Recessed Diving board or Diving Rock? Please help!

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Mr.texan

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Mar 20, 2016
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League City, Texas
Hello to all,

New member here! My wife and I have designed our pool and we are set to lay it out in the backyard on Wednesday. From the very beginning I have been dead set on having a deep pool with a diving board. Fast forward, we have designed the pool and planned on having the diving board recessed into the raised deck. The back area of the pool (Where the diving board is set to go) is raised up 12". We are going for a natural look, and plan to have a waterfall, planters around the pool with more rocks. There are big oak trees around the property and we want a very natural look.

Just days ago my pool builder contacted me after everything was finalized and mentioned we shouldn't do the recessed diving board? He recommend the jumping rock. First saying it would look better with the design we have. Then said if/when it breaks we would have to have the travertine pavers pulled out around the diving board to have it replaced. Also stated that the 6' diving boards do not have springs anymore and they are very stiff. He was really was pushing hard for me to go with the jumping rock. Also mentioned insurance would go up. I did call my homeowners (Amica Insurance) and they said whether I have a diving board or not, it will not effect the premiums.

Any other thoughts/opinions would be appreciated. I have attached the design of our pool. We plan to have travertine pavers for our pool decking. Still undecided whether we will do the sand method or concrete method for the travertine pavers. (This is a fully new construction)

I'm still leaning towards going with the diving board and having it recessed. Keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't break - for many years atleast. When it does, just pull up a few travertine pavers and possibly concrete and replace the diving board. If I went with a jumping rock, we would want it recessed and to have about 3-4 of them stacked on top of each other where it looks more natural and not just (1) BIG rock. I posted a photo of one I do like.

Any info is greatly appreciated. Anybody have a diving rock or recessed diving board?

(The (2) computer generated photos are photos of our pool design. The actual photo of a recessed diving board is one we like.)

Oh, and this is my 1st time ever owning a pool. Good friend of mine had one growing up.. We really enjoyed it over the years.


Thanks in advance!
 

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Honestly, I like a diving stone better. The diving board just sticks out to me and doesn't look like it fits with the "natural" look.

And, with a stiff 6' board, what's the point?? As a kid growing up my friend had a deep pool with a long springy diving board and we had a blast. Thinking back, I can't believe some of the stupid stuff we did with that diving board...it's probably dumb luck I'm not paralyzed.

Just my opinion FWIW...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
Yeah, I've got to agree. If you aren't going to have a nice springy board (boo hoo, I want one!) the stones look better and give you the same immobile bounce. <sigh>

You can't go with a springy 8' diving board??? <--my dream board.....too bad I don't have the pool to go with it, darn it)
 
I want my cake and eat it too. :) I want the springy 8' board, but do agree the jumping rock(s) would look more natural. If the board won't be springy, I guess a jumping rock along our raised wall would be a good alternative.

YippeeSkippy said:
Yeah, I've got to agree. If you aren't going to have a nice springy board (boo hoo, I want one!) the stones look better and give you the same immobile bounce. <sigh>

You can't go with a springy 8' diving board??? <--my dream board.....too bad I don't have the pool to go with it, darn it)
Click to expand...
 
OOooh, someone else who wants a diving pool :) Love it! What are the specs and depths?

My favorite design of one (which is very similar to yours!)
14u9yk4.jpg


I see the point about having to fix/replace it though, which puts a damper on the recessed idea. But I had a very stiff 6' diving board as a kid, and it never broke for the time we owned it (about 7-8 years), so there's that at least. I love diving pools, so I'll encourage you to go for it. The diving board will allow a more lateral (horizontal?) jump and a tiny bit of spring over a rock. I may not be able to squeeze in a diving board into my own pool build, but perhaps I'll live vicariously through yours :D

My PB has been talking me away from a diving board too btw. It's such a bummer!
 
It sounds like your pool builder is trying to talk you out of a diving board and is not telling you the whole truth, there are many models of diving boards available with differing amounts of spring to them. Most are built by SR Smith Diving Boards - Official S.R. Smith Products Now there are still valid questions to ask, like is your pool long enough and deep enough to safely have a diving board? See http://www.divingboardsafety.net/Standard-inground-pools.pdf as I general rule I feel the minimum pool length needed to have safe diving from a diving board plus a shallow end is at least 38-40 feet.

Ike

p.s. My pool was built in 1980, and is now on its 3rd diving board, first one broke in half when a 250+ pound man was jumping on it in the late 1980's, or maybe early 1990's, second one was replaced 2 or 3 years ago due to substantial cracks in the fiberglass.
 
I agree with Issac. Go over to the JR Smith Site they have a variety of boards to chose from. I think your pool has a large enough envelope but read the link Issac posted. Additionally every JR Smith Diving Board comes with specifications for the diving envelope required for that board.
 

