Plunge pools and small pools for Ohio backyards

There is no official definition. In practice a plunge pool is a small, fairly deep pool built for cooling off, sitting and soaking rather than swimming. Liberty Composites, the manufacturer whose fiberglass shells we install, labels its Enrichment collection as plunge pools. The Enrichment 9.17 measures about 9 feet 1 inch by 17 feet 5 inches, sits at a uniform 4 feet 9 inches deep and holds around 3,200 gallons. It has entry steps and a built-in tanning ledge.

A small pool is a bit bigger and a bit more flexible. It has a shallow end and a deeper end, room for a few kids to play and sometimes a bench or wading area, but it still fits a yard where a 16 by 40 foot pool never would. For most of our customers the choice is not plunge versus full size. It is how much yard they want to give to water and how much they want to keep for a patio, a play area or the lawn.

These Liberty models all come in under about 12 by 24 feet. Sizes and depths are from Liberty's published specs, which note that dimensions can vary by up to 3 percent.

Liberty also makes longer Enrichment versions, the 9.21 and 9.24, with the same 9 foot width and 4 foot 9 inch depth. They suit a narrow side or rear yard where you want a little more length to move around. All Liberty pools are non-diving, whatever their size.

Less, but not in proportion to the size. Our Dignity 10x20 and Enrichment 9x17 packages are $68,400 installed, and the Victory 11x22 is $70,600. Our largest package, the Virtuous 16x40, is $103,900. A pool with a quarter of the surface area does not cost a quarter as much, because many of the costs are the same for any pool.

Every package, small or large, includes a Pentair variable-speed pump, a Pentair DE filter, a pool heater, Pentair MicroBrite color-changing LED lights, a 4 foot concrete wrap deck, a cleaning kit, starter chemicals, full installation and the electrical hook-up at the equipment. The dig, the crane, the permit work, the barrier fence and the power run from your panel to the equipment pad cost about the same whether the shell is 17 feet long or 40. Fencing, extra patio, spoils haul-off and dewatering are priced after the site visit because they depend on your yard, not the pool.

So a plunge pool is not a budget pool. It is a smaller pool, and the right reason to choose one is that it fits the yard and the way you will use it. If the monthly payment is the question, we work with lenders including PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial, and it helps to get pre-approved before the design is final.

Heating is where a small pool earns its keep here. The U.S. Department of Energy's guidance says a pool heater is sized mainly by the pool's surface area and the difference between the water temperature you want and the average air temperature. Wind and cool nights add to the load. A 9 by 17 foot pool has roughly a quarter of the surface of a 16 by 40, so a heater warms it faster and loses less of that heat overnight.

That changes how you use it. In late May or late September, when a big pool feels cold unless you have spent real money heating it, a small heated pool can be comfortable in a few hours. Some owners run a plunge pool warm, closer to a spa than a swimming pool, and use it on cool evenings well past Labor Day. If you do that, keep the water at or below 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the upper limit the Consumer Product Safety Commission has long recommended for hot tubs.

Covers are cheaper and easier on a small pool too. The Department of Energy calls a cover the most effective way to cut pool heating costs, with savings of 50 to 70 percent possible. On a plunge pool a cover is a smaller, lighter piece to handle, which makes it more likely you will actually use it every night.

Yes. A small pool is still a swimming pool under Ohio town codes, and it still needs a permit. We handle the permit work, but it helps to know what your town will ask for before you fall for a spot in the yard.

Hudson is a good example of how specific the rules can get. Its code allows pools, spas and hot tubs only to the rear of the main mass of the house, keeps them at least 15 feet from side and rear lot lines (50 feet from the side line on a corner lot), requires a fence or wall at least 4 feet high all the way around before the pool is filled, and requires screening dense enough to hide the pool from neighboring homes and streets.

The model code many towns borrow from, the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, includes an exception that lets some pools with a certified powered safety cover skip the barrier rules. Do not count on it. Ohio towns write their own ordinances, and a town like Hudson requires the fence around every pool. On a tight lot, the setbacks and the fence often decide the pool size more than the budget does. Ask your building department, or ask us to check, before you settle on a model.

With a small pool, placement does more of the work. Put it where it gets afternoon sun, because Ohio summers are short and a sunny spot warms the water for free. Keep it out of the low corner of the yard where water collects after a storm. Many Northeast Ohio lots sit on slow-draining clay, and a pool in the wettest spot means more drainage work and a soggier deck.

Think about the view from the house, too. A plunge pool near the back door, visible from the kitchen, gets used more and is easier to supervise than one tucked at the back fence. The equipment pad needs a home within reach of power, ideally screened and away from bedroom windows, since a pump and heater make some noise. A small pool also leaves room for the things around it: a sitting area, a fire pit or a short run of patio that connects the pool to the house. In a tight yard, those pieces often matter as much as the water itself.

Fiberglass comes in fixed molds. If none of them fits the space, a custom pool may. Our ICF concrete pools are built with insulated concrete forms, so they can be almost any shape, including a long narrow pool for a side yard or a compact square that lines up with a patio. The insulated walls hold heat, which suits the small, warm pool idea well.

Vinyl liner pools, which we build with Latham liners, can also be made to a custom size and shape and usually cost less to build. The liner is a wear item that will need replacing during the life of the pool, so factor that into the comparison.

• How you will use it. Cooling off, sitting and soaking suit a plunge pool. Laps, cannonball contests and pool volleyball need more room.
• Who will use it. A uniform 4 foot 9 inch depth is standing depth for most adults and over the heads of young children, so plan supervision and swim lessons accordingly.
• Access. Even a small shell arrives on a truck and is usually set by crane, so the delivery path and crane position still matter.
• Setbacks and the fence line, drawn on your actual lot.
• The deck. The included 4 foot wrap deck is enough to walk around the pool. Most people want space for two chairs and a table beside it.

We design every pool in 3D on your lot before anything is dug. For small yards that step does the most good, because you can see whether the pool, the patio and the fence all fit before you commit.