Freeform vs. rectangular pool

15 years ago

Hi there,

I'd love opinions on freeform vs. rectangular pools. I personally love the look of the freeform pool, but I am trying to build a decent size pool and deck on a restricted budget and was told that you get more"bang for your buck" with a standard shape/size. I have also seen some lovely rectangular pools on this site. I have 4 kids, too and think if I went with freeform, I would have to make it really big so they would have room to play.

What do you all think?

Thanks,

Amy

Featured Answer

arielitas_mom

15 years ago

It's all what you like and what works best for your purposed. I swim laps and wanted an automatic safety cover, so a rectangular pool was a no brainer (fortunately, that was what worked best with my landscape and house and what I prefer stylistically). I managed to get some curves with with my semicircular spa and my freeform baja step, but I am partial to geometric forms when it comes to pools and I'm not a big fan of lagoons.

I'm surprised about that freeform isn't more expensive, given the need to cut tile and coping to conform to curves.

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Comments (18)

exit2studios
15 years ago
We struggeled with the same question and ultimately have decided on free-form. In our case, it was really the fact that our chosen PB came up with a beautiful freeform design and in reality this probably works better with our house style and terrain.

However, my wife and I are both drawn to geometric pools...so it's a tough question.

I was also told the opposite of what you said regarding cost. I believe there is quite a bit more margin for "error" on a freeform pool vs. getting all the 90 degree angles exact on a geometric pool.

I think in the end it's a personal decision and really depends on the look you're trying to achieve and the intended use of the pool. It definitely seems like rectangle pools are making a comeback though in comparison to the lagoon style pool.
ronij
15 years ago
For what it is worth, from an engineering viewpoint, rectangular a/o square pools are not as strong as one with curves.
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watermom
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the quick responses. One PB just briefly told me that a free form pool would cost more and that for swimming purposes a geometric pool would give you more swim space because the free form pool gets narrow in places. I didn't pursue it any more, but it got me thinking....
mommyniki
15 years ago
First off, I think you should talk to more pool builders to get other opinions. As for a free form pool getting narrow in places, I guess I depends on how curvy you get it. We had a freeform pool that wasn't even close to narrow. We had more gentle curves. We have been talking to pool builders and have found that the cost all depends on the shape, but not necessarily rectangular vs. freeform. We've looked at pictures of different pools and found that some seem smaller but have a lot of perimiter, some have less perimiter but have more surface area. I couldn't make sense out of it. So, I would suggest that you work out a shape that you like that will fit in your budget. I'm sure they can make one work that has a great swim space and is free form. It just sounds to me like this pool builder doesn't want to be very creative.
flowergirl232
15 years ago
The fact of the matter is, you will have to look at this pool for a very long time. So, pick the one that appeals to you more and don't worry about a couple square feet. We did an 18x37 freeform and we have had many children in this pool at one time and there is plenty of room for everyone.
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denvermitch
15 years ago
My wife and I really liked the geometric shaped pools. My builder keeps telling me that they are more difficult to build because they are not as forgiving as a free form pool. Angles need to be more exact, mistakes are really evident etc.

Below is a pic of ours as of this morning. The design is called a Grecian L.

[IMG]http://i35.tinypic.com/al1yd4.jpg[/IMG]
denvermitch
15 years ago
Take 2 on the picture:
exit2studios
15 years ago
Never even considered the curved coping, etc. Maybe that's why it ends up being a wash mixed with the lower tolerances and straight edges.

I love it when everyone is right and noone is wrong :-)
tresw
15 years ago
We went with a freeform and really love it, but we wanted more of that tropical lagoon look to our backyard. It does indeed make swimming laps feel awkward though. Regarding the coping, our PB had several lagoon shapes to choose from and each already has the coping shape molds premade. So the coping comes out to the job site curved to the shape of the pool (no field cutting required). Same with the rebar, it came out to the site already bent to shape. Tile installation is the same as a straight wall, the tile pieces are small enough to conform to curved walls without any special work. I would think the only added complexity to a free form pool is in the dig phase, it would certainly be easier to dig a rectangular hole!
chezdeg
15 years ago
We really wanted natural beach look but are going with rectangular because we want auto pool cover under coping for safety.
sdkath
15 years ago
I think the automatic pool cover is the biggest advantage to a rectangular pool. My neighbor has one and not only is it completely safe to walk on (!!!), you can roll the cover on and off with the switch of a button. They save a lot of money because they cover the pool between uses and the heat stays in and dirt stays out. They have 4 laminar jets in each corner and boy are those cool looking.

