Construction just began- will I regret not going bigger?

[Rockfly]

We’ve wanted a pool our whole lives and we are finally biting the bullet. My wife has had her heart set on a radius pool. I’ll admit they are my favorite style as well. But the price tag led us to just pick out a rectangle. Then our PB got his hands on a very nice mountain oasis pool kit and he offered it to us at nearly the same price as an 18x36 rectangle.
But once he got it laid out he said it was smaller than the distributor told him it would be and he wanted to make sure we would be happy. Well I’m standing there at 7:30 in the morning crew looking at me and I’m trying to decide if I had to pull the plug and go back to a rectangle. Honestly I thought the size was fine and it wasn’t until he brought it up that I even thought about it. He’s a very honest guy and I appreciate him being forthright. I believe the specs call for the pool to be 36x21 but you have to account for the shape. I didn’t want to wait 16 weeks for a new kit so I told them to proceed and I’m now trying to get an elevated fiberglass tanning ledge added. We always wanted one of those. The pool spec says it’s a 15000 gallon pool. We are past the point of no return now but I’m just wondering if I messed up or if I’m just being paranoid now. We have 2 kids and my wife and I will mainly lounge and use floats. will we be happy with this pool size?

 

[Rq120]

We have a 9500 gallon pool with the deep end being 5ft. Our young kids are very happy and it's enough for what you described (lounging/floats).

 

[Dirk]

My pool is 12K, 19x28, and rounded like yours. It's plenty big. We've had up to a dozen in at one time, with floaties. I'd say the tanning ledge could change all that. I don't get tanning ledges, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. They take up real estate and I wouldn't like one much even if it didn't. I swim in my pool. I layout on the deck. I want my phone/magazine/iPad/drink/snack/pillow/towel/etc. None of which are compatible over a puddle of water, and that's without kids splashing around! No thanks. I digress. Put the dough into a bigger surrounding deck, I say.

Anywho, the flip side: more pool = more of everything: more fun, maybe, but more expense, more water, more heating, more cleaning, more chemicals, more yard eaten up, etc, etc. There is a point of diminishing returns...

 

[Rockfly]

My pool is 12K, 19x28, and rounded like yours. It's plenty big. We've had up to a dozen in at one time, with floaties. I'd say the tanning ledge could change all that. I don't get tanning ledges, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. They take up real estate and I wouldn't like one much even if it didn't. I swim in my pool. I layout on the deck. I want my phone/magazine/iPad/drink/snack/pillow/towel/etc. None of which are compatible over a puddle of water, and that's without kids splashing around! No thanks. I digress. Put the dough into a bigger surrounding deck, I say.

Anywho, the flip side: more pool = more of everything: more fun, maybe, but more expense, more water, more heating, more cleaning, more chemicals, more yard eaten up, etc, etc. There is a point of diminishing returns...

I should have specified. The tanning ledge would effectively be outside the pool shown. It will be separate from the pool and have a spillway into the pool. So it would add footprint

 

[Dirk]

Much better way to go!

 

[Dirk]

Does all that get backfilled? So you'll have in essence an in-ground pool? I'm not familiar with that type of pool construction...

If so, I know that backfilling around a pool is a big deal, and often done wrong, causing problems for the pool and deck later. Something about soil or rock or compacting. Do you think you and your builder have a good handle on all that? Now's the time to make sure it gets done right. We have experts here that can advise about that, if you need.

 

[Rockfly]

Does all that get backfilled? So you'll have in essence an in-ground pool? I'm not familiar with that type of pool construction...

If so, I know that backfilling around a pool is a big deal, and often done wrong, causing problems for the pool and deck later. Something about soil or rock or compacting. Do you think you and your builder have a good handle on all that? Now's the time to make sure it gets done right. We have experts here that can advise about that, if you need.

Yes it is an inground pool with liner it will be locked in with concrete and gravel. Not directly backfilled with dirt.

 

[Heavenlytunes]

Yes it is an inground pool with liner it will be locked in with concrete and gravel. Not directly backfilled with dirt.

You finished with the deck?