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I have never heard of recessing the diving board so I was interested in reading this tread. It looks really cool but I can't help but think it will be a pain in the neck trying to clean all of those leaves out of those tracks between the diving board and the deck. Just my thought. Good luck with whatever you decide, your design is beautiful!
 
This is exactly what we are looking for! Our pool on the deep end is 8' deep. I honestly do not know the slop from the shallow end to deep end. Width on deep in 21'6". Pool builder did recommend if we do diving board to reduce the bench seat around the waterfall to be sure nobody jump too far to right and hits it. I'm o.k with the extra safety measure as we currently have 16' bench seating.

The pool length is 43.5" from wall to wall, but that includes splash pad.
Width of deep area 21'6"

I will reach out to those other diving board company. Not sure if my PB uses them or not but I can't see it being an issue.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.....

ellsian said:
OOooh, someone else who wants a diving pool :) Love it! What are the specs and depths?

My favorite design of one (which is very similar to yours!)
14u9yk4.jpg


I see the point about having to fix/replace it though, which puts a damper on the recessed idea. But I had a very stiff 6' diving board as a kid, and it never broke for the time we owned it (about 7-8 years), so there's that at least. I love diving pools, so I'll encourage you to go for it. The diving board will allow a more lateral (horizontal?) jump and a tiny bit of spring over a rock. I may not be able to squeeze in a diving board into my own pool build, but perhaps I'll live vicariously through yours :D

My PB has been talking me away from a diving board too btw. It's such a bummer!
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I think the recessed board looks good, get an 8' though, its all in the spring. I do know that after a lot of jumps my board will twist a little, so I need to recenter it and tighten the bolts again. With the recessed design the board could hit the pavers.
 
This is the same story with my wife and I .
We are doing more of a natural look and I did not want a diving board . I too thought that it would stick out like a sore thumb . My choice was a rock as well .
I do have three young girls under the age of 9 that were rallying against me , so I was kind of outnumbered .
We decided on the S.R. Smith , salt water series , 8 foot frontier III board with canti-lever base . Supposedly this one has the most bounce . If was going to do it , I wanted to do it right and not just have a plank out there .
I just poured the pad for it yesterday ! I did get it in the Taupe color to try and match my stone . Will report back once the pool is functional!
 
I called S.R Smith and spoke to a rep and she was very helpful. Answered many of the questions I had. I explained the recessed diving board, and she confirmed I do need access at the bottom of the board to bolt the board in (if/when I need to replace it). After going back and forth, back and forth, my wife and I have decided to go with rocks.... We told the pool builder we want it just like this picture. http://www.houzz.com/photos/1941689/Waitsfield-Pool-traditional-pool-burlington
(1) larger base rock, with (2) or (3) acting as stairs, and (1) main jumping rock at the top which is flat and smooth.

After thinking about it more, this will have us quite high (Which is what I want to accomplish. The raised deck is already 12" so, really about 18" high above water. With the recessed diving board the board would have been 18" above water. Now with the rocks, we will be quite high, maybe another 2' in total. So while we may not have the springy diving board, we could actually still achieve the thrill of jumping and diving off a higher piece. Even with the recessed diving board, we want a really natural look, and I think the jumping rocks stacked will accomplish that. Decision made and no turning back! :) Thanks for all the replies and advice!
 
Check your homeowners insurance if it allows diving boards...some do not anymore so you might need to change if you go that route. I have a not so high "jumping rock". It is used very little like we thought but are glad we got it as it adds to the appearance of our pool.
 
Exactly what we are thinking! Something along these lines. http://www.houzz.com/photos/1941689/Waitsfield-Pool-traditional-pool-burlington

Marlahoutex said:
I think the rock would blend better. You could do a series of elevated rock, like a stair step, which could give different heights to jump off. Perhaps something that would compliment your waterfall area.
Click to expand...

- - - Updated - - -

I did call our homeowners (Amica Insurance) and they said it did not matter whether or not we had a diving board or not, or anything else. They would insure the pool with a diving board without a rate increase. I have heard that some insurance companies do raise the premiums tremendously or not insure at all.

skylar18 said:
Check your homeowners insurance if it allows diving boards...some do not anymore so you might need to change if you go that route. I have a not so high "jumping rock". If is used very little like we thought but are glad we got it as it adds to the appearance of our pool.
Click to expand...
 
I would have the PB tell you when he goes to pick out the rocks for the "rock jump" so you KNOW you will like what they pick out. It will save a LOT of headache and time/effort for everyone.

I like what you decidde and how and why.......very well thought out and will still be FUN!

Kim
 
Our insurance did not raise rates either, they charged the same with or without a pool. Some do increase rates quite a bit and others will drop you straight-away if you build a pool. There's no rhyme or reason to it, it depends on the insurance carrier.

Careful with having a totally smooth rock surface. It will get very slippery when wet and become a slip/fall hazard. You're going to need some slip-resistance either through an external coating or the builder rough up the surface with an angle-grinder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 

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