means the problem is not the schedule.
When a claim arrives: approve, dispute, or ask
Queensland sets out the circumstances in which a contractor may seek to extend the Date for Practical Completion: the owner causes a delay, the owner approves a variation involving extra work, or the work is interrupted by more rain than could reasonably have been anticipated.
“More rain than could reasonably have been anticipated” is the one that generates arguments, and it is worth reading carefully. It is not “it rained”. A wet season in Cairns is anticipated; a one-in-twenty-year event is not. If you receive a weather claim, asking for the specific dates lost is a reasonable and non-confrontational question, and the answer is checkable against public rainfall records.
Three responses are available, and only one of them is a fight:
- Approve it. Say so in writing and state the new date in the same message, so both of you are working from one date.
- Ask for detail before deciding. Which clause, which dates, how many days. This is not rejecting the claim.
- Do not approve it. The extension is then deemed ‘disputed’. Note that this is not the same as it being refused — it is a recorded disagreement that goes into the dispute process if the job ends up there.
If the relationship has deteriorated to where you are considering ending the contract, stop and get advice first. The QBCC warns that incorrect termination may have serious legal and financial consequences and can reduce your protection under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme. That is a warning worth taking literally.
Stopping it happening on the next one
If you are reading this mid-build, most of what follows is for other people — but it is short, and it is the part that would have prevented this.
- Insist the commencement notice arrives. Without it, a contract that says “180 days from commencement” has no start point and no enforceable finish date.
- Ask for a liquidated damages clause before signing. The QBCC tells owners to consider an amount and ensure it is recorded in the contract, and almost nobody does. It is the only delay remedy that does not require you to prove each loss.
- Settle every selection before work starts. Tiles, coping, lights, equipment. Owner-caused delay is a legitimate extension ground, and late selections are the most common way owners hand their builder one.
- Keep extensions in one folder with the commencement notice. Together they are the only record of what the date now is.
And at quoting stage, ask every builder the same question about how their contract determines the finish date. The answers differ more than the prices do. Compare quotes from pool builders on that basis as well as on cost.
Common questions
My builder says rain delayed the job. Do I have to accept that?
What happens if I do not approve an extension of time claim?
Can I withhold a progress payment because the build is late?
My pool was promised before Christmas and it is February. Is that a breach?
How late is too late before I should get advice?
Sources
- QBCC — Consumer Building Guide, version 3 (effective July 2023)
- QBCC — Domestic building contracts
- QBCC — Commencing construction
General information only, current at 2026-09-18. Pool rules differ by state and by council, and penalty amounts are updated regularly. Confirm your own obligations with your council or a registered inspector before acting.
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