Swimming pool depth (rental market, insurance, houses)

[Sue in Ohio]

I did a forum search but did not find much information on this topic. We met with the pool guy yesterday to finalize our pool plans. We hadn't really thought about the depth and randomly chose 3.5' to 6' (or maybe 3'...can't remember as our heads were spinning by that time!). We do not have kids and will not have a diving board but would like to have some fun doing cannonballs, etc.

So, for those of you with pools, what depth do you have and does it work well for you?


Randy and I have been at our timeshare on Lido Beach for the past 12 days and, other than a couple of short walks, we have not had any beach time. We have been running around choosing all of the stuff for our house which should finally have its foundation poured next week. My only consolation is that we will be back down in January for a few days!

[TamRE]

Our pool is 3ft to 5ft. That is all the deeper we wanted it because we didn't want people jumping or diving in. It is too dangerous even at 6ft. Our last pool was 6 ft. Doesn't make much difference. My boyfriend can't swim so he needed to be able to walk everywhere in the pool. At the deep end it tapers from the sides down and the deepest part is at the main drain. You will also have what is called a swim out at the deep end or you must have a ladder at the deep end. I use the pool more for water aerobics and floating on a raft to get a tan. My boyfriend uses it to just walk around, relax on the swim out bench, and to cool off in the summer. Our grandson rough houses in the pool. But other than that, it doesn't get much use.

What type of pool deck finish are you getting? We had the cool deck on our last pool and hated it. The dirt gets in the cracks and it is so hard to keep clean. Now we have the spraycrete and love it. You can wash it and paint over it at any time. Some people prefer the brick pavers because you don't have to worry about cracks in the deck after settling, but I have a separate brick paver patio and it gets way too hot in the summer, so I didn't want the same thing around the pool. You would have to wear shoes all the time and couldn't walk in your bare feet. If you do go with brick pavers, pick a light colored brick that doesn't soak up the sun. You also get weeds between the bricks.

Hey, have fun with your home selections and take some time to enjoy the beach. It is going to get cooler out Fri and Sat I think.

[Big House]

FYI, Ours is 3.5 feet deep, to 6' +/-. FYI You can have things like built in seats, and shallow platforms. Nice for a cocktail!

[coastal chic]

If you want to do cannonballs, you will probably want to go a little deeper than 6....what is the general size of the pool you're looking at?

[Harbor Hopper]

We went with 5ft depth so that (most) adults could still touch and have their heads above water at the deep end. We did a small custom pool (25' x 13'), so wanted as much useable space as possible. We are VERY happy with that decision. 6ft would make the deep end pretty much useless for us.

[beachbum wannabe]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

We went with 5ft depth so that (most) adults could still touch and have their heads above water at the deep end. We did a small custom pool (25' x 13'), so wanted as much useable space as possible. We are VERY happy with that decision. 6ft would make the deep end pretty much useless for us.

Ours is also 5ft depth and that is fine for us ,and I have done several cannonballs in the deep end but would not even think about any head-first dives into it,ours is also 25'x13' and we also added a therapy bench which everyone loves,

[mr&mrssunshine]

5 foot here. it means you can stand anywhere in the pool.

I just built a home back in England for a cleint, with an indoor pool. he wanted deep so he could dive until we pointed out his wife was 5'6 and would spend most of her pool time helping the kids float -AND it would be easier if the water was 6" below her head rather than 6" OVER it !!!! he agreed and went with 5'.

also remember shallower depth = less water to refill and heat a small but significant saving

[gettinoutofjersey]

its all about compromise. kind of like buying a boat. how will you use it? with us most time is spent in the shallow end. we didnt put in a diving board as we had our house on the rental market before moving here full time and i did not want the liablity. i believe a diving board will also increase your insurance rate, at least thats what i heard.

ours is 3 1/2 feet going to 6 1/2 feet and is finished with pebbletech. thats a finish worth looking at instead of the standard plaster.

[sanecitizen98]

Ours is 3 1/2 to 5 at the deep end. It works out well as a "recreational pool". A friend of mine has one all the way up to 8 feet (and he's the only one that really uses that half of the pool).
Given our depth, it works out great for water volleyball and general fun for most adults. I'm glad we have this type of depth -- otherwise, it probably wouldn't get used as much.

[Sue in Ohio]

Thanks for all of your replies! I think we are going to go with 5 1/2 ft. on the deep end.

TamRE, we are going with Spray Crete on the pool deck and Krystal Krete as the pool finish. Glad to hear you like the Spray Crete. We are getting a speckled finish to give it some dimension.

We are on our drive home today. Both of us are wiped out after all the running around we did the last two weeks but it was a very productive trip. Now that we picked out all the finishes for the house, I want it done NOW!