Ours is 12k gallon freeform with a depth of 3'-5'-4', pic of layout at link below. It's only been running for a couple of months. So far we've had 5 people max in it and that has been comfortable. It's intended as a playpool, not for sports or swimming laps. Our theory was that just because we have a pool doesn't mean we'll never go to water parks or other pools again, so we did not try to come up with a pool that could "do everything". Really for us the emphasis was as much to create a backyard water feature and focus as it was to create a place to swim.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Let me add that if money was no object and one wanted a pool that could do just about everything, Trhought's pool would be a great template. It's got a deep swim/ dive area, a medium depth sports area and a shallow play area. It's also chock-full of options, he managed to incorporate just about every wish-list item possible! It's a remarkable example. Link to his thread is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trhought pool

We have a rectangular pool with Roman edges. 14 x 25, 3' to 6' deep, with baja ledge, attached spa, 386 square feet. We have a small yard - under 5000 sq ft. Like tresw, we view as more of a playpool, a place to splash and lounge around. If we had space, I would love a larger pool w/ slide, grotto, etc. Will have to wait for our next home! My family (2 kids, 2 adults) were in the pool yesterday with floats, toys, and we were comfortable. The best part was my four year old never lost his smile the entire afternoon!

I don't know what gallon size my pool will be yet, but it's small and it and the decking will be taking up my whole yard.

The depth will from 3 1/2' to 5'. Since it's so small, there isn't much of either. We decided to add a sunshelf too. Even though it took up precious space that could have been open water, I figured we'd use it a lot.

My pool is "L" shaped, and is 17' at the widest and it's 25' long and 9' feet at the narrowest.

It's not finished yet, but here it is at gunite stage:

Happymrsf - I love your pool! I hoped my stacked stone wall looks as nice as yours!

Thanks all for the feedback, links and pics. Please keep it coming...I'm considering every bit of it. Trying to strike a balance between having something too small, wishing I'd gone bigger, or too much where I'm overwhelmed with upkeep or unused pool. Gonna try a best educated guess based on what you all tell me.

Our pool is 16x32. Deep end is 8ft, shallow end 3 ft (I think). We have a diving board and ~23,000 gallons. I don't know exactly how many people in at a time but did have my daughter's soccer team over with siblings and was not over crowded. Wish the shallow end was bigger so could play volleyball and would like walk-in steps. Kids love the diving board.

kitchenshock- Thanks for using my format! I was hoping folks could respond that way for a quicker snapshot of the "stats". Interesting comment about amount of decking..."more valuable than pool size." Can you clue me in further on that?

mstrmotion, I see many people try to put the biggest pool they can in their yard at the expense of the deck area. You, the adults, will use the deck space more then the pool. We entertain all the time and while the kids are swimming the adults are sitting around the pool on the decking. Based on my experiences here are the priorities I placed on my pool design:

#1 - Deck
#2 - Spa (The spa will get used 3 to 1 to the pool
#3 - Pool
#4 - Summer or outdoor kitchen
#5 - Tiki hut or pegola or some kind of rain cover.

aaah...that's good info.

I'm wondering if others here pretty much concur with that. We don't have kids, just relatives with kids who would be visiting from time to time. Now I'm thinking I should make it more adult-oriented, layed out with a decent sized swimming lane for exercise. Now I'm wanting to ask those with exercise (lap type) pools if they find themselves actually swimming laps, or is it like the gym equipment that's gathering dust and taking up space in the other room.

There was a thread here recently where people were discussing minimum length of pool for laps. I think 40' was considered the absolute minimum. Several people said they do routinely use their pools for exercise. If you design in a minimum length like that and you end up not using it for swimming laps then you're really not out anything like you would be if you bought a piece of equipment that just sits around.

