Wow!! What a pretty pool. Only critique I have is I would reconsider the 2 steps by the sun shelf. I don't think they're necessary. My sun shelf is in the deepend and the kids swim right up to it and hop out of pool. Also, I'm not crazy about the tile at the end of the sun shelf. I prefer the just the pool finish on the edge of steps.

jubillee....nice design and you've done your homework. I would also recommend having only 1 step instead of 2 steps for the transition from 3'6" to the tanning shelf and to the sitting bench. We originally did not have a step from our 3'6" depth up to the 18" tanning shelf depth and added 1 step during gunite after we seen how much of an effort it was to step up to the 18" depth from the 3'6" depth....2 steps is too many in my opinion. By the way...we use that step all the time and are glad we did it.

I see you call out a transition tile between the two different plaster colors. That's exactly what we did but to hide the transition tile and make the transition look more natural, we wrapped the plaster around the edge of the tanning shelf and placed the transition tile on the vertical edge of the tanning shelf instead of the horizontal face which would have been easily visible when looking down at the tanning shelf...hope this makes sense.

It appears from your depths that this may be a sport pool with the 3.5 to 6.5 to 3.5 depth profile....are you considering a volleyball net in the middle of the pool...just curious because I did not see the volleyball anchors.

Regarding pumps, I would recommend a separate pump for the waterfalls and bubblers and its size will depend on how large your waterfall is...your plumber or local expertise can help with this size selection. For the filter pump, slower speeds will result in better filtration, reduced energy and longer cycle times which is generally good for salt water pools and chlorine generation. I would recommend a 2 speed or variable speed for this task.

Hope this helps!

trhought----thanks for the tips! I was planning on putting the tile on the vertical wall just under the sun shelf plaster , my diagram just doesn't clarify. We have been going back and forth on the volleyball setup and I think we have decided today not to worry about it. So we will probably end up going a little deeper in the center. I am actually doing the pool as a build/owner, subcontracting the work out myself. So I really do need to know what size/type pumps to go with so I can get my equipment ordered and squared away for the plumber. I've seen your pool on here, quite amazing! Do you think my pool is a good size? I don't know exactly what size yours ended up being. Thanks again!

Look to me like around 800 or 900 sq ft which is VERY big

Hi Jubillee...Thanks for the compliments on our pool. Ours ended up being 40' x 28' x 20', so about the same size as yours. We're happy with the size and never feel cramped for space even during large gatherings. The other key to not feeling cramped is to allow for lots of deck space. We ended up with about 900 sq.ft. of decking which we're happy with.

Regarding pumps sizes...the bubblers won't take that much flow so it really depends on the size of your waterfall. Our waterfall takes about 120 gpm to sheet nicely...so we went with a 2HP pump that has 2 speeds to allow for a trickle or a roaring waterfall depending on mood. For the filter pump, I would recommend a 2HP 2 speed to save on energy during low speed operation and offer enough high speed flow to power any cleaning devices that you plan to have and skim the pool. If you have the budget and don't mind a little extra complexity, you can also get variable speed pumps that will allow the flow to be dialed in to whatever you think makes the waterfall look best. These pumps also allow low speed operation like the 2 speed pumps to save on your energy bill when running the pump every day for pool circulation. The variable speed pumps are more expensive though so this will be a personal decision. Your plumber will likely have some recommendations and can help in this area if they work in the pool industry.

Hope this helps!

I like the design, and I agree that the two steps up to the sunshelf are necessary, but I would make them wider, maybe to the middle of where the rocks are. Keep us posted!

trhought---- A couple more questions... What kind of bubblers/jets exactly did you use on your sun shelf? I'd like to use the same ones as they work exactly how I want them to. Alos, I know you used Rico Rock whih is what I am doing. I am going to do the 4ft double waterfall in the corner and some boulders around with a few rocks submerged on the shelf. Can you tell which boulders & rocks I should use (want them kind of big) and if you think these few items could be done w/out hiring a mason contractor? Thanks again!

Your surface area is 667 sq/ft.
The equation is average length times average width (19.71 x 33.86)
A very spacious pool.
However I think you'll hate your depth elevations, if you want 6 1/2' deep you'd be much better served placing the deep end on the area in front of your sunshelf.
Trust me on this, I've tried to discourage many buyers with these depth's requested over the decades and every single one wished they'd of listened to me. Several paid up during construction to have me gunite up the middle to 5' or 5 1/2'.
Also your 1st step as a bench won't work as you intend it to. Incorporate the second step of your entry into the bench along the pool side on the left and leave the first as a slight horseshoe around the bench for easy entry/exit.
See ya,
Kelly

Kelly,
Thanks for the advice on moving the deep end to one end and shallow on the other. We have decided to go with that layout. We'll change the bench/step layout as well. Can you please give me your advice on the pump or pumps? I'd like to stay as energy efficient as possible but definitely want to make sure the waterfall/jets do not lack on pressure.
Thanks again,
Julie