Depth of deep end (sports vs deep end)

[LaiMi]

Hi!

We are building a 16x32 pool (steel and vinyl) and can’t decide on the depth of the deep end. We have two young children who love to jump in the water. No diving will be allowed. Our shallow end will be 4’ with a 3’ walking ledge near the stairs. Trying to decide between a 5’ or 7’ for the deep end. Has anyone gone with 5’ and regretted it? Can people still jump and cannonball at 5’ without getting hurt?

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
5' is a little shallow for jumping in. Remember, those kids grow.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry and consider reviewing the entire Pool School eBook.

 

[BMK]

Not a whole lot of difference between your 4' shallow and a 5' deep end.
Personally, if you can stand in the deep end and still have your head and shoulders above the water, you dont actually have a "deep end"....you have a "less shallow end". ?
If this isn't a true sports pool, I'd go 7'.

 

[pooldv]

Our texas pool was 3.5'x5'x4' play pool. It was great. We did 1000s of cannon balls in the 5' section. Big kids, little kids and all points in between. No issues at all. Other than that 3.5' is too shallow. If we build another pool it will be 4'x5'x4'.

 

[LaiMi]

So 5' isn't too shallow for jumping in without breaking an ankle? That is our main concern - our kids love to jump. We were originally going to go with a 7' deep end (no diving) but because the hopper is small and the slope down takes so much room, we wondered if even the deep end would be safe for jumping (high likelihood of hitting the side walls). My husband wondered if the 5' would be more useable long term for playing games in the pool (he is over 6') while still allowing the kids to jump in safely. They are young now so will be older and taller soon.

 

[LaiMi]

Not a whole lot of difference between your 4' shallow and a 5' deep end.
Personally, if you can stand in the deep end and still have your head and shoulders above the water, you dont actually have a "deep end"....you have a "less shallow end". ?
If this isn't a true sports pool, I'd go 7'.

By sports pool do you mean the 4-5-4 configuration? That is another option for us but not sure the 32 length is long enough for that without sacrificing too much shallow end.

 

[Jbrillo]

We have a sports pool configuration with a 5’ 6” middle. It’s deep enough for my boys 5’ 10” and 5’ 11” to cannon ball and not hurt themselves.

 

[jdlangley1]

Ours is 3.5 to 5 to 4. No issues here doing cannon balls in the middle. But I’m only 5ft 7in and am tallest in the family, if that helps for sizing.

 

[LaiMi]

My husband is 6’ and my kids will likely be tall (5’6 or above). Any issues when jumping in feet first?

 

[ash_leigh]

We were considering a 5' deep end as well. THEN- We stayed in a hotel over the weekend for a baseball tournament. My youngest (3 yrs old) loved it. But my 7 and 8 year olds said they wished it was deeper. Now I'm going with a 8ft deep end....

 

[Chickinvic]

Hi!

We are building a 16x32 pool (steel and vinyl) and can’t decide on the depth of the deep end. We have two young children who love to jump in the water. No diving will be allowed. Our shallow end will be 4’ with a 3’ walking ledge near the stairs. Trying to decide between a 5’ or 7’ for the deep end. Has anyone gone with 5’ and regretted it? Can people still jump and cannonball at 5’ without getting hurt?

I would go deeper (at least 7'). Your kids will likely dive at some point (or want to). 5' just isn't deep enough IMO. Our deep end is 8'.

PS- where in Canada are you? We have such a huge country.

 

[BeatTheHeat15]

We have a sports pool configuration with a 5’ 6” middle. It’s deep enough for my boys 5’ 10” and 5’ 11” to cannon ball and not hurt themselves.

What are the dimensions of your pool?

 

[Jbrillo]

What are the dimensions of your pool?

33’ 5” X 16’ 9”. It’s pretty much a long oval shape.

 

[BeatTheHeat15]

33’ 5” X 16’ 9”. It’s pretty much a long oval shape.

I saw your comment about jumping/cannonballs. I kinda want to go 5.5’ in the middle of our sports pool for that reason but just don’t think I have the length at 26’ long. Is volleyball tough with the middle being 5.5?

 

[Jbrillo]

We have not played volleyball yet. We don’t have a net but I think it would be fine. I’m 5’8” and my boys are taller. My wife and daughter are 5’2” so they’d probably play on the 3.5’ side and the boys we be on the 4’ side. Our pool is long enough that the slope is pretty gradual.