What does pool coping cost in Perth?

Coping is quoted with the surround rather than on its own, because the two are laid together and the cutting is what takes the time. A curved pool costs more to edge than a straight one, and a drop face costs more than a bullnose. Send us your pool and we will price the edge properly rather than guess at a range.

Can you replace just the coping and leave the paving?

Usually yes. The coping row can be lifted, the bed corrected and new units laid without disturbing the paving behind it. Matching an existing paver exactly is the harder part, and if the original is no longer made we will tell you before we start rather than after.

What is the difference between bullnose and square edge coping?

Bullnose has a fully rounded front edge, which is softer to sit on and more forgiving of a pool that is not perfectly true. Square edge has a sharp arris, reads modern and suits straight-sided pools, but every millimetre of level shows along the run.

Is travertine coping too hot for bare feet?

Travertine is the coolest of the natural stones we lay and it is the usual answer for a pool that gets full afternoon sun. Dark stone is the problem, not natural stone generally. Bluestone and dark porcelain both get hot enough to notice in February.

Do you lay coping around a salt water pool?

Yes. Salt is hard on porous stone and on poor jointing rather than on coping as such. Porcelain is effectively unaffected. Travertine and limestone perform well when they are bedded on a full bed of mortar and the joints are grouted solid rather than sanded.

How long does a coping replacement take?

A coping-only job on a standard backyard pool is usually a few days on site, most of it cutting. A curved pool takes longer than a straight one because every unit is measured and tapered individually before anything is bedded.

Can you lay coping over the existing edge?

An overlay is possible on some pools and a bad idea on others. It raises the edge, which changes the fall and the relationship to the waterline tile, and it can leave you with an edge that is too thick to sit on comfortably. We will look before recommending it.

Bullnose coping following the curve of a Perth pool with even joints the whole way round

Pool coping Perth

Pool coping is the edge that finishes a surround, and in Perth it is usually the first part of a pool to look wrong. We cut and lay coping to the shape of the pool you already have, in travertine, porcelain, limestone or bluestone.

Cut to the radius, not forced around it
Bullnose, square edge and drop face
The edge replaced without redoing the paving

(08) 6186 7478

Send us your pool

A photo of the edge and a rough shape is enough to price it.

Coping and capping, installed and replaced

Coping and capping are the same thing under two names, so if you have been quoted for one and asked about the other, nobody is talking about different work.

We install it on new surrounds, replace it when it has failed, and lift and re-level runs that have dropped, anywhere between Two Rocks and Mandurah.

It is quoted and laid with the surround when both are being done, and on its own when the paving behind it is still sound.

New coping
The full edge on a new or freshly rendered pool, cut to the shape and bedded with the surround.
Replacement
Lifting a failed edge, correcting the bed underneath it and laying new units. Matching an existing paver is the hard part and we will say so before starting.
Lift and re-level
Where the units are sound but the bed has dropped. Cheaper than replacement and often all a pool needs.

What the edge has to do

Take a person's weight

The edge is a seat whether it was designed as one or not. A unit bedded on dabs of mortar rocks the first time somebody sits on the corner of it.

Throw water off the front

The overhang and the fall decide whether splash-out leaves the stone or runs back down the inside of the pool wall.

Stay cool underfoot

It is walked on wet and barefoot in February. Material choice matters more here than anywhere else on the property.

Follow the pool

Perth pools are rarely rectangles. A curve laid with straight units opens wedge-shaped joints that never close up again.

Bullnose, square edge and drop face

Three profiles cover almost every pool we are asked to edge. The choice changes how the pool reads from the house and how the edge feels to hold on to.

Bullnose

A fully rounded front edge. The softest to hold and to sit on, and the most forgiving of a pool that is not perfectly true. The default for travertine and limestone.

Square edge

A sharp arris, usually in porcelain. It reads modern and it suits a straight-sided lap pool. It is less forgiving: every millimetre of level shows along the run.

Drop face

The stone turns down and continues as a face on the pool wall, hiding the shell and the waterline tile behind it. The most expensive of the three and the one that changes a pool most.

Honey toned travertine bullnose coping cut to follow the curve of a swimming pool

Cut to the radius, not forced around it

A curved pool edged with straight units leaves a wedge at every joint. Wide at the front, tight at the back, and there is no grout colour that hides it.

The alternative is slow: each unit is measured against the pool, tapered on the saw, and dry laid around the whole curve before anything is bedded. If the last piece does not close, the run comes apart and starts again.

That is most of the labour on a coping job, and it is the difference you can see from the back door.

Coping materials, compared

Salt, sun and bare feet decide this more than looks do. What follows is what we would tell you standing at the pool.

Material	Underfoot	With salt	What to know
Travertine	UnderfootCoolest underfoot of the natural stones	With saltFine when it is laid wet and grouted solid	What to knowThe Perth default for a reason. Bullnose profiles are readily available.
Porcelain	UnderfootCool, and completely consistent	With saltEffectively unaffected	What to knowHolds a sharp square edge. Needs a good installer because it shows every lipped joint.
Limestone	UnderfootCool, soft and local	With saltPorous, so the jointing has to be right	What to knowReads soft and Western Australian. It marks more readily than travertine.
Bluestone	UnderfootGets hot in full sun	With saltDurable, but it can spot	What to knowDramatic against a dark interior. We will tell you where not to use it.
Concrete	UnderfootDepends entirely on the colour	With saltHard wearing, and cheap to replace	What to knowThe most economical way to edge a pool, and the least interesting to look at.

Signs your coping is on its way out

Coping usually fails long before the paving behind it does. If you can tick two of these, it is worth a look.

A unit rocks or clicks when you stand on the front edge of it
Joints have opened and the sand or grout has washed out of them
One or more pieces sit proud of their neighbours
Water runs back down the inside of the pool wall instead of off the front
Grout is cracked in a line following the curve
The edge has lifted where a tree root has got under the shell

Coping can usually be lifted and relaid on its own, without touching the paving behind it. That is a smaller job than most people expect, and it is about half of what we do.

A lifted coping stone sitting proud of its neighbours with the joint washed out beside it

Pool coping questions

Pale stone coping around a dark bottomed pool against a charcoal rendered wall

Send us your pool and we will price the edge

A photo of the edge, a rough shape and whether it is salt or chlorine is enough to start. If the coping can be saved rather than replaced, we will say so.

(08) 6186 7478

Call us Get a quote

Pool coping Perth

Coping and capping, installed and replaced

What the edge has to do

Bullnose, square edge and drop face

Bullnose

Square edge

Drop face

Cut to the radius, not forced around it

Coping materials, compared

Signs your coping is on its way out

Pool coping questions

What does pool coping cost in Perth?+

Can you replace just the coping and leave the paving?+

What is the difference between bullnose and square edge coping?+

Is travertine coping too hot for bare feet?+

Do you lay coping around a salt water pool?+

How long does a coping replacement take?+

Can you lay coping over the existing edge?+

Send us your pool and we will price the edge