Is Jumping In Safe?

[Cherie]

We're in the planning stages of our decking and have been told by the guy who sold us our pool that he jumps into his above-ground from his deck all the time and it doesn't hurt anything. You can see from the picture that we have buried all but about 8" of our pool. Does anyone know if it would cause any damage, immediate or over time, to allow kids (well, ok...adults too) to jump into the pool? Once we get the deck in, we're hoping to put a small slide at the deep end as well.

Thanks!

 

[Cherie]

Oops! Let me try the picture again. I got my avatar in there, which is too small to see...

 

[waste]

Jumping in shouldn't cause too much problem - it'd be better if the jumpers kept their legs tucked up to prevent impacting on the bottom

A slide is fine 8)

However, you really should have a fence all around the pool!, it's height off the ground makes it VERY easy to fall into

All pool owners need to be diligent about safety!!

 

[Cherie]

Yeh, right now, our furkid can't get to the pool (he's a little guy). But once we get the deck done... we'll have to see. We bought an acre so we didn't have to be all fenced in, so I don't know that we'll do a "fence" fence, since we've already done a fence (Kentucky rail with wire) around the yard as required by city ordinance. Wylie is pretty strict about no one having access to your yard if you have a pool. So our gates have to be self-latching, one which remains locked at all times, and close outwardly only.

And now that I've had my first really rainy season with a pool, we've decided to design a pool cover, which will be kept on all the time, except for when we're swimming. That will not only save on chlorine usage, but should keep us from having to get out there in the pouring rain and drain the extra water off!

At our first house, which had an inground gunite, our daughter fell in at 14 months (she's now 12!), both of our little furkids fell in and DH fell in. So I know what you're saying and thanks for the advice!

But I was concerned that the buttresses may shift if we start jumping in. They cemented the 3-4 buttresses on each of the sides in, but not on the ends. And the books all say no jumping, but the actual salesman said he jumps in his. So I was just curious if anyone else out there with a buried AG jumps in.

Yea, summer's almost here...even if it only 60 deg out today It's GOTTA be that dreaded global WARMING!!

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Cherie,

Well, "furkid" is new to me. What does that mean :?:

 

[Cherie]

LOL....how about 4-legged kids?

 

[Carneymom]

We have a similar set up and my husband and I have different points of view on the subject. When the manufacturer advises against jumping in, I beleive it is for the safety of jumpers. Serious injury to back and legs could occur. Having said that, My children are little and they CannonBall and don't weight enough to cause significant impact on their spine. Where the difference of opinion is for us, is that my husband thinks they are going to damage the pool by climbing up on the sides and jumping in off the top seats.

Any opinion or advice?

 

[Cherie]

Lisa, I'm sure someone else will pop in soon. But to let you know this, our installers, once they had all the walls up (and buttresses cemented), they would actually jump up out of the pool and sit on the top rails, not in the middle, but on the capped buttress (come to think of it...that could be the reason that nearly all of our caps have the little tabs underneath broken off...hhhmmmmm ) But currently, we don't let our kids (who are not so little) stand on the railing or the buttress cap.

 

[cubbybeave08]

About fences...they are not as much for the protection of your own kids. but to prevent other peoples kids from falling into the pool and drowning. Most cities have acode that there has to be a five foot deterant around the pool. Legally, and my sister is a lawyer, you have to do this to create a reasonable barrier. If you have a five foot high fence and self latching gate with a lock and someone still manages to get into your pool then they breeched your safety system and then it is on them. I forget the legal term for it...something about a hazzard that is liked of pleasurable to others. So much so that they are drawn to it and if you don't have the safety fencing around the pool and a two or three year old or even a 15 year old goes in, then it is on you and you are liable for any injury or damages. In otherwords I would simplly put up a five foot fence around the pool to make it hazzard proof.

 

[Cherie]

Cubby, at the risk of being NPC (non-politically correct), we don't believe in dummy-proofing OUR acre for SOMEONE ELSE'S benefit, when we have already put up a SIX FOOT high Kentucky rail with wire only big enough to get your fingers through (the wire is not visible in my avatar or up-close picture) -- simply because parents are no longer teaching their children good manners and staying off of people's property unless invited! I know what you're talking about, but having been out of law myself now for 12 years, I've forgotten much of the legaleze, other than real estate. I find it silly to expect people to cage themselves in because kids, as well as some adults, aren't responsible enough for themselves to stay out of someone's yard. So forgive me if this sounds rude, but please don't lecture me on fencing our acre in anymore than we've already fenced it in - just because we now have a pool. Otherwise, we may as well have stayed in a cooped up city right up next to the neighbor's house!

