Pool decision

[Peaches]

Hi, I am looking to buy a pool and I am so indecisive about round or oval. I really like the way the oval looks. I am also looking to put deck around it, in the near future. What do u guys think? Also I went to a company and the rep showed me a 16x24 oval. Is that a decent size or should I go a little bigger? Help.

[CarlD]

Hi Peaches.
1) We've never met or seen anyone here who says "Gosh, I wish had made my pool smaller!" Everyone is either satisfied with the size or wants a bigger one.
2) I'm PERSONALLY biased in favor of oval over round. IMHO, I think you get a lot more useable pool area for the same volume of water. For example, a 33x18 foot pool 4' deep (water, not pool wall) will use about 15,600 gallons of water. A 33' round pool with 4' deep water will use 25,600 gallons--64% more water, requiring a bigger pump, bigger filter, and more chemicals. And more space. But that's just my opinion.

[Peaches]

Thanks Carl.i. I guess my concern is sturdiness. I am reading a lot about the oval pool having straps at the bottom to hold the two parrallel walls together, the round doesn't have those straps at the bottom. What if something happens to one or both of those straps what would happen?

[BigDave]

What if something happens to one or both of those straps what would happen?The tension in the straps keeps an oval pool from becoming round. If they were to fail, it is likely that the pool would as well sending all the water downhill. What's downhill from your pool site?

Round pools can also fail. For what it's worth, the buttress system on my (relatively cheap) oval pool seem to be pretty sturdy and up to the task. I'm afraid don't know if there's any pool failure data available comparing round to oval.

Choose the pool that's the best fit for your yard and family. One thing: you can make a whirlpool (my kids called it "toilet bowl") in a round pool but not in an oval.

[CarlD]

While I'm not an expert, I would certainly prefer a higher end oval pool to a lower end circular one. Catastrophic failure of ovals don't seem to be notably greater than for round ones.

[Peaches]

Thanks for the info. Def leaning towards an oval. Also downhill is grass and dirt.