I'm a firm believer that you should design a whole backyard getaway rather than just throw down a pool. I've seen some really uninspired backyards with a pool plopped down in the middle. But I've also seen some really awe-inspiring backyard getaways with the pool as a central feature. If the emphasis is on creating a beautiful environment then you are much more likely to use it year-round. In our case I've found that our family spends more time outdoors whether we're swimming or not, and that's what it's all about. There are some great examples of backyard getaways right here on GardenWeb, at the top of this forum click on "Switch to Gallery" to see some great pics. I highly recommend that you generate a site plan showing your house and entire yard. Make a wishlist of everything you might ever want back there (pool, gazebo, kitchen, gaming area, lawn area, garden, landscaping, storage, covered patio, sunning patio, etc. etc.) Decide what you want and don't want from the list. Incorporate it all into a master plan for your yard. Then you can tackle it one project at a time. Maybe you've got a 1 year timeframe to complete it all, or maybe it's 10 years. But, you'll know exactly where everything goes so something you build now won't interfere with your future plans.

We could have gone much larger with our pool, but we wanted to keep our existing patio and add another large deck space for sun. Decking was one of my #1 concerns, and I let it dictate my pool size.

Eventually we plan to put an outdoor kitchen in that area. Our existing deck will be covered with a pergola (which will have a polycarbonate top on it).

I made sure to plan everything out very carefully this time, because my last pool took up my whole yard and we had absolutely no deck space. If we wanted to entertain we had to do it *in* the pool.

As far as spas, we rarely used our last one, so I chose not to put one in this time, and use the money for other things (the pergola) that I knew we would use all the time.

BTW, our pool designer called our pool a cocktail pool and that's about all I'll be doing in it - standing in it with a cocktail.

1. Pool type: 18X36 L shaped
2. Gallons capacity: 17K
3. Perimeter length:108
4. Min. depth / Max. depth 3.5 - 5 - 4
5. Avg. # persons using (in) pool at a given time during the active season. 3-5
6. Max. # persons pool can accommodate comfortably (before seeming too crowded): haven't had more than 10 - yet -
7. For your usage level, would you say your pool is undersized, oversized, just right: - just right
8. Anything else you'd like to add regarding pool sizing suggestions. - as kitchenshock said, have plenty of deck for entertaining. We had zero desire for a spa - never liked them, and they mostly serve as kiddie pools in my experience - so we knocked that off our list. Our summer kitchen, bar and main seating area, though, are in a covered area. We are truly out there all of the time - if not swimming, then just relaxing in that very comfortable, shaded space, year round. We have kids, so we still have many years of entertaining friends with kids that swim - my feelings may change when the kids get older and lose interest in swimming, but for now, I still value pool space and deck space pretty equally... and I do swim laps 7-8 months out of the year. My pool is only 36ft long, but we do laps OK in there.

1. Pool type: 45 degree L
2. Gallons capacity: 35,000?
3. Perimeter length: 44 feet
4. Min. depth / Max. depth: 3 to 8.5
5. Avg. # persons using (in) pool at a given time during the active season: 8
6. Max. # persons pool can accommodate comfortably (before seeming too crowded): 15 is good, but we've had 20 with not much problem.
7. For your usage level, would you say your pool is undersized, oversized, just right. Just right!
8. Anything else you'd like to add regarding pool sizing suggestions: Having the two separate play areas was a huge priority when we were having the pool designed. It has worked out even better than I imagined. The kids can dive over and over without disturbing the adults that usually hang out in the shallow end.

Wow...this is all very good stuff (for me in the early planning stage and hopefully others). Very grateful for the help and you taking time to respond. Pics are especially helpful. Interesting...different takes on "Perimeter" length. To clarify, I was referring to total perimeter distance around the edge of the pool...like if you had one of those wheeled measuring devices and you rolled it all the way around the edge of your pool and stopped back where you started.

If you have a pool and are reading this, we'd like to hear from you as well. Each post so far has shed a different light on the subject.

I don't have pool pictures right at hand, but here's the space I described above:

I was reading everyone else's responses and didn't even "see" the word perimter. Mine is about 115 feet.

Jmas, love your space!! It's nicer than my indoor kitchen, LOL!

jmas, your summer kitchen is really nice. I love the cieling. Did you build the space or was it already there?

houseful, that is a really nice big pool. I have a couple of questions for you since our pools are similar in size. My first issue is my pool cleaner. What are you using and does it cover your pool 100% I have a robot that does a great job, when it works, and a Zodiac Baracuda T4(I think). The Zodiac does not do a very good job.

