alrighty. Update time. When I got home i had two inches in the shallow end. Had to put the flanges on the stairs. Oh man did that suck. that water is cold!! my toes are pretty pissed at me. Took forever to get all those screws in. Im telling you all right now. I will never do this again.

on a side note. shop vacs do not like to run for extended periods.
would not bother me if it was mine