Need help finalizing my pool design

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kit2022

Active member
Jul 18, 2023
34
Florida
Hello everyone,

I need some help finalizing the design for our pool. Thank you for your input! I am 100% overthinking this but can't help myself - building a pool is a dream come true, and I want it to be perfect for our family.

General notes: It will be a 75ft long pool with a lap lane on the far end and a sun shelf and hot tub in the middle-ish, centered on our lanai. It will be under a screen enclosure with a sunshade roof. We'll plan to do artificial turf in a U-shape around the pool.

I have included sketches of my two ideas.

1st sketch:
My concern with this drawing was in regard to the hot tub. It would have an integrated border on the three sides shown, and I worry this won't look very "neat and clean." I altered the drawing so that only two sides would be integrated with the pool...

2nd sketch:
The hot tub edges look neater. Although the pool deck is narrower on the left (8'), there's more space on the right side (12') for a kid craft table or chairs. There's also more pool deck space (6') leading to the pool bath door. All that said, I can't decide if the asymmetry of the pools looks good or bad.

Let me know what you think! Which would you choose?

1.png

2.jpg
 
Where will the spillover for your spa be?

What does the hatched area around the spa indicate?

I don’t like that swimmers can run into the side of the steps off the sun shelf.
 
Is the elevation of the spa @ +0” ?
Typically there is no bottom step in a standard depth spa.
If I’m reading the drawing correctly there will be 19’ of spillway face, is that correct?
Steps in the pool are both straight edge and rounded, consider one or the other for consistency in looks.
 
Last edited:
AQUA~HOLICS said:
Is the elevation of the spa @ +0” ?
Typically there is no bottom step in a standard depth spa.
If I’m reading the drawing correctly there will be 19’ of spillway face, is that correct?
Steps in the pool are both straight edge and rounded, consider one or the other for consistency in looks.
Click to expand...
Yes, the elevation of the spa is at 0 feet. Do you mean to say that the second quarter-circle step isn't necessary? If so, I'll omit that.

I'm not sure what spillway face is?

Regarding the steps - I could change the quarter-circle step in the lower right corner to a straighter bench.
 
ajw22 said:
Where will the spillover for your spa be?

What does the hatched area around the spa indicate?

I don’t like that swimmers can run into the side of the steps off the sun shelf.
Click to expand...

The hatched area is the spillover for the spa. It is an 'integrated edge,' so the hatched area will be only 1" above the pool's mean water level.

I agree that it's not ideal that the steps protrude into the pool. Hmmm.
 
I'll leave the shape design to others. Consider these ideas:

Pools no longer need a main drain. They can be hazardous, are not really used for draining a pool any longer, and don't do much of anything for circulation. They just look bad and stub toes and foul cleaners. Ditch 'em.

Although they don't seem to be popular in Florida, I wouldn't own a pool without an auto-leveling system. One that both fills the pool automatically and drains off excess water (overflow) automatically. Otherwise, you'll be hoisting hoses and running pumps (in the middle of a storm!) to deal with the pool's water level, like, for the rest of your life! If the builder balks at an auto-filler, let him. If you find you don't like it, you can always turn if off. But you can't add one later.

If possible, have all the pool lights on the lanai side, pointing away from the house. Lights on the other side, pointing at where you'll most often be lounging by the pool, or at your house's windows, will be distracting, even annoying.

Your plumbing design should include a suction port and pipe, run from mid pool back to the pad, regardless of how you intend to "auto-clean" your pool. It should be at least 1.5" pipe, with sweep elbows (longer, gentler curves to avoid entrapping debris). This port and pipe can be replumbed at the pad to allow for a suction-side vac, or a pressure-side vac, or as a manual vac port or as an extra return. It affords a lot of flexibility for future use, even if you currently plan to clean your pool with a robot.

If sounds like your spa will not be raised. If that changes, be aware that a raised spa on the "house side" creates a blind spot, one where you cannot observe people (small kids!) in the water on the other side of the spa from the house or sitting area.