My second question, if you have a salt system is it able to make enough chlorine in the summer months? I find myself having to add Chlorine every week in the summer (in Florida that's May-October)

houseful and kitchenshock,
Thank you. The room on the right of the top picture, behind the grill in the second, we added; so we extended the roof over this middle area to create the space. The tongue and groove ceiling was the builder's idea - we really enjoy it. I'm thankful my honey has good ideas and good taste as well.

Jmas, I've said it before but that is truly magazine-worthy!! It's beautiful, I love it! Would like to see pics of your pool some day too :-)

Yes, we want to see your pool!

Kitchenshock, we use the Hayward Phantom Navigator. My pool is always clean unless it's windy. We chose it because we have seen two pools with the same one and they always look good. I have to admit, I didn't do lots of research on navigator cleaners. However, after a year, I am still happy with it.

I don't have a salt system, so I cannot answer that question. I may put one in someday, but it wasn't a priority.

1. Pool type: freeform lagoon
2. Gallons capacity: 20,000
3. Dimensions: 36 X 18
4. Min. depth / Max. depth: 3.5 to 8
5. Avg. # persons using (in) pool at a given time during the active season: 4
6. Max. # persons pool can accommodate comfortably (before seeming too crowded): We had 18 kids in the pool at one time during our twins' birthday party last weekend
7. For your usage level, would you say your pool is undersized, oversized, just right. Just right!
8. Anything else you'd like to add regarding pool sizing suggestions: We have a 7 foot spa and it's been big enough to provide a winter pool for our 8 year old twins

Thanks for your kind remarks! Unfortunately, I don't have good pictures at hand - the first shows the shape (before the enclosure was complete, and while being filled, see the hoses?)and the second is a typical wekend morning waiting for the green light to get swimming :-)

The pool has 3 sheer descents on the raised beam - I'll work on some new pictures soon.

We are having some palms, philodendrons and a big bird of paradise installed this weekend, and then I'll plant a few hibiscus and bottle brushes as well. We're excited about getting going on the lanscaping! My wife and I are always back and forth on the ivy and vines on the fence - I think it looks sloppy, but she hates the look of the bare wood fence.

Our pool is 14x25, freeform, with a 7x7 U-shaped attached spa. Pool is 3.9 to 7 feet deep. Gallons are approximately 13,500 (includes the spa water). I don't remember exactly but I think the square feet was 345 (375?) I don't remember.

We've had a couple of pool parties for my daughter with 15 young kids in the pool comfortably. With adults, I'd say 4 or 5.

1. Pool type: rectangle - 47 ft by 12.5 ft. with an interior spa. Swim length is 44 ft (pool cover vault takes up approx. 2.5 ft. of the pool's length.
2. 40,000 ish gallons
3. Perimeter length : approx, 120 ft
4. Min. depth / Max. depth: 3.5 ft to 5.5 ft.
5. Avg. # persons using (in) pool at a given time during the active season: 2-4 on days when dd has friends over.
6. Max. # persons pool can accommodate comfortably (before seeming too crowded): For lap swimming one or two is fine...for playing around, five or six is okay...beyond that, it gets crowded.
7. For your usage level, would you say your pool is undersized, oversized, just right: Just right given my yard space. If I had a bigger lot, I'd love a longer and wider pool. Daughter and friends *love* the slide....I' might have liked a deeper deep end for diving.

Pics:

arielitas_mom , it looks like you're closer to 20k gallons based on the dimensions you posted. That's still a lot bigger than what I thought your pool was (having seen your pics before), it's bigger than it comes across as in the pics!

18k gallons. 32 x 16
Acapulco shelf.
3.5 ft to 5ft(center) to 4ft.
Spa 8 x 11
Pebblefina
Cobalt Blue water line tile
All Hayward equipment
Jandy Jets

Finished our pool described above 3 weeks ago.

Everyone tells us our depth is just right. I feel the same way. We had a birthday party last weekend. 10 teenagers in the pool was a little crowded, but when we have about 5-6 people in the pool, it is just right. I wouldn't want to go any bigger personally because it would be somewhat harder to maintain and my bills would be higher. Usually it's just myself or hubby and our kids in the pool, so it's perfect.