I have been dreaming of so many projects since we bought this home 3 years ago. But there is one project that I CAN NOT go without any longer...
A POOL!
EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!! I can already hear the splashing and kid squeals from my desk as I write this!
There were many reasons it took us so long to pull the trigger on this pool, but my biggest concern was safety.
I am a paranoid mom. Sometimes with reason and other times, it's a fault. I am absolutely terrified to have a pool. I won't even explain why or say the D-word. I have gone back and forth many times simply out of fear of having a large body of water in my backyard. But I have to remember that I grew up with a fenced-in pool at the same time my mom ran an in-home daycare with 12-14 kids at any given time. We used great precautions with clear family rules, locks, and fences and we never had an issue or scare.
I have done endless research on how to keep a pool safe and my children safe. Back door locks and alarms, fencing around the pool, in-pool motion sensors with house and phone app alarms, and most importantly water safety classes for the girls. If you have any recommendations, please reach out to me in the comments, email, message, text... You know how to reach me! I'm all ears!
But this Arizona family is tired of spending the summers indoors or packing up the family for strategically planned trips to the community pool, waterpark, and splash pad that really should be open 24/7 but aren't. So here we go!
Pool Design
Here are my requirements to maximize our pool usage:
Large shelf for lounging and kids to play
Good-sized shallow end (3' deep)
Good-sized hot tub (seat 8 min)
Ability to swim laps
A small area deep enough for adults to jump in and dive safely
A large standing area for pool games (4-5' deep)
A water feature to jump off of along the back wall
Gas-heated spa so we can use it year-round
Electric heated pool so we can extend the use into early spring and late fall
SIDENOTE: To give you an idea as to how much prices have climbed in the last year, below are the original (larger) plans I drew up last year and are now the same price as our (smaller) current plans pictured above:
Here's where we need your help! SOS!
What would you change? What would you do differently? Speak now or forever hold your peace!
If you have a pool, grew up with a pool, or have ever played in a pool at some point in your life here are my questions for you:
What do you love about your pool?
What do you hate?
What do you use the most?
What do you use the least?
How deep would you recommend for a shallow end?
How deep would you recommend for the play area?
Whats the ideal size of a tanning ledge/shelf?
Send in all your input before we submit our design! 1-2-3 GO!
This design has been really difficult for me as I desperately want to be frugal, but I also want to create the best possible pool experience for our family. The battle of money vs. good design... The story of my life.
To save some cheddar while still maintaining the "large pool" dream we have, I was considering shaving 2 feet off the length and 1 foot off the width which would give us new dimensions of 30' long and 15' wide. What are your thoughts on that??
Timeline:
I'll be submitting our design this Friday (eek!) and then we will get on our contractor's schedule. It takes about 9 months to finish, so we are hoping to have it finished by summer 2024! 4th of July party at our house?? ;)
In the meantime, send me all your ideas/suggestions ASAP, and stay tuned for our final design and groundbreaking date!
Sincerely,
Jessica Doberneck with
