Liberty Hero 12x26 Fiberglass Pool and Hero Deluxe

The Hero sits right in the middle of the sizes we install, and that is its strength. It is big enough for kids to swim and play and for adults to float, and small enough to leave a real backyard around it on a typical suburban lot in Green, Stow or North Canton. Liberty's line for it is that owning one is like a permanent vacation. Our version: it is the pool most families use every day of the season.

The Deluxe is for households that want a spa but do not have room, or budget, for a separate one. It puts the spa inside the same shell.

Both are 12 by 26 ft and run from 3 ft 6 in to 5 ft 6 in, per Liberty. The standard Hero holds about 7,000 gallons and is tagged with swim-up seating, a tanning ledge and multiple entry points. Liberty tags the Hero Deluxe with a built-in spa, swim-up seating and multiple entries rather than a tanning ledge, and lists it at about 4,500 gallons. That smaller number reflects how much of the footprint the spa takes. The Deluxe costs $4,900 more in our packages.

A shallow end of 3 ft 6 in and a deep end of 5 ft 6 in keep the whole pool within reach for most swimmers. It is non-diving.

With our 4 ft deck, the Hero takes about 20 by 34 ft. That fits most lots once the setbacks are marked. Jackson Township in Stark County asks for 10 ft from the lot lines, and more on a corner where a side or rear line meets a secondary street. Stow also uses 10 ft. In Hudson, it is 15 ft and the pool must sit behind the main mass of the house.

The freeform outline helps on awkward lots. It can angle toward the sun, curve around a tree or bend with a patio, where a rectangle has to line up with something. The barrier fence, usually at least 48 in high with self-closing, self-latching gates under the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, goes on the 3D design with the pool.

Both packages include the Liberty shell and full installation, a Pentair variable-speed pump, a Pentair DE filter, a pool heater, Pentair MicroBrite color-changing LED lights, a 4 ft concrete wrap deck, a cleaning kit, starter chemicals and the electrical hook-up at the equipment. The 3D design and permits are on us.

Priced after the site visit: the fence, extra decking, spoils haul-off, dewatering if needed and the run from your panel to the pad. If you choose the Deluxe, the pool heater in the package is what keeps the spa hot, so we size it with the spa in mind.

On the standard Hero, bubblers on the tanning ledge and a heater are the usual first adds. Automation, a salt system and a bigger patio follow. On the Deluxe, the heater comes first, and a spillover or waterfall effect from spa to pool is a popular touch. On either version, an extra strip of patio along the seating side turns the pool into the place people gather after dinner, not only on hot afternoons.