Exact Pool Size

by Christy King
(Lancaster, Ca)

What is the measurement for a pool that is 15'x 48"? How wide is it and how tall can you stand up in it?


Hi Christy. I assume you are talking about a 15' X 48" above ground pool. The 15' is the distance across the pool. Most of the time, this measurement is very close to the exact pool size.

The wall height is the 48". They make above ground pools in 42", 48", 52" and 54". A general rule of thumb is to subtract 6" from the given dimension to determine the actual water depth.

With a vinyl lined pool you will normally have a couple of inches of pool base. This can be sand, foam, or any number of other things. They all take up a little space. With a sand base you should have at least two inches, so this will take away from you wall height.

Thru the wall skimmers are precut into the sidewalls of above ground pools. This means the water level will be about four inches down from the top of the wall.

The actual water depth will be the wall height, 48", minus the 4" required for the skimmer and a couple of inches for the base. So a 48" wall will normally have 42" of water in the pool.

Long ago, and yes, I'm dating myself here, 42" and 48" walls were your only choice. The 42" were the cheap pools sold at discount stores so the only real pools were all 48". At that time deep ends were very possible. It is still possible today to get 5-6 foot of depth from a 48" wall. You just need an expandable liner and a hole in the center or you pool.

This is what I mean.

Expandable Liner Installation

This page might help also.

The Right Size Pool

Pool Size

by Ernie

I was offered a round above ground pool for free if I took it down, which I did. The problem is I'm not sure what size it is. It has 13 uprights (supporting legs) is this an 18 foot pool?

I need to buy some things for it and need to know the size.

Thanks
Ernie

Hi Ernie. That is correct, 13 rails, posts, bottom rails and ect. should be an 18' pool. Just to be sure, before you order anything, why don't you lay out the bottom rails. Connect the rails to the footplates and see if you can make a 18' circle. That's really the best way to tell the size of a pool.