Planning, designing new pool.

[graciec]

We have no frills DIY 18x40 w/ spa step/liner. Glad it is no smaller lengthwise.Good for laps...Wish we put the lounge seat things in but no frills is less problems I am finding.

[duraleigh]

Hi, Jeff,

some thoughts:

1. Size does matter. Bigger pool...more of everything...especially your wallet. Chemicals, bigger auto-vac, more returns, skimmers, etc. Size will evaporate the 40k quickly.

2. I have really large decking around the pool. Decide how you will use the pool and decide your size on that. Never known it to be too big but again, it'll cost bucks.

3. Not sure what you mean by "hook up" utilities. If it's just to supply the junction box and the gas line, you're good to go @ 1000 per.

4. No opinion on diving boards...we decided not to use one.

5. I think shape is a matter of personal taste. I really like free form pools but mine needed to be a rectangle.

[SLS]

I have a 20 x 40 vinyl IG and really like the size of it. I've had 15 + people in it and we still had room to play. I never heard anyone say they wish their pool was smaller!! Well maybe while they were manually vaccuming it...ha. When I have parties the adults tend to stay in the deep end and the kids in the shallow end until its time to do cannonballs .
I've had a person with a L-shape tell me they wished their pool was rectangle due to safety reasons. They said kids loose track where their at and swim into a corner and bump their heads. I guess they can do the same on ladders, steps, etc too.
Make sure you get a diving board and make the pool as deep as possible. I turned 40 this year and still have a blast diving, flipping and doing cannonballs off the board. The kid in me comes out pretty quick ... no wife to tell me I am going to kill myself....ha. Good luck.

[Dr. Spike]

Hello, I am a new member and also new to owning a pool. So I really can't comment too much.

I think that for size, go with what would make you and your family happy that falls in your budget.

I have kept many types of aquariums over the years ranging from various fresh water, salt water, reef, and brackish. With these, the larger the tank, the more it would cost to run and maintain, on the flip side, the larger the tank, the easier it was to keep the system balanced and the tank dwellers happy.

I would think that the larger the pool, the higher the costs associated with it. But since I am new, what do I know?

I have an IG 21'X40' vinyl lined rectangular pool which is 4' deep at the shallow end and 9' at the deep end. (That seems like an odd size for a lined pool doesn't it?) I personally would like it to be bigger and deeper. But that is just me.

As a new pool owner I don't think a 21'X40' is all that hard to maintain. I do not have any robots or automatic anything. Just a soft brush, a manual vacuum, and a leaf skimmer (rarely used). Seems to work just fine.

I should mention that my pool is not really an outdoor pool, technically it is outdoors but it is fully enclosed. So besides bathers, I only get a few stray bugs, a few worms when it rains hard, and so far, 6 mice before I opened the pool (ick, glad to have the leaf skimmer though). No leaves (unless someone brings them in on their feet), rain water, or direct sun at all.

Sorry to go on so long. I guess I am just happy I found this place!

[georgiapoollover]

My husband and I built our own pool from a kit 3 years ago. I would NOT do it again. However....we had a 16 X 32 IG with deep end and diving board. Our daughter loved the shallow end to do hand stands and stuff. Our shallow end was small because of the slant to the deep end. To be honest, my 14 year old was 11 at the time and loved the diving board. I stayed in the shallow end, but we didn't have much of one. That sucked. I am only 5 feet tall, and I hate deep water. We are now doing a 14 X 28 Lagoon style vinyl IG pool 3.5 to 5.5 feet deep with a swim out. It is just perfect for us...not too big... not too small. To use it 4 or 5 months out of the year, it is just big enough. We are investing more in concrete, stamped and colored. Plus, we are doing a salt system this time.

[Jeffski]

Thanks everyone.

More questions:

Regarding the salt system referenced above, two different pool company owners have told me they are no longer recommending salt because the long term effects are showing rust and corrosion. I was sold on the idea until I talked to them, and I think I am now going to skip that. Any thoughts?

Will I regret only putting 4 feet of concrete on the sides of the pool? Again, I have lots planned for each end.

[Bleach=Chlorine?]

Our pool comes off the back of the house so we have 4 ft deck around half the deep end then wrapping around the far side to halfway around the shallow end. The near-side deck is 20 feet X 40 feet so plently of room for patio furniture, grill etc. We do enjoy the 4 ft outer decking because people can lay on the grass, etc and still be only a few feet from the pool.