Dig Next Week...Pool Depth Opinions

[NewPoolGuy00]

Our dig is scheduled for next week and we are overly excited. We are going through last minute design changes and considering our depth options.

We are currently set to start at 3' with a 6' deep end however are considering some other options including 4' shallow to 5' deep. We do want to be able to jump in without hitting the bottom and from what we read that can be done in 5'. Don't want to waste an entire section on 6' that would cover our heads if it serves no purpose.

Please share your depths and why you decided on them. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[madtv126]

I have a 38 ft long pool with a 4-6.5-3.5 depth.

My advice would be decide what you want to do in the pool and then pick your depth.

My slope is a little steep but lots of fun.

 

[bmoreswim]

3’ is super shallow. Too shallow really.

 

[Poolbella]

We have 3.5 for 20ft then the remaining 20ft slopes to 5ft. Our pool is only 7ft wide at the deep end so we wanted to maximize how much of the pool can be used by everyone. We will not be allowing jumping in our pool though.

 

[Tx-C]

Sun shelf 10 inches, 4ft shallow end straight drop to 9.5ft. No slope. Very happy with the 4ft shallow end.

 

[riley00dog]

Our pool is 4’ to 6’ and only 20’ long. I would use 3.5’ as an absolute minimum shallow end. Ours is perfect but our youngest who is 7, can’t touch... yet. We do have a pool length bench though. If we didn’t I think I would prefer 3.5’ over the 4’. It’s a personal preference as everyone has a different use in mind.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

My oft-whined opinion is that 3' is far too shallow, especially if someone is trying to swim a lap. You'll be scraping your knuckles on the bottom. 3'6" is kinda shallow too, but if that were a smallish section of the pool its gonna be "meh" but acceptable.

If I had any sort of tanning shelf or large stairs where little kids do tend to congregate, I'd go deeper all around. Kids learn to swim, they float around on donuts and noodles and they grow like weeds. A little depth is not your enemy. In fact, and I speak from professional experience here, it is safer to jump into a deeper pool than not. 7' to 8' is much safer, and you wouldn't have to constantly be on the look-out to warn against diving. Diving is what kids (and adult kids!) love to do so make it safer for them and plan ahead!

Being that you're also in Georgia I'll warn you that the more shallow a pool is, come mid summer it might get to feeling a bit like bathwater. Deeper pools don't get that way.

Maddie

 

[chiefwej]

My poolis 3.5 to 5 ft. in the center to 4ft. at the other end. We also included a 7’x7’ sunshelf 18” deep,and a 16” wide bench along one whole side of the pool, also at a18” depth.
If I had it to do over there are a couple changes I would make. 4/5/4 depth makes much more sense. The real little ones play on the 18” shelf until they learn to swim, then they use the whole pool. So the 3.5 serves little purpose. Too shallow for most anyone. Anything deeper than 5 feet would mean that everyone (except NBA players) will be treading water. So if you want more than 5 ft then at least go for 9 ft so you can dive. But personally the 4/5/4 seem perfect to us.

The pool builder included an automatic infloor cleaning system in the build. If you have a pool with a pronounced deep well, IFC might work for you. The system just blows the dirt around, hoping that it will fall into the deep well and be picked- up by the main drain. But in a play pool,with no deepwell it just doesnt work. I finally gave up and bought a good robot (Dolphin S-300).

 

[sktn77a]

I have a 3' shallow end - WAY too shallow - I feel like I'm in a wading pond. Go deeper.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Consider this - women don't like to stand in such shallow water in our bathing suits that our muffin tops show too much. Gimme a minimum of 4' please.

Just another thought.

Maddie

 

[NewPoolGuy00]

Thank you everyone for the thoughts. Very good points across the board.

 

[Neemer]

We are 6.5 ft at deep end of a 36’ pool. I hit bottom if I jump in straight legged. It can be bone jarring and painful for someone with arthritic knees. I also dive into the deep end, but I keep my angle of attack shallow. If I could get a do-over, I would go with a depth that would allow me to dive without compensating for shallow depth. How I thought I would use the pool turned out to be different from how I actually use it.

 

[JessB412]

We start our build in two days- this thread was so helpful! We are doing vinyl and now I’m wondering if I can change my depths last minute haha. We are getting a bench along both deep and shallow end. We were torn between 5, 5.5, or 6 ft in deep end. None of us are divers but I’m sure my hubby would like to jump from time to time.

 

[BMK]

A little depth is not your enemy. In fact, and I speak from professional experience here, it is safer to jump into a deeper pool than not. 7' to 8' is much safer, and you wouldn't have to constantly be on the look-out to warn against diving. Diving is what kids (and adult kids!) love to do so make it safer for them and plan ahead!
Maddie

Couldn't agree more. To a toddler, a 5' depth is no less dangerous than a 7' depth. But in very short time they grow, learn to swim and want to play games and jump in. The deeper depths are safer. Our kids (youngest is 6 years old) and their friends (not to mention the adults, though I use the term loosely) spend a great deal of time jumping, diving and playing around in the deep end. Because of the depth, inadvertantly hitting the bottom is one less thing for me to be concerned about. Our previous pool was 3.5' to 5.5' and my son and his friends (all around 6') were bored to the point of rarely using it. I guess it's all personal preference.

Certainly sports pools, etc are perfect in many situations. But going shallow strictly because the kids are presently very young, is creating a permanent solution for a temporary situation.