all about Prefab plunge pools

Shrinkits size, and a pool becomes less time-consuming to maintain, more economical to enjoy year-round, and easier to weave into just about any backyard. Here’s what you need to know about the plunge-pool option

- SAL VAGLICA

For many, a plunge is the Goldilocks pool: bigger than a hot tub, though it also can easily be warmed to soothe achy muscles, yet shallower than a traditional in-ground pool, while still offering enough volume to submerge yourself on a sweltering summer day. Its just-right dimensions: roughly 4 to 5% feet deep, in sizes as small as 7 by 7 feet and as large as 20 by 12 feet.

A plunge pool is a place to cool off and relax, rather than swim laps. It’s a trend that gained traction early in the pandemic; people were looking to get more use out of their backyards—and they still are. Homeowners are using plunge pools because they don’t want the maintenance of a bigger pool, and they like that the pools can be hot or cold while still allowing for other spaces around them, like a patio, an outdoor kitchen, or a fire pit,” says TOH landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, who has incorporated several in her landscape designs over the past few years. Set off the ground a bit, they also act as a sitting wall, and when you light them, they make a great focal point at night.”

Year-round use is one of the reasons Jenn’s clients Doreen and John McLaughlin installed a heated 13-by7-foot plunge pool shown on the cover) in their suburban yard outside Boston. We didn’t want our whole backyard to be a pool,” Doreen says. Since summer for her family means vacation travel, the real value in the pool for us is for the months it’s not hot out, so we can use it on a cool fall night or in winter.”

While a plunge pool’s smaller size is part of its appeal, so is the prefabrication, which means you can prep a yard for the pool while it’s being made off-site. Some plunge pools can be ready to use a day or two after the delivery trailer shows up. Self-supporting steel and concrete versions can be installed above grade, in-ground, or tucked into a slope where a traditional pool might not work.