Advice and Opinions on Depth and Stamped Concrete

[krisiak11]

Hello everyone, father of 2 young children and putting in my first pool, I am looking for opinions on depth and concrete. I was considering doing a straight pitch from start to end going 3.5' to 5.5'. I don't want a deep end, will never have a diving board. Other option is flat 3.5' then pitch down to 5.5' and have some more flat space in the deep end. Anyone have a fully pitched pool and regret it? I feel like the pitch would be so slight, you would barely notice it but so many people I talk to think I should have some flat areas in the pool. Also, wondering if anyone here has any Stamped Concrete regrets around their in-ground pool, particularly relative to concrete around a saltwater system and slippery surfaces. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Jimrahbe]

K,

Welcome to TFP... A Great resource for all new pool builders who have "In-Depth" questions....

In the old days they built all pools with a shallow end and a deep end with a diving board.. Most pools today are built without a diving board which takes away the main reason to have a deep end.

My personal preference is for a "sports pool" which have the deepest part in the middle and the shallow parts on both ends.. as in 4' then 6' then 4'... this allows for games like volley ball etc.

I have stamped concrete and do not find it to be slippery at all... But, if I had to do it over I would get "salt" finish instead... more for the look than anything else.

Thanks for posting.

Jim R.

 

[harleysilo]

Love our pool! I'll tell you this, kids can't use our "deep end" for standing and playing volleyball for instance. It's hard to move for me in 4' of water let alone them. If I could redo I'd do 3' at the ends and a measly 3.5 in middle with a 10' flat spot in middle. Hth!

 

[chiefwej]

I've got 3.5 to 5 (in the middle) to 4 ft. I'm very happy with it. The depth that never made sense to me is 6 ft. Too deep for anyone (who doesn't play for the NBA) to stand in, but not deep enough for diving. I guess the only change I would even consider if I were doing it over is, I might make it 4,5,4. Not too many people gravitate to the 3.5 area. I think all 4 ft with some 5 ft in the middle might be ideal.

By the way, this is probably the number one topic of disagreement on the forum. Diving area vs sport/play pool.

 

[krisiak11]

Thank you to everybody for the feedback!

 

[shanebo]

I have a deep end and love it -- my kids and I enjoy diving, jumping in, treading water, etc. -- but I respect the "sport pool" as well. The best I've seen are rectangular, 3.5-4' on each end gradually sloping to ~5' in the middle. My neighbor has a 3' shallow and 6' deep end, and I agree that it's the worst of both worlds.

On the stamped concrete -- that's what we have around our deck and I love it. It's tinted to be a little darker than the standard "white," kind of a medium gray, but the color is mixed in so it won't flake. It's never hot and never slippery, but it doesn't have any sealer on it -- according to my PB, that's what makes 'em slippery.

 

[Oly]

We like a deep end pool 8+ and have no board. Temps here are hot and sustained so the deep water keeps the pool water from getting into the 90 degree temps. I enjoy diving in from the side. I also enjoy playing Sea Hunt underwater and inspecting my pool with my SCUBA gear.

 

[Catanzaro]

Having a diving board has advantages and disadvantages. Everything is preference, but with a diving board, the pool must be 8' (national code). If I had no diving board, the solar cover would have a reel, which would be easier to take off. This year, especially I am finding the cover to be very useful as the weather has not been cooperating.

Personally, I could have done without a diving board, but I do like having 8' in the deep end. Children and adults jump into the deep end from the concrete, so the diving board is really not needed. Also, hard to clean and stains easily.

Stamped concrete will be slippery with a sealer. My concrete is sealed and I have seen a few falls (nothing major luckily). I know that a salt system wreaks havoc on decks, so the sealer is important as well.

 

[DanielJ]

I built a pool that has the traditional deep end, but we have no diving board. I have 12 and 7 year old boys. The older kids congregate in the deep end. The younger ones stay in the shallow more. I like having both - even though it is at the sacrifice of a longer flat area.