Blog | Things to Think about Before you Buy a Pool

We have designed and built a lot of swimming pools and often people we talk with have not thought about how they will use their pool. We will address some of the things we have discovered in our 30 years in business.

Often clients we talk with are not sure of the size of pool they want or need. As a general rule the average size swimming pool nation wide is around 16' x 32' and for a diving pool it is around 18' x 36'. First you need to decide if you want to swim and play or swim and dive. It is usually very expensive to build a pool that accommodates a diving board, volleyball play area and swimming area.

When you decide you want a diving pool remember you will not be able to stand with your head above water in almost two thirds of it. This is due to safety factors as to the location of the break (area where the shallow end drops to the deep end). At the break the pool is usually 4.5' to 5' deep. Then it gets real deep real fast. This is in order to keep you from hitting the pool floor when you dive. So keep this in mind. Think about. Will the board get used often? Will the kids get tired of it? When are the kids moving out to go to college? Cost is another factor, the extra depth, material and labor cost more than a shallow pool. The exact same size pool 6' deep vs. 8.5' deep is about 10% less in initial costs. It is also going to cost less to operate. Less water volume = less operating costs. This may help your decision, because although we have done it before it is expensive to change a pool from 8.5' deep to 6' deep. So you will more than likely be stuck with a deep pool until you move to another house.

Another option is a shallow pool, they can be shallow on one end and deeper on the other. Or they can be shallow on both ends and deep in the middle. The latter pool is usually called a sport or play pool. The center deep area allows for more games such as volleyball. With the non-diving deep on one end pool you have more area to stand in vs. the diving pool. As the deeper end gets closer to 6' vs. 8.5' the slope to the deep end decrease greatly and you have more area to stand in.

Now that you have decide on a pool depth. You will want to consider if you want it heated. With a heated pool you will gain about three months of additional swimming time. Most people without a heater start swimming around June 1st in our area (Tulsa) and swim through September. The air temperature is usually not the reason people stop swimming, it is the water temperature. With a heated pool you can start swimming mid April and swim through October. Of course theoretically you could swim year round. But that would cost a fortune unless your pool is indoors.

The other things you will want to decide are. Do you want a spa? Do you want a water feature? Do you want a fireplace or fire pit. How about an Arbor? An outdoor kitchen? What about a covered outdoor living area? The options are almost endless. I hope you find this information helpful.