POLL: Depth Question - Need Fast Advice - 16x33 - If It Were You?????

With kids using the pool, I'd say go at least 8ft. You can certainly tell them no diving, but did we always do what we were told when we were kids? I know I didn't.... ;)

This ^^^^^. We were originally going to do a "play pool" as I am a practical guy and read all of the "80% of the time you spend in the shallow end stuff", but we have 3 boys and they have friends and to be honest, I will be the first one trying to do a double off the top of the waterfall. To me it came down to a safety issue. You can tell them no diving until you are blue in the face but as soon as you turn around guess what. That is going to be impossible to police so, to me, it just wasn't worth the risk. With that said we are building a bigger pool so we will still have a pretty decent size shallow end which did make the decision easier.

Good luck and I am sure you will enjoy whichever decision you make.
 
^^^^^^ same here. We have a teen boy. Our first pool was shallower, but I was worried what taller, older boys would do and wanted them to be safe. My builder thought 7.5 was safe with a diving rock, but I disagree and we went 8.5 because I was thinking 6ft plus boys ;-)


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My pool is 16x36 3.5,5,4 play pool. We love it. About the only change I would consider is 4,5,4 for depth. 3.5 is a little too shallow. Depths of 6 or 7 ft. Never make any sense to me, too deep to stand and not deep enough to dive.
 
I will offer one other idea why i like having a deep end. While I dont dive in the Olympic since, trying to do fancy twists and flips, etc. I do prefer to enter the pool by just diving flat into the deep end and swimming across the pool. I think that is much better than just walking into the pool off of the stairs. I also think that the idea of diving flat and trying to go underwater across the pool is appealing to people who dont think of themselves as divers.

But as I said in another post, there is no wrong decision. Both styles have pros and cons. Decide, and don't let your self regret that decision. Your family will love your pool and adapt to its strengths no matter what. No one is going to say "This pool is stupid, you picked the wrong floor style for the pool". When I built my pool, I struggled with some options and whether to get them or not. The things that I ended up not buying, not once have I ever hated my pool because those things were missing.

I agree. I don't dive much, and I just wanted a deep end. We have a board, so we need it, but I really wanted it. Love having the option.
 
I'll toss out another thing to consider with shallow vs deep pools- I think if you live in a hot climate there is a greater possibility of the shallow pool warming up so much that it feels like muggy bath water and not as refreshing. But on the flip side if you live where summer is short that pool might heat up faster?

:stirpot:
 
7.5' or 8' is my vote. Kids LOVE jumping and diving.

I'd be concerned with proper slope with an 8' deep pool. It would consume almost 20' leaving little shallow area. I like the pools 50/50 deep/shallow. So I'd either make the pool larger to get my 8' deep end of stick to 7.5'.
 

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In our last pool, depth was 6.5 or so. I have to say the kids spent all of their time jumping in the deep end and diving for toys in the deep end. This pool build we are doing 8.5 with a diving board. I like to tread water and just walk in the shallow end. Maybe it is because we are in New england and it is colder here so we keep it moving in the pool!

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Thanks everyone for all of the advice and opinions. This forum is really a game changer for planning a pool. Everyone is so considerate and shares their opinions. Love this website. Based on the extreme slope in our 16x33 kidney pool and our inside wedding cake stairs, we're inclined to go with a 7ft. deep end. That will change our shallow end from 8 ft. long to 13.5 ft. long and give us more shallow end.

One comment said they don't understand why anyone would go with a 6-7 ft. deep end as you cant dive and you cant stand in it. It's the worst of both worlds. While that resonated... we really cant afford to lose so much shallow end by going with an 8ft. deep end.
 
At 33' in length you can pull off 7'6" depth while conforming to safety codes and retain more than 50% of your pool at 5' or less.

Here's how I'd do the depth profile:
Starting at deep end wall I'd set depths at the following distances.
1'6" from deep end wall depth is 6'
7' more, depth at that point is 7'6"
7'6" more, depth at that point is 5'

That's a total of 16' at depths over 5'. Leaves a good amount of shallow area.

The transition beyond that point of 5' depth is up to you.
 
Hey - thanks for the advice. That sounds completely reasonable - depth etc. The plans that we received shows 8ft radius of shallow end with a 8ft deep end AND a 13.5 ft shallow end with a 7ft. depth. So, we'll mention the slope that you offered above - as that sounds like the perfect mix. We don't care about a steep slope - just that we have enough of a shallow end (with inside stairs) and a deep end that has at least 7ft. for jumping in the pool... Ideally - 8ft for diving but... all of this advice here has been helpful. Yes - we are very close to signing the P&S and scheduling the build here in Massachusetts. The Texas crew sure do have some nice pools here on TFP! Thanks
SPOOL.

Just saw your pool build. !!! Wow - super nice!!!!! Nice to have a cousin who is an architect. Also, your winter photos - hope you submitted them to the paper/news channels- those would have been featured! Wishing you much success with your build!
 
I think you will be happy with that. I had no complaints about that depth in our old pool and would have happily lived with it today. It is a good choice. I agree...lots of Mass folks here. We are southwest of Boston. Hoping to start digging Thursday. We will have to share build stories!

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My pool is 16x36 3.5,5,4 play pool. We love it. About the only change I would consider is 4,5,4 for depth. 3.5 is a little too shallow. Depths of 6 or 7 ft. Never make any sense to me, too deep to stand and not deep enough to dive.

Right, perhaps not deep enough to dive, but deep enough for the kids to jump in and cannonball.
 
We're currently having our pool built, an 8.5 ft deep end. Our kids are 7 and 11; they LOVE jumping in the deep-end at my sister's house. However, now that the build has started, I feel the shallow area is too small. Something for those of you building to think about...
 
We're currently having our pool built, an 8.5 ft deep end. Our kids are 7 and 11; they LOVE jumping in the deep-end at my sister's house. However, now that the build has started, I feel the shallow area is too small. Something for those of you building to think about...

You feel the shallow area is too small for...what? Then grab a couple of pool noodles and straddle them and float around in the deeper end... just as pleasant as just standing in the shallow end...perhaps more!
 
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