Plunge Pools: Is a Small Fiberglass Pool Enough?

For a lot of Tucson households, yes. If what you want from a pool is a place to cool off on a July evening, sit on a bench with a drink, let a grandchild splash, or soak in warm water in January, a small fiberglass pool does all of it with a fraction of the water, chemicals and upkeep of a full size pool. It is not enough if you want to swim laps, host a dozen kids on a Saturday, or play pool volleyball.

The question is less about size than about how you will really use it. Here is how to tell.

What counts as a small fiberglass pool

Fiberglass shells come in a long range of sizes from manufacturer molds. Roughly, the small end breaks down like this:

• Plunge pools, around 10 to 16 feet long. Built for sitting, soaking and cooling off, often with a full length bench.
• Small pools, around 16 to 24 feet long. Room to move, float and let kids play, with steps and a shallow area.
• Compact family pools, around 12 x 24. Big enough for most families, small enough for a production home yard.

A 12 x 24 is small by pool standards but not by plunge pool standards. It is the size where a small pool starts to feel like a regular one.

What a plunge pool is good for, and what it is not

Good for

Cooling off after work in summer. Sitting on a molded bench in shoulder deep water. Young kids splashing on the steps. Soaking in heated water through the winter. Low impact exercise like water walking. A small pool also leaves room in the yard for shade, a ramada and the desert landscaping that keeps a back yard livable in July.

Not good for

Lap swimming without a tether. Diving. Big groups. Games that need room to throw. If any of those is the main reason you want a pool, look at a mid size or long, narrow lap shell instead.

Why small pools suit Tucson so well

Less water to fill and keep full

Dry desert air evaporates a lot of water, and every top-off brings more of Tucson’s hard water and calcium with it. A small shell simply loses less and needs less. Add a cover and the savings get bigger.

Easy to heat for winter

A small volume of water heats up quickly, and fiberglass walls hold heat better than concrete. With a heater or heat pump, a plunge pool can work as a warm soak on cool spring and fall nights and well into winter, which stretches the season on both ends.

Fits the yards people actually have

Patio homes in Green Valley and SaddleBrooke, courtyards in central Tucson, and compact production lots in Rita Ranch and Sahuarita often do not have room for a large pool with a deck around it. A plunge pool fits where a family pool will not, with space left over to sit outside the water.

Less to look after

Smaller surface area means less brushing, less skimming and fewer chemicals. Combined with the smooth gelcoat that gives algae little to grip, it is about the lowest effort pool there is. For empty nesters and retirees who want a pool without a second job, that matters.

What a fiberglass plunge pool costs

A small shell costs less than a large one, but a plunge pool is not a fraction of the price of a family pool. The crane, the permit, the barrier, the electrical and the equipment pad cost much the same whatever the size of the shell.

What keeps it down: easy crane access, flat ground without caliche, a modest deck and simple equipment. What pushes it up: a crane reach over a two storey roof, rock in the dig, a heater and automation, and a courtyard that needs a smaller crane and more careful setup.

The cost guide explains each of those drivers in more detail.