Backyard Layout
120 m²
A backyard plan with patio, lawn, planting beds and an outdoor seating area.
Use TemplatePlan a pool and its surroundings (deck, loungers, landscaping) to scale.
to scale
A pool is the one thing in a yard that cannot be nudged 2 ft later. Start with the water rectangle. Residential rectangular pools cluster on a small set of sizes: 12 x 24, 14 x 28, 16 x 32, 18 x 36 and 20 x 40 ft, because those are the spans the shell and cover hardware are built around. Depth is a separate decision. A family pool normally runs 3 ft 6 in at the shallow end to about 5 ft at the deep end, and the floor between them cannot fall faster than 1 in per 12 in of run while the water is under 5 ft deep. Anything with a diving board is a different pool entirely and needs a deep well around 8 ft. Draw the water outline to its real dimensions first, then everything else gets planned around a fixed object.
Almost every disappointing pool has enough water and not enough dry surface. Keep at least 4 ft of clear deck right around the water, and treat 3 ft as an absolute floor rather than a target. Then decide which side is the lounging side and make that one much deeper. A lounger is about 78 x 30 in, so a run of loungers with a walking route behind them needs roughly 10 ft of deck depth, not 4 ft. Coping is normally a 12 in band at the water edge. The deck itself falls away from the pool at about 1/8 to 1/4 in per foot so splash and rain drain outward instead of carrying grit back into the water. Draw the loungers and the dining table at true size on the deck and the depth you actually need becomes obvious.
Three things decide whether a pool layout is legal as well as pleasant. First, the barrier: a residential pool fence is normally required to be at least 48 in high, with no gap under it larger than 2 in and no gap in it that passes a 4 in sphere. Gates swing away from the pool, self-close and self-latch. Second, setbacks: most jurisdictions want the water 5 to 10 ft off a property line and a similar distance off the house foundation, and no pool over a septic field. Third, the plant. A pump and filter need a pad of roughly 4 x 6 ft with 3 ft of clear working space in front of it, sited close enough to keep the pipe run short and far enough that the noise is not next to the loungers. Overhead power lines must clear the water by 22 ft 6 in, which is worth checking before the shell arrives.
Start with the one object that cannot move later. Draw the pool outline at a real size, 16 x 32 ft or whichever rectangle you are actually buying, and type the lengths in so the shell is exact. Everything on this plan gets arranged around it, not the other way round.
Now draw the property lines and the house wall facing the yard at their measured lengths, and mark the doors people will come out of wet. Slide the whole thing until the gap to every boundary and to the house satisfies your setback. SpacePlanner shows a live dimension label on each side, so a 5 ft setback is a number you can read rather than one you assume.
Trace the deck edge at least 4 ft off the water, then widen the sunny side. Place loungers, a table and an umbrella at real size. If they crowd the walking route, the deck is too narrow and you change it now, not after the concrete is poured.
Run the fence line around the enclosure and set the gates where the paths cross it. Site the pump pad with its clear working space. Switch to 3D to see how the barrier reads from the house before you commit to a line.
Pool figures come from three separate places, which is why they are easy to get wrong. Water dimensions and floor slopes come from the pool standards and from what shell and cover manufacturers actually build. Barrier heights, gate behaviour and overhead clearances come from safety and electrical codes. Setbacks come from your own local authority and vary more than anything else on this list. Use the numbers below to draw a plan that is close to right, then confirm the setback and barrier rules that apply where you live.
| Measure | Imperial | Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common residential pool sizes | 12 x 24 to 20 x 40 ft | 3.7 x 7.3 to 6 x 12 m | 16 x 32 ft is the most frequently built rectangle. |
| Shallow end water depth | 3 ft to 3 ft 6 in | 0.9 to 1.07 m | Deep enough to swim, shallow enough to stand. |
| Deep end of a non-diving family pool | 5 to 6 ft | 1.5 to 1.8 m | No diving board should be fitted at this depth. |
| Water depth required under a diving board | 8 ft or more | 2.4 m or more | Also needs the board maker's full diving envelope. |
| Maximum floor slope where water is under 5 ft | 1 in per 12 in | 1:12 | Stops swimmers sliding into the deep end unawares. |
| Lap lane width and minimum useful length | 8 ft wide, 40 ft long | 2.4 m wide, 12 m long | Narrower than 8 ft and the turn gets awkward. |
| Sun shelf or tanning ledge water depth | 9 to 12 in | 23 to 30 cm | Deep enough for a chair, shallow enough to sit. |
| Pool entry step tread and riser | 10 in tread, 12 in riser max | 25 cm and 30 cm max | Minimum unobstructed step width 24 in (60 cm). |
| Clear deck around the whole pool | 4 ft | 1.2 m | 3 ft (0.9 m) is the practical absolute minimum. |
| Deck depth on the lounging side | 10 ft | 3 m | Loungers at 78 x 30 in plus a route behind them. |
| Coping band at the water edge | 12 in | 30 cm | The bullnose edge you sit on and grab. |
| Deck fall away from the water | 1/8 to 1/4 in per ft | 10 to 20 mm per m | Drains splash outward instead of back into the pool. |
| Barrier fence height | 48 in | 1.2 m | Measured on the side away from the pool. |
| Maximum gap under the barrier | 2 in | 5 cm | Openings in the barrier must not pass a 4 in sphere. |
| Pool setback from a property line | 5 to 10 ft | 1.5 to 3 m | Highly local. Confