Check with your homeowners' insurance company or agent to see if there are any insurance "problems" with you having a diving board and/or slide.

We recently changed companies and one of their first questions pertaining to the pool was,"Do you have a diving board? Slide?" We have neither, so I'm not sure what would have happened if we had one or the other or both.

I'm very partial to genuine Pebble Tec products, either Tec or Sheen.

If you're considering flagstone or any type of natural stone, talk to your PBs about their experience with natural stone and salt systems. Lots of talk about this on various discussion forums. Personally, I think this is only an issue in dry climates where the saltwater dries on the decks/stone repeatedly and where the stone is a more porous stone - but that's just my personal opinion and there are others who will definitely disagree. But check it out for yourself so that you're comfortable with whatever decision you make. There are some fake stone products out there that don't look too terribly fakey...

Hi, I would say that you should consider putting in a deep end, your kids are going to keep growing and wether you like it or not they will spend the majority of their time jumping in, so I would say get a deep end and a jumping board ( not a diving board) jump boards don't flex and they put the kids in the deepest part of the pool which is safer.Slides are fun but can be dangerous especially if older kids fool around on them. This advice goes triple for a family with boys! good luck

A diving board will always be used by kids and adults of all ages. The slide is good for little kids and they aren't very attractive to look at.

Thanks for the responses...it really helps to get others' opinions on these things.

I'm pretty sure we are going to skip doing the slide, as fun as it looks (we were looking at a slide with the stone surround and the grotto below it, so it's attractive, but spendy).

I agree about the deep end; I think we are leaning toward that, too...still not sure about the rock vs. the board. Are diving rocks really all that much more safe than a diving board? I just don't know.

My big quandaries are about doing a salt pool or a chlorinated pool. One PB said they wouldn't warranty any stonework with a salt pool. Another said if you seal the flagstone, it's no problem with the salt. One said chlorine w/ozonator is as easy on the eyes as a salt pool; another said we ought to do salt, WITH an ozonator as well.
ARRGH!

And then, there's the decking. I know there's been discussion on the slipperiness of stamped concrete, and yet I'm still unsure. I think I like the skinned concrete look, but I don't want little munchkins getting hurt (and, let's face it, someone's gonna run at some point). Would salt finish be better? Flagstone seems incredibly hot to me, plus extremely expensive. Again, may I emit another ARGGH!?

Thanks for all the comments so far; love to hear more thoughts on the decking and the chlorination as well.

Hi there
We, too, agonized over our decisions but ultimately decided to go w/ vinyl, 20X38 w/ three depths; 4', 5' and 6'. We could not find an insurance co that would allow us to get either a slide or board but we were tempted... We chose the three depths because I teach swim lessons and water aerobics and felt a traditional 3.5' to 8' would make us lose too much floor space w/ a slope. We LOVE all three levels; younger kids feel safe in 4' along w/ the stairs, taller adults are comfy in the 5' area and we all jump into the 6' area. Our budget would not allow anything but vinyl but we are cool w/ what we have. We do have the salt system; aqua rite. We like the way the water feels but we are having a heck of a time regulating the salt concentration (wavers b/ 2700 and 3000 at any given moment which is annoying) which then makes our chlorine go wacky. We were at nearly 10 one day then 0 the next! I put the system on super-chlorinate and it took 3 days to get up to .5. It was faster to add liquid shock but I'd rather not have it on the premises... We don't have fancy decking just concrete w/ a swirl pattern to keep the surface from being slippery. The kids do run a bit on deck to get a running start for the jumps but knock on wood, no one has slipped yet...! It is tough on knees getting out of the pool and I wouldn't recommend sitting on it. Don't know if any of this info helps or not but good luck w/ your decision!
Joanne

We too are doing lots of research and trying to make some of the same decisions. We will definitely have a deep end. It makes me crazy to watch my kids at friends houses jump into 4-5 feet of water and then complain about hitting the bottom and hurting an ankle or knee. I have had several parents mention to me that now that their kids are getting older (12-14) they would rather go swim at the neighbors house (with diving board) than to swim in the pool in their own back yard (6ft deep). I am not a big fan of the jumping rock. It really does not get you over the deep well. If kids do something crazy (and they always do the minute your back is turned!!!) I would much rather them hit a diving board which will give alittle than to hit a rock with their head, leg, torso etc... The insurance companies in my area (DFW) really don't care about a diving board or slide so that will not be an issue. Most builders in our area will no longer do salt with natural stone so we have to decide which we want more. It is very hard to make these decisions but just look at what your family does in a pool and then design around that. Good Luck!!!!

With 5 young active kids, you have to have safe, slip free patio and coping. Anything less would be dangerous and asking for trouble. Not only could your kids get hurt but their friends might. Lawyers love cases where someone falls on a slippery surface, because there is no acceptable excuse for having a slippery surface in a wet enviroment.

You can start with an erosion chlorine feeder and see how you like it. You can always add a chlorine generator or ozonator very easily in the future.

I would reccomend the builder that is being cautious instead of the one that says "no problem"

Thanks for the responses...great, great responses!

joanneswimsct, you make a great point about the diving well cutting into your shallow area. A decent-sized shallow area is important to us, even though we plan on a tanning shelf; I'd love for the kids to at least be able to play a little water basketball at some point (volleyball would be ideal, but don't know if we can make the shallow area big enough AND get a diving well, too). I think, as I consider the family growing, that a diving area is probably going to be a must to keep the kids at my house (which is my ultimate goal in installing this pool, anyway).

and renovxpt, thanks for the tips. I'm thinking we'll do flagstone coping (not slick, I believe), and I'm *hoping* the skins pattern, sans sealer, will be rough enough. Not only do I not want lawsuits, I more importantly don't want one of the kiddos injured. I'd never forgive myself if I went with aesthetics over safety! Good advice.

And you make a good point about the PB that says "no problem" to salt...I was surprised; I was also surprised he suggested using an ozonator with the salt system (is there a point to that?).

partypond, we are in the DFW area, too--haven't started looking into insurance companies yet (didn't even think about the fact they may NOT insure some of these items!), so it's good to hear it's not an issue around here. And thanks for that point about a jump rock; I've been wondering what would be safer, and that is SO true that they could hit their head on the hard rock (plus, I wouldn't put it past them to be trying flips off the thing, anyway).

Clearly, I've got a lot to learn. This forum is a huge help!