You might use stakes and strings to plot out your pool in the yard. It will help you visualize things. Also, be aware that things like tables and lounge chairs take up way more room than you think. And it's one thing to allow enough room for them, but you also have to leave additional room to walk around them, or pull out a table's chair and still be able to get around that, too. If you plot out the pool in the yard, see how all the planned furniture sets will fit in "real" use.

Insist on a large concrete slab for all the pool pad equipment. Allow lots of room for the gear, and spread out so that it's all easy to maintain. Plan to have an overhead light above the equipment pad, so you can work on it at night.

If you plan to have a pool automation controller, be sure to download and read the manuals of various models, so you know what they do, how they work, and all their capabilities. Plan for expansion. Pick out the model that fits your current, and future needs. I allowed my pool guy to pick my automation model, and I suspect he just used the one he'd been trying to get rid of. It was "under-powered" and didn't have the capability I later learned I'd need and want. That was my single biggest regret in designing my equipment upgrade.

That's all I can think of for now. Best of luck. You're already on the right track, finding TFP before you even have a pool, and asking the types of questions you're asking. Way to go. Stick around after your pool is built and we'll help you out with our specialty, maintaining perfect pool water!
 
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You may not need it with the sunshade cover, but you may want to consider at least plumbing for a chiller and allowing space on your equipment pad for that large piece of equipment.

I also suggest thinking about where a convenient place would be to do your water testing and including an outdoor sink and storage for your TFT pool testing kit.

Good luck.
 
@Dirk - Thank you for such thoughtful advice! Much appreciated. I took notes on everything you mentioned. The auto leveling system in particular sounds like a must-have.

I have one question for you regarding lights - Our pool builder seems to think that keeping the lights all on one side of the pool (facing away from the house) won't be sufficient to light up the water. Do you disagree with that? We'll be using Pentair microbrite lights. As you can see, our pool will be around 22' wide at the widest point.
 
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New design considering all of your feedback.

To address the issues of the steps protruding out into the pool - I'm thinking of making the 'sun shelf' area two feet narrower, so that it is 5x12 instead of 7x12.

The 'sun shelf' will be for kids/adults to sit and splash in the water and bubblers. We might throw an occasional chair on it, but likely not full-blown lounge chairs. Do you think 5' wide is enough for our purposes?

pool 2.2.24.jpg
 
Not a fan of shelves here, but I do see their value for others, especially with small kids.

If it helps your decision: every shelf and bench and step and spa are areas you will need to clean manually. Some claim their robots will clean some of those types of areas, but it's spotty at best. Suction- and pressure-side vacs will not. That means manually brushing or vacuuming them off. The less you have, the less you'll need to keep clean yourself (says the laziest pool owner on TFP)! So smaller is better, IMO.

Personally, I like to lounge by the pool, not in it. I don't want others splashing around me or tripping over me. I want my little side table, with a snack, my phone, a book or magazine, a tall, cool drink. And I like a pillow and to lay on a towel. Just wouldn't work for me on a submerged shelf. But when my littles were little they used the pool's bench, and would have played on a shelf. So I get it.
 
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I have a small bench much like yours at the far end of my pool. I use that more than the shallow-end bench. I like sitting on it and staying out of the fray of the shallow end. I bet that's where you'll hide when the kids are in the spa and the volleyball game is in full swing.

Mine is deep enough where I'm mostly under water and my arms can rest on the coping. It's nice. But I wish it had a small step. 1x1 or 1x2 would have been nice. The depth it's at now is manageable, but it's a very tall step out, and it's only going to get taller as I get older. A small step half way up would have made that a more comfortable way to get in and out of the pool.
 
+1. My bench is 18 inches deep in the water, plus the 6 inches of 'waterline tile' area, plus 2 inches of coping. 26 inches is akkkkkkkkkkward, although it works in a pinch.
 
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