Do you wish you would have went with a different shape pool, round or oval?

[daltrey]

I cant seem to make up my mind between round or oval. I have plenty of room for either. On the one hand i like that the round pool holds more water so it would seem that you could swim around in it more. but on the other hand, i like the long pools 33'-40' because you could use them as more of a lap pool.

does anyone here wish they would have went with the other size and why?

thanks

daltrey

[virangos]

15 x 30 oval here. Love it. A friend has a 28' round pool, and as nice as it is I really like the oval better. Like you said being longer it gives you the room to do laps.

[sevver]

I have a small 18' round, it is fine for now, but eventually I want either an inground or else a larger above ground. I like the rectangle pools for the above ground ones, and I would especially like for it to have a deeper end. I would like a something like 40' long, and as wide as possible.

[CarlD]

My personal opinion is that anything you can do in a round pool you can do in an oval of the same length. But the oval has far less water: consider a 33' pool, with a true depth of 4'. A 33' round will cover 855 square feet and hold 25,600 gallons of water. A 33'x18' oval will take up 524 square feet and hold 15,700 gallons. Less chemicals, less to filter, less yard eaten up, easier to cover with a solar cover and a winter cover, but still 33' long so you have ALL the advantages of the round.

[hrsdennis]

Hi, Oval pools are little more expensive and a lot harder to install but I have to agree with Carl, they are a better value in the long run. Having had many different sizes I would have to say my current 15 x 30 is perfect. Big enough for swimming laps but managable cleaning wise. Just the right pool for me.

Dennis

[sloop]

I agree with Carl too. I have a 15X30 oval AG with a 6' deep end. It seems like a really big pool to me. I'm fighting algae right now and I'm glad I don't have any more water to treat. It was a pain to set up. But I really like it.

[ChuckD]

I guess the pragmatic side of me wants to put that investment to some kind of use, and for me that would be exercise. Our pool is 17x33 (came with our house) and, for me, it's just not long enough to do laps. I find I can push off and by the time I start my first stroke I'm already at the halfway point. Two or three more and I'm hitting the other end.

I should say that I spent most of my early years as a lifeguard and swimming instructor trainer so I have decent form.
But still, for any adult who knows how to swim, I think 33' just doesn't cut it. I have a dream of building a lap pool, one lane, 25 yds long, adjoining another free-form area for more hedonistic enjoyment.

A boy can dream...
C.

[Trimom]

II have a dream of building a lap pool, one lane, 25 yds long, adjoining another free-form area for more hedonistic enjoyment.

A boy can dream...
C.

He he he... that is my dream pool too! Be sure to add the waterfall in the free form area.

I chose the 21x41 oval for lap swimming - now I just have to teach myself how NOT to do a flip turn. Since I am training for another triathlon, I need to cut out the turns anyway.

[NWMNMom]

Got the 18x33 and it is as big as will fit into the area we have without having to use our dozer to push out more woods. I know a 33' round would have been cheaper and the structural issues, etc. We are buttress free so no mowing issues to deal with. I can swim laps nicely, but then at my age and current shape, swimming from one end to the other end is quite enough to get that old heart a pumping! Back and forth a half dozen times and I am ready for a big inflatable floatie and a Pina Colada.

I think I have heard that ordering and handling solar covers and reels with the really big round pools is more of an issue than with the long oval or rectangular pools. IMO, solar covers and reels are an issue PERIOD, but whatever we all get, we come here and find someone else to help us figure it out as inexpensively, efficiently and asthetically pleasing as possible. Try THAT at a pool store.

[matt4x4]

In my opinion (especially with freezing temperatures), in the world of regular AG pools, I would go with a round pool of larger size. I may be biased since I have one, but here's my reasons:
1. If you have kids, you can still do laps without them getting in your way, heck, they can even play volley ball while you swim laps through the center.
2. Less problems with regards to stress and wall shifting over an oval, especially in climates where frost heave occurs.
3. Easy to build in comparison to a buttress or buttress free pool.
4. Round pool seems to give good flow from the return all the way around, I see my one neighbours pool (oval) getting less circulation at the far end opposite the return, since his stairs are there, it gives him issues with algae regularly. probably due to non circultaing water.