Will 5 Feet Be Deep Enough for My Pool?

Planning for a swimming pool involves many decisions. One of the first questions a swimming pool contractor or designer will ask is how deep you prefer the water to be. As a general rule, many home swimming pools are around three to five feet deep, which means you’ll likely be happy with this level of depth. However, it’s important to consider a few other possible factors that could influence your final decision.

Factor in Your Designated Purpose

People install swimming pools at their homes or businesses for a variety of different reasons. For instance, you might just need a lap pool for exercise or a pool for therapy purposes. In these cases, a shallower pool might give you plenty of water for water aerobics or other forms of exercise without making you struggle to stay afloat. Alternatively, a recreational pool for a family with older children might involve adding a slide or diving board. In this case, you’ll need a deeper pool to prevent the kids from hitting the bottom.

Think about the Height of the Most Frequent Swimmers

For older adults, a pool might only be used by one or two people who live in the home. In this case, you might choose to make the pool around waist-high for lounging or just below your chin if you plan to swim frequently. Meanwhile, a wading pool meant for small children should only be about two feet deep. If people of varying sizes will use your pool, you might be perfectly happy with the average depth of five feet.

Go Deeper for Diving Purposes

Professional diving pools, such as what you would see at the Olympics, often fall within the range of 16 feet deep. While there’s nothing wrong with going this deep if you have a professional swimmer in your home, most residential pools don’t have to go this far. Although you’ll need to check to make sure you comply with local regulations, most home diving pools need to be between 8 and 10 feet deep. This provides enough room to reach the bottom without causing serious head or neck injuries. Most amateur swimmers find this depth perfectly fine, since they won’t be using high diving platforms.

Consider Your Budget for Maintenance

Naturally, a deeper pool requires more water to fill it every time you have to drain it completely and refill it. Depending on where you live, water rates can vary, and maintaining a deeper pool can get quite expensive. Even if you don’t have to refill the pool, you’ll still need to pay more initially for the installation, and pool maintenance crews may charge more to keep deeper water clean due to the need to use extra chemicals. For most people, a five-foot pool provides the perfect balance for keeping the new addition within their budget.

No matter which depth you choose for your pool, make sure to have it constructed by experienced professionals. From unique pool construction to custom gunite pool design, San Diego Pools can satisfy your every need. Give us a call today at 888-707-7786, and we’ll get started on designing the pool you’ve always dreamed of.