Quote Originally Posted by PoolDoc View Post
Exactly. But if you get too small, it will probably be hard to maintain equal squares throughout the measuring process.
I was just going to hang a lot of strings across the pool--I told the kids it will be like an archaeological dig. Haha.

Quote Originally Posted by nefretrameses View Post
You can estimate surface area by measuring the number of gallons to raise your pool 1 inch. Requires a calm surface. Mark the current and desired level like on a skimmer I r piece of tape. Put the fill hose underwater. It shouldn't take a great deal of time, so maybe restrict other uses during the fill. Surface area = (Gallons to raise 1 inch x 12) /7.48 or Gallons x 1.604. Multiply surface area by average depth. Use a string with a knot tied every 1 or 2 feet. Pull the string across the length of the pool and use Doc's pole/yardstick to measure at each knot. Attach a small level with rubber bands to make the pole plumb. Add all the depths and divide by the number of measurements. There are other average depth estimating methods depending on the shape of your (pool's) bottom. Like shallow depth + deep depth /2. I was able to estimate my pool's gallons and confirm my result with expected response to chemical additions.
Interesting. I found one the earlier planning sheets from the pool builder today (will be trying to contact them. I kind of doubt I will get anywhere, as I tried before and they were unresponsive), and it looks like although the pool is "free-form," they had planned the longer length to be 35' and the shorter one by 25' (the lengths being perpendicular to each other). I also know now the deepest part of the pool is 8' and the shallowest is 3'. The one complication is that there is a small "wading pool" section that is <1' deep (the previous owner of the house had a one-year-old and was planning to have another baby). As it will be easy (easier) to find the actual volume of that part of the pool, I presume I can just subtract that from the "surface area" approach.