Depth Transition, 3:1 or 4:1?

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mickmurph

Active member
Jun 26, 2023
33
Minnesota
Hey guys,

We are doing a traditional pool style with a shallow end of 3’6” that then transitions to a “deep” end of 6’6” with a slide in the deep end. Our PB is asking if we want the traditional transition of a 3:1 drop or more gradual of 4:1. I’m attaching a graphic here of how that affects our space for shallow vs deep end. What is better? Obviously one option gives us some more shallow end but a steeper slope. Also, any other opinions on the way this pool is split up? Will we wish we had more deep end or does this look okay? I know so much is preference, just looking for your experiences and insight.


41FD1856-1513-4C0F-8622-BBEE408EC2F6.jpeg
 
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YippeeSkippy said:
Personally I would ask for 4' minimum and then go 4:1. How long will the pool be?
Will this be a vinyl lined or plaster pool?

Maddie :flower:
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That was under consideration too. 3’6” hits me at the belly button but if we did 4 feet that does give the kids more time to grow into the pool and get plenty of swimming done in the shallow end too. We were a little worried that at 4’, adults wouldn’t be comfortable standing around with a drink in the shallow end. Open to all input!
 
mickmurph said:
We were a little worried that at 4’, adults wouldn’t be comfortable standing around with a drink in the shallow end
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nobody stands around. 3.5 ft is akwardly not enough to kneel, float unassisted or swim, all at the same time. Yet it's too deep to sit.

Above ground pools got it right at 48 inches (or more) of water depth.

With vinyl you may be limited as I was with the height of the fiberglass stairs. With custom stairs or plaster, go deeper.
 
Our pool builder has just told us that our shallow end has to be 3’ because of the way a vinyl pool is constructed. This was abrupt and unexpected news to us and we probably should have known sooner, but all that aside—his suggestion is to start at 3’ and gradually slope it down so we get to the 4’ depth in the shallow end. But then will it feel like we are all standing on a slope in the shallow end? We are pretty disappointed. The goal was for the whole shallow end to be either 3 1/2 feet or 4’.
 
What kind of walls will it have ? Is it a kit ? Maybe that's the only kit the PB can get his hands on so it's limited.
 
They were vague on the walls, and as newbies we didn’t know of course that different walls mean different depth options for vinyl pools, until this moment of course. We told the pool builder we wanted 3’6” and he pivoted from this question. Now I know why. Now he is saying, “your walls will be that height,” but he knew we meant water depth. We specifically said we wanted to only discuss water depth because wall height makes things too confusing and he agreed. Gahhhh.
 

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If it's a kit, the liner is also XYZ dimensions.

If it's not a kit, they traditionally build to your specs and then the liner company comes out to measure what they built. The steel or resin walls are still prefab, but the manufacturers make different sizes to choose from.

Mine was concrete walls with vinly so the possibilities were endless, but we needed fiberglass stairs for the dogs so those dictated my shallow end height. If I went deeper we would have had to add an extra step inside the pool and I saw that as stubbed toes and many 4 letter words.
 
Newdude said:
If it's a kit, the liner is also XYZ dimensions.

If it's not a kit, they traditionally build to your specs and then the liner company comes out to measure what they built. The steel or resin walls are still prefab, but the manufacturers make different sizes to choose from.

Mine was concrete walls with vinly so the possibilities were endless, but we needed fiberglass stairs for the dogs so those dictated my shallow end height. If I went deeper we would have had to add an extra step inside the pool and I saw that as stubbed toes and many 4 letter words.
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This is giving me good questions to ask. We are in Minnesota where the frost goes very deep so I know the walls are steel. The pool builder could tell I was surprised so then offered us the option of sloping the shallow end so it would start at 3’ and “casually” slope to 4’ but would we want our shallow end to slope? I’m sure it would be gradual enough before dropping off on the standard 4:1 drop to the deep end but it feels like a waste of the shallow end to have any of it at 3’.
 
mickmurph said:
This is giving me good questions to ask. We are in Minnesota where the frost goes very deep so I know the walls are steel. The pool builder could tell I was surprised so then offered us the option of sloping the shallow end so it would start at 3’ and “casually” slope to 4’ but would we want our shallow end to slope? I’m sure it would be gradual enough before dropping off on the standard 4:1 drop to the deep end but it feels like a waste of the shallow end to have any of it at 3’.
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The attached photo is an example he showed me of another pool where he sloped the shallow end. We do not have a sun deck. This is another pool they did.

EDE9CC14-B55D-43E1-8D8D-D21550E9060B.jpeg
 
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How locked into this PB are you ?

I'm not surprised this wasn't all spelled out to a T, because it's common for them to take your money and lock you into a contract with vague descriptions, but you should still get what you'd like, not what the PB likes.

Do not settle for something like barely above knee height water if you're tall like me. If you're short then I guess it matters less. :ROFLMAO:
 
Newdude said:
How locked into this PB are you ?

I'm not surprised this wasn't all spelled out to a T, because it's common for them to take your money and lock you into a contract with vague descriptions, but you should still get what you'd like, not what the PB likes.

Do not settle for something like barely above knee height water if you're tall like me. If you're short then I guess it matters less. :ROFLMAO:
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We put down a $5,000 deposit and were not given any bottom contour drawings until Monday. We were told the $5,000 was fully refundable until site engineering which I would consider bottom design and depth decision to include. Hopefully they refund us but if they don’t I suppose it will be small claims.
 
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@Newdude @Oly This is the latest suggestion from the PB on how to get the majority of our shallow end at a 4' depth. We would have a small cove of the 3' depth then a quick drop to 4'. This seems doable to me but I don't know a lot about pools. We are asking for a 7' deep end instead of 6'6" at the suggestion of a friend, so that will change, and were considering chopping off several feet of the 4' shallow end to give to the 7' deep end. I'm not sure if this is a 4:1 transition to the deep end or a 3:1, but we would like to do a 4:1 unless that's not recommended. Does this look better to you guys or is there something not ideal here that I may be missing? I do feel like our PB has been a pretty straight shooter throughout so I'm hoping he's giving us a good resolution here.
 

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I like the shallow end compromise, given the circumstances.

The slope will come down to personal preference. I had my PB keep the 3:1 slope but push it further into the shallow end to make more deep end. But I was looking to build more of a swimming pool and less of a standing/playing pool. Everyone's take on this will be different.
 
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