18 x 44 Freeform Fiberglass...any owners out there?

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avc8130

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Jul 20, 2015
91
Newton, NJ
My wife and I are looking to get a fiberglass pool installed and we really like the 18x44 shape currently being made by Tallman Pools in Georgia and Lifetime Fiberglass in New Jersey:

Rio Grande - 8' Depth - Fiberglass Pools and Spas

I went and saw one in person, and it LOOKED smaller than I was expecting for 18x44 dimensions. I realize it is supposedly 18x44 to the very outer edges of the coping, and I realize the "freeform" nature will take away some square footage.

What I was really hoping was to find a few current owners of this shape to comment on how the pool shape really works out in real life.

Does it play well? Are the benches functional? How many people fit? Etc.

I REALLY like the 6' deep option Lifetime offers as it seems like it would make the pool MUCH more useful.

Any advice from actual owners (or those who have personally swam in these models) would be VERY appreciated!

ac
 
We have the Tahiti model from Tallman and we love it! 14 by 33 I think is the size. It has two benches that are very functional and the kids love the support ledge towards the bottom of the walls. We've had around 15 people in it at once without any issues.

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Just thought I'd throw my .02 in...how you plan to use the pool is the ultimate decision maker. Ours is only 5'6" deep as we use our more for a "cocktail pool". If you have kids etc. that may make your decision different. We can do laps in ours, but it is a lot of turns to truly do them. Be more Italian than German in your decision making...form should follow function!
 
Dr. Hops said:
We have the Tahiti model from Tallman and we love it! 14 by 33 I think is the size. It has two benches that are very functional and the kids love the support ledge towards the bottom of the walls. We've had around 15 people in it at once without any issues.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That's great to know. I see great value in that "safety ledge". I also really like the benches as I see them as great places for adults to relax with beers/cocktails and for kids to use as "bases" for playing games and taking a break from swimming when they can't touch the bottom. My hope is with 4 benches we MIGHT stand a chance of having clear steps. I've noticed in my friends pools that everyone winds up sitting all over the steps and getting in/out is either a jump over the side or an act of saying "excuse me" way too often.

ac

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otter86753 said:
Just thought I'd throw my .02 in...how you plan to use the pool is the ultimate decision maker. Ours is only 5'6" deep as we use our more for a "cocktail pool". If you have kids etc. that may make your decision different. We can do laps in ours, but it is a lot of turns to truly do them. Be more Italian than German in your decision making...form should follow function!
Click to expand...

There is no bigger kid in a pool than me! I'm the one splashing, jumping, playing with pool toys, throwing kids, chicken fighting, whatever. At 35 with 2 kids <2 my pool will have to adapt as best as possible as they grow.

This should be interesting. I'm Italian and my wife is German...

ac
 
YippeeSkippy said:
I'm impressed with the 8 foot deep end! I wish mine were more than 6 foot.
Click to expand...

Could you expand on that?

I've looked at 2 8' fiberglass pools in person. The Lifetime Fiberglass 18x44x8 and the Viking Gulf Coast/Blue Hawaiian Arcadia.

The shallow ends were TINY. It looked like less than 1/3 of the pool would be useful for just hanging out.

The Lifetime sloped HARD on the sides so the actual depth at 8' was only ~10' wide. The Viking/BH didn't slope nearly as much.

Those pools seemed like they had 1 purpose in mind: diving off a diving boar. We won't be having a diving board...

ac
 

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avc8130 said:
Could you expand on that?

I've looked at 2 8' fiberglass pools in person. The Lifetime Fiberglass 18x44x8 and the Viking Gulf Coast/Blue Hawaiian Arcadia.

The shallow ends were TINY. It looked like less than 1/3 of the pool would be useful for just hanging out.

The Lifetime sloped HARD on the sides so the actual depth at 8' was only ~10' wide. The Viking/BH didn't slope nearly as much.

Those pools seemed like they had 1 purpose in mind: diving off a diving boar. We won't be having a diving board...

ac
Click to expand...

People hang out in my entire pool... floating on a pool noodle with your legs hanging into the deep end is a lot nicer than just standing in hip high water in the shallow end.

An 8 foot deep pool allows for diving in from the side, lots of diving games and is a tad safer for the horseplay like cannonballs kids get into. IMO of course
 
YippeeSkippy said:
People hang out in my entire pool... floating on a pool noodle with your legs hanging into the deep end is a lot nicer than just standing in hip high water in the shallow end.

An 8 foot deep pool allows for diving in from the side, lots of diving games and is a tad safer for the horseplay like cannonballs kids get into. IMO of course
Click to expand...

I couldn't find it in your sig or your thread...what pool do you have?

ac
 
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