We had to go with a freeform shape because it fits our yard better. Our narrowest point is 8' but the BP said that's no big deal. It's in the deep and you usually swim in and out of the deep end (rather than hang out and play in the shallow part, which is 18' wide). So I am not worried. I personally like the freeform pools better but that's because I like a natural, tropical look rather than a more "formal" look of a rectangular pool.

Katherine
watermom
Original Author
15 years ago
What great reponses! I am still torn. I love them both and all the pools on this forum are beautiful! The one thing is that I live in a traditional colonial and am wondering if landscaping a free form pool would be much more expensive to try and achieve that "natural look". I haven't gotten any estimates so far, but we will not be doing any extensive landscaping in the near future. We won't have the cash! I am meeting with some more PBs next week and I will ask their opinions as well.
Another dumb question.... is an 18 by 36 rectangular pool bigger than an 18 by 36 freeform pool? I am thinking the rectangular pool would be bigger because you are measuring the freeform at its widest length and width? Am I correct? I also want a decent size pool, but not HUGE because I will have to heat it all summer here in the Northeast.
Thanks for the great feedback.
Amy
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joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi watermom!
We went w/ a true rect 20X38 because ours will be enclosed w/ a telescoping building. We filled w/ H2O 2 weeks ago; water temp was a gastly 55 or so. Our enclosure has not been constructed yet but w/ just a clear solar cover, the temp soared to 83 degrees in a matter of days. I have yet to turn the heater on; we are in CT and the nights have really gotten chilly. Even so, the lowest the pool has gotten is 77 due to the solar cover. If you have a lot of sun for a good stretch of the day where the pool will be you'll be so surprised at how well the solar cover works! (FYI: we ordered ours from solarcover.com and received it in less than 48 hours...) You may not use the heater as much as you think!
Good luck w/ your decision. Where in the NE are you?
joanneswimsct
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lauraon
15 years ago
watermom,

we have had 2 different freeform pools in homes that we moved into. while they are pretty, i wish we had rectangular. i'm not sure what your particular circumstances are, but i have 6 children and a water-loving lab. i really wish that we could have an automatic pool cover, not only for safety, but to keep a lot of the "stuff" that gets into the pool. We have a beautiful tree near our pool that my husband has refused to cut down. when you have a tree, you also get birds with droppings. the pool cover would also help keep down the
heating costs and the chlorine costs, which get pretty high. when we renovated our pool it was more costly to get the coping done. also, the decking is more expensive to install because you have to order more stone or pavers to allow for cuts and waste, and more labor time to do all of the cuts. i have seen some beautiful rectangular pools and when they are done well, have a very classic look. - laura
watermom
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the opinions... I just met with a nice PB yesterday and actually showed him pix of gorilla's pool from this forum.
Joanne-I am right outside New Haven,on the shore. I think I am going to go with a rectangular pool-18 by 38. In order for the free form to look really good in my backyard, we'd have to do alot of landscaping, and at this point, I am scared to death of the estimate for the pool alone!
Thanks again everyone!
Watermom
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi watermom!
I'm in Cheshire; just up the street! Are you going w/ vinyl, gunite or fiberglass? Who have you met w/ so far? We went w/ Prospect Pools; great reputation in our area. They're busy, though, so we had a long wait until our turn. Our project is rather large so I think we got pushed back in order for them to fit in a few basic builds before summer ended. Keep us posted on your project!
joanneswimsct
boymom23
15 years ago
We just built a free form pool (kidney shaped) and we get so many compliments on the shape! You do lose a little bit of space, but it looks lovely and is more unique than the typical pool, imho. The main thing that I want to tell you is that YES, you can have an automatic cover on a free-form pool! We have the Coverstar automatic cover and it closes over the entire pool. The main way we decided on the shape of our pool is by really taking the style of house into account. Our home is a brick Georgian and in all the magazines I looked at, the rectangular pools seemed much more modern. Therefore, we chose a free-form shape that complimented our yard, and then added brick coping that matched our house and maintained the traditional style of our home. It turned out great! (I would post a picture, but I can never figure out how to do so!) Good luck with your decision!

Freeform vs. rectangular pool

arielitas_mom

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