There comes a time when someone needs to stand up and say "enough already"! Kids are no longer taught to stay out of the streets (our kids know better!), they are not taught to cross the street at a crosswalk (ours do!), they are not taught to ride their bikes on the sidewalk when on major thoroughfares (ours do!), they're not even taught to say "Yes Ma'am" and "Yes Sir" anymore! In short, parenting is failing in this country and EVERYONE is paying the price for it, rather than the parents who are failing to teach their children simple common-sense life lessons.

Didn't mean to get on a soapbox here, but IMHO, no one has the right to even suggest how we need to dummy-proof our own property. Besides, that was not even the issue of this thread.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Cherie,
Looking at your picture it is hard to tell that there is wire on it...It looked to me like a split rail fence and only that. The fence would probably meet the code of most towns...That was what I was most concerned about. I too could care less about the fact that some other kid can't keep his butt off of my property. I just don't want to get sued over it or fined because of it. I wish I had a acre to seperate myself from neighbors...I understand exactly what you are saying...Sorry if I offended you in anyway. I was merely pointing out that most towns and cities have serious codes regarding pools and keeping people out...Now that I know see that you have wire on the fence I would agree...Nothing wrong there. I also know that this was not the original question or concern of the post, but it was brought up about fencing. Had I known what Kentucy fence with wire was I would have never said anything...The pool looked like it had accessibility from the street in the picture. I'll be more careful to keep my opinions to myself.

 

[Cherie]

Beave, Kentucky Rails generally do not have wire. But we were required by our insurance company originally to have a 6' fence in order to have a trampoline. In fact, our insurance company would not allow us to go forward with the deal until the prior owners completely removed THEIR trampoline - which really made us mad, because we were ALL on a tight schedule! So any type of issues like that tend to set me off - because, last I checked, this was still a free country (unless you live in a neighborhood with one of those nosy associations who tell what you can and can't do with your own home!)

But yes, we would have put up a fence anyway, because we know that tramps are a temptation to kiddos and being on a corner lot and open to everyone (LOTS of teens were crossing through our yard at all hours), we didn't want to make it too easy for them! Before we put our fence up, I was out watering the back (we'd tilled it and seeded it and I had to keep it watered) with our makeshift sprinkler system...it was 1:00 a.m. and as I was walking back up to the house from the back of the acre, a teenager came from the side of our house and was walking right at me - scared the bejeebers out of me and DH was sound asleep and wouldn't have heard me scream in time!! So it didn't take us long to put our fence up and include the wire. We did it that way because we wanted to still be an open yard, but prevent anyone unauthorized from coming into the yard.

THEN, last year we decided, out of the blue, to put in a pool! Of course, it WOULD be nice to have a little more privacy now - nothing like the whole neighborhood seeing the pudgies in swimsuits! But what's going to be more embarrassing is seeing the pudgies climbing a ladder to go down the slide into the pool

Also, city code required a fence to the specs we'd already built it, in order to approve the pool, regardless of what type of pool! But you are right, they initially were telling us that we'd have to have a fence around the pool..until we clarified that it could be a fence around the entire yard. I guess I just felt like you were being overly cautious in suggesting that we do yet ANOTHER fence!

Still friends?

 

[Ohm_Boy]

I believe that the concerns for jumping into an APG are 2-fold. First is the obvious risk in jumping into a relatively shallow pool - injuries to feet, ankles, knees, back, etc.
Second, since water won't compress, all the forces of the displaced water press against all the pool surfaces. Those stresses can be pretty significant from a cannonball. You may imagine how much force is involved in shooting a plume of water ten or twelve feet into the air - all of that force tries to expand the pool first. It can be pretty tough on an above-ground pool, especially over time.
Manufacturers want to absolve themselves of liability for both cases, hence the warnings.

 

[Casey]

My brother loves to jump in my pool. He's my CYA regulator!


I always have to top the pool off when he comes to swim! He's 6'2" and weighs about 180 lbs.

 

[Cherie]

LOL Casey! Size, weight, picture of proof....question answered! Thanks Not to mention, our pool is mostly buried, so I'm going to assume at this point, and from your picture :-D that it will be safe for even ME to jump in!!

 

[cubbybeave08]

I had twelve kids in my 24 foot pool last summer all of them on floaties...bouncing up and down...they created about a three foot swell...lost about two feet of water and had to refill but nothing happened to the pool. I don't think a cannon ball or two would create a problem.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Still friends? [/quote]


