HELP!! Need Opinion on shape

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Beachgirl79

Member
Feb 18, 2020
15
New jersey
Hi there, we are building a pool and have reached a roadblock with the shape. We love the fun playfulness of the oasis shape, but our yard is very long and narrow which I think would suit a rectangular shape better. I have 42 feet from my house to my property line. Our town calls for 10 foot setback from the dwelling and we would also need space to grade down. What do you think looks better suited for the house and property? Freeform or rectangular. The size of the pool we are planning is 18x36. The rectangle would use 18x36 but the oasis would need a 22x36 envelope size to accomodate the free form.


Any feedback would be appreciated
 
Rectangle with roman steps on each end for the curves. Not that I'm bias or anything... ;)

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We went rectangle for the more usage of actual pool space. While we loved the resort like shapes that friends had put in their backyards, some of them are more for looking at than they are for comfort.

On the plus side for the shapes, or for that matter, even the smaller pools, your friends will gladly shoehorn themselves in there if need be. They will be having a blast with friends, in a pool, probably with food and drinks. Life will be good that day either way.
 
Either one will work. With the Oasis shape you need to do some landscaping and plantings around the yard that follow the curves. A good landscape design can integrate the Oasis shape into your yard.
 
BG79,

As you say it is an opinion.... I personally like the look of a rectangular pool, so that is what I have at my house.. I have two rent houses with free-form pools and I think the rectangular one fits our needs better. I wanted a pure rectangle, but the designer talked me into fancy corners and now I am glad she did..

IMG_4372.JPG

IMG_4372.JPG


Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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We had a kidney pool put in - I thought I would like the flowing curves. But after 20+ years, I think I prefer the classic simple rectangular (perhaps with some of the corner curve features of the picture above). Much of the overall design aesthetic depends on the landscaping around the pool.

Good luck!
 
Do you want a decorative pool or a practical one?

My pool is a practical rectangle. I envy the gorgeous pools shown off on this forum. My pool is nothing to look at. But I can swim laps in my rectangle, and its under-track motorized auto-cover is better than sliced bread. I don't know where in NJ you are, north or south may make a difference whether you close your pool for winter or not. If you have to close, the auto-cover will be unusable in winter.
 
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Where are all the shape people ? We know there are tons out there. Please chime in with your +\- This question will be coming up a bunch more as build season ramps up soon.
 
I really like the look of the oasis pool - how about leaving the back side along the property line straight, and adding some curve to the other sides (example shown below).

I think the design of the pool has to match the area it is going into... and the owners personality :)

Pool Layout.jpg
 
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Kidney shaped here, and the cover is a pain, because it needs to wider then a rectangle would be for the same size pool. This means that covers need to be extra large, and since most are square, they don't fit properly. I could show you a picture, but right now the pool is not even visible under the snow....
 
I had a kidney in GA for an 18x36. I bought the 18x36 rectangular cover and cut it to fit - the upcharge cost to get the right size is only a few $$. I used a reel at the widest part of the pool - never had an issue with getting the cover on or off the pool.

On my new pool, it is much smaller (12.5' x 24.5'), but I cut the cover in half and used the DIY cover roller shown on this site - works fantastic, easy to use, and cost me all of about $30 to make!
 
wogster said:
Kidney shaped here, and the cover is a pain, because it needs to wider then a rectangle would be for the same size pool
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This is a very common misconception that I find with all my friends with shaped pools. They consider the outward curves as ‘more space’ when in reality the inward curves take it away. Forgive my horrible renditions, but I drew an example. Let’s assume the furthest outside measurements are 20x4019FC618C-ACCB-410F-960D-1EEC2C0FBB8D.jpeg
My shaped friends think in their heads about a rectangle that would fit inside their pool like this but it’s not apples to apples because their pool is considered a 20x40 and that rectangle is a 16x32(? ish). Like this.
81EE56DC-5477-4C58-8A32-535FFFE206C8.jpeg
In this case, then yes your 20x40 needs a bigger cover and has ‘more room’ than a 16x32.
 
l1ltaral1l said:
I had that same misconception when we started the pool building investigation!
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I imagine most people who aren’t Jr HS geometry teachers can’t see the difference in their heads. Curved pools do in fact look bigger if there isn’t a rectangle sitting next to it.

the same can be said for circle/square with ABG pools.
 

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