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Oval Pool Deep Ends
Good Reading Before You Dig
Here we will take a closer look at oval pool deep ends. This is a follow up page to Above
Ground Pool Deep Ends.
Round pools are
discussed more at Round Pool Deep Ends.
There are two different ways an oval pool deep end can work for you.
One end of the pool can be deep while the other end is left shallow,
or standard depth. The other way is to have as much of the
pool area as possible at the deeper level.
An oval pool with one
end deeper can be used in a couple different ways. It can be a
place to jump into off of a wood pool deck. Although this is
frowned upon in all the safety manuals we all know that kids love to
jump into pools. A deep area at one end of the pool provides a
safe place for jumping.
A deep end also provides an area for
adults to stand with only their heads out of water. Some tall
people feel funny standing in an above ground pool with the water
just reaching their belly button. It is fairly common with
deep end pools to find all the adults at one end of the pool and the
kids at the other.
Digging the majority of the pool area out to a
deeper, but still level, area is an option used by many people.
Volley ball is a popular game in oval pools, having the playing
field the same on both sides of the net is helpful. If it is
mostly adults, or older teens, that will be playing the game a
little extra depth could make everyone more comfortable.
Oval pool
deep ends can be dug to any depth that will best suit your needs.
You can dig an extra 30" at one end for the kids to jump into or you
can dig an extra 8", across the majority of the pool, for the
adults.
Oval Pool Side Buttress

Before digging your oval pool deep end it is strongly recommended
that you have all of your side buttresses set and the end rails laid
out and leveled. This may seem like an obvious point to make
but it truly is important. Almost every time I go to do an
install where the customer says the deep end is already dug it is
way too big. A deep end that is dug too big needs to be
backfilled, packed, watered and packed some more. You can not
just throw some dirt back into the hole and set the pool up.
The ground will compress under the weight of all the water and loose
it's shape. If the backfilled area goes into the buttress
area, as it usually does, the integrity of your pool is greatly
compromised. That is, until the ground has been put back and
packed solid. This photo shows my helper starting the dig as I am
setting the side supports. The digging is well inside the area it needs to
be. Unless you know exactly what you are doing it is best to have the
framework set up like the photo below before you start digging.

The best thing is to
dig your deep end correctly the
first time. To do this you need to know exactly how big to
make it. The sides of an oval pool have buttresses assemblies
that protrude, usually under ground, into the pool area. These
systems provide the majority of support for an oval pool and the
ground they are set into needs to be firm and level. If your
buttress assemblies protrude 3' into your pool then you need to come
in at least 3' 6", on both sides, before any digging can be done for
a deep end. This may seem like it is taking up a lot of what
could be deep area but it has to be this way. Having the base
structure of you pool completely set shows you exactly where you can
dig and where you can not.
I place my foot at the end of the
buttress assembly and put my shovel just past my toe. That is
the start of my deep end. A gradual slope is then used to
reach a point somewhere near the center of the pool. Depending
on the size of your pool, the bottom of the hole may only be 2'
across. On a 12' wide pool, allowing for the buttresses and
the slope, the deepest part of the pool will be less than 2' across.
This is still plenty enough room to jump into, or for several people
to stand up in. The length of the deep end will be much more
than the width, and that again depends on the size of the pool and
how you choose to dig it.

The starting point for the sides of your
deep end is dictated by your side buttresses. The ledge at the
deep end of the pool is dictated by the pool bottom rail. The
bottom rail must sit on a firm, level ledge. This ledge will
hold the bottom rail and the pool cove. It should them be big
enough to flatten out beyond the cove before the slope begins.
I have seen this done with as little as a 1' ledge but I much prefer
1' 6" to 2'. When the hole is done the sidewall is going to
have to be installed. Having a ledge to walk on, and roll the
sidewall on, becomes very important. It is no fun to fall into
the deep area with a new sidewall falling on top of you. The
new sidewall does not look so new anymore, and you would rather be
building a pool than visiting a hospital.
The slope coming out of
the deep area and into the shallow area is the one you have total
control over. This is where the deep end will change to a more
gradual slope. You can choose how gradual to make the slope
and also how much shallow end you want. A normal oval pool
deep end would leave about 1/3 of the pool at the shallow level.

The pool we have been looking at is a Doughboy brand oval pool. They
are usually the strapless design and made for deep end installations. They can
be ordered with the Doughboy expandable liner. In my opinion these are the best
liners to install in any above ground pool deep end situation. They expand to
fit the size and shape of the deep area that has been dug. As per the Doughboy
instructions this is the way an expandable liner should be installed, by pulling
the liner over the pool frame and starting the water, letting it down slowly
until the water is out of the deep area. With any other type of pool, or brand
of liner, you might be best to follow the liner installation instructions very
carefully.

You may be saying, my pool is not a Doughboy and it has straps connecting all of
the side braces, can I still do a deep end? Yes, there are a few ways of doing
this. My way is to bolt a heavy duty L bracket to the underside of the brace
assembly and let it rest against a solid 8" x 8" x 16" building block placed
under the brace and against the bracket. Then the strap can be eliminated. You
would do this in the area of the deep end only and leave a few of the straps
connected. It is still crucial to use the pressure plates, not doing so will
cause results you don't want to see. As stated above, leave a ledge just beyond
the plates before you dig.
We do pool pool and liner installations all over the state of Arizona. Check here for prices.
Deep end pools and liners are by bid only as they are a lot more
time consuming.
Below are some more of my illustrated installation pages with plenty of help and advice.
top of Oval Pool Deep Ends