Of course...Like I said... don't want problems for any one with city codes and stuff or lawsuits for that matter. My experience with the city codes up here was outrageous. I had to have two different inspections for electrical, and two different inspections for the pool. I don't like to see people get all ready to be able to swim and then have to deal with code violations and have to fix that and then wait for another inspection when they could be swimming. Furthermore, I agree with you whole heartedly about people who let their kids run amuk. Nothing makes more more frustrated. But what makes me more frustrated is how cautious we have to be because our society is a letigious society. Any time anyone gets hurt we talk lawsuit. I fell off my own roof a year and a half ago due to my own stupidity. I put my ladder on my wooden deck in a wet pile of leaves, and when I went to get off of the roof as soon as I put any weight on the ladder it slipped right out from under me...I came down about 6 feet, and shattered everything in my right ankle...5 days in Hospita. 3 hour surgery...and all anyone could do is say when are you going to sue the ladder manufacturer...HELLO...I was my own dumb fault...Why would I. It is about personal responsibility...But I know from my job that people don't take personal responsibilty. So I am always very leary of things that can come back to bite me or anyone else for that matter. Thus the reason for my post. I don't want anyone here to deal with any thing like that. And by the way a simple way to fix privacy issue is to do what you did with the filter system...I think it would be kind of cool to build a pergola kind of structure at the one end of the pool with nice tight lattace panels on the back of it...Nice and private. Just a thought. And by the way I really like the sunken look to you pool. I wish that I had the money to excavate that deep for my pool. But up here that would have cost an arm and a leg.

Beave

 

[Cherie]

Heh, it wouldn't have been real cheap down here either, Beave. But he gave us a quote over the phone sight unseen and then he about croaked when he saw our yard...especially when we told him we wanted to keep our dirt and he agreed to dump it in the back of the yard...er, should have said back of the acre, huh? But he honored his word and we got it buried for half the price basically, although we did go ahead and add some extra when we paid him.

And yes, being a paralegal for many years, I absolutely abhor the profession and will never return to it. What goes on in the legal world would just boggle the mind! I lost a lot of respect during those years and would not return to law unless I absolutely have to. But you know, you have to think like a criminal....you COULD HAVE sued the ladder company, got loads of dough, then had your pool buried however you wanted...or even an inground, eh? (Just kidding of course!)

The reason for the privacy fence around the equipment, besides keeping the north wind off the equipment, is because with our manual cleaner, I was putting on a show for the neighborhood trying to get the hoses connected to the cleaner and blow the air out, then put the end hose into the cleaner inlet and then once going for awhile, the hose inevitably comes OFF the cleaner head so that I'm running like a mad-dog to grad it before it hits the surface air (or running to turn the pump off). Well, I got tired of my "backside" showing to the street and decided I could at least have a little privacy with a small 5' fence! But we NOW have a robotic cleaner...yea!

So now we're working on plans for the deck (and hopefully, a pergola). Then we can put up some nice landscaping in a large perimeter around the pool that will hopefully provide a little privacy.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Heh, it wouldn't have been real cheap down here either, Beave. But he gave us a quote over the phone sight unseen and then he about croaked when he saw our yard...especially when we told him we wanted to keep our dirt and he agreed to dump it in the back of the yard...er, should have said back of the acre, huh? But he honored his word and we got it buried for half the price basically, although we did go ahead and add some extra when we paid him.

And yes, being a paralegal for many years, I absolutely abhor the profession and will never return to it. What goes on in the legal world would just boggle the mind! I lost a lot of respect during those years and would not return to law unless I absolutely have to. But you know, you have to think like a criminal....you COULD HAVE sued the ladder company, got loads of dough, then had your pool buried however you wanted...or even an inground, eh? (Just kidding of course!)

The reason for the privacy fence around the equipment, besides keeping the north wind off the equipment, is because with our manual cleaner, I was putting on a show for the neighborhood trying to get the hoses connected to the cleaner and blow the air out, then put the end hose into the cleaner inlet and then once going for awhile, the hose inevitably comes OFF the cleaner head so that I'm running like a mad-dog to grad it before it hits the surface air (or running to turn the pump off). Well, I got tired of my "backside" showing to the street and decided I could at least have a little privacy with a small 5' fence! But we NOW have a robotic cleaner...yea!

So now we're working on plans for the deck (and hopefully, a pergola). Then we can put up some nice landscaping in a large perimeter around the pool that will hopefully provide a little privacy.

Cherie, Sounds like a great plan with the deck and the pergola. I was going to build a deck this year but had a car die and had to buy a new one...so now money is just a tad tight...I think though I might work on it little by little and have it done by august...and if not...I'll build next year. Take care and I will say this...I know some great people who are lawyers but they are the exception not the rule.

 

[Casey]

LOL Casey! Size, weight, picture of proof....question answered! Thanks Not to mention, our pool is mostly buried, so I'm going to assume at this point, and from your picture :-D that it will be safe for even ME to jump in!!

Wish I could get to my photos. I made him cannon ball like 5 times so I could get him running, jumping, feet up, sitting <on water > and then the last one with the splash. We laughed the whole time. The walls didn't even move much. Believe me, we get our money's worth out of it! I will probly give the pool to my best friend when I get my inground. God knows what we'll do in the new one!

AHAA! Found some!
This is my older brother Matt. When he comes swimming, he doesn't even feel the water, he cannonballs in!






He thinks he's God. :lol:




3rd one wouldn't come out. But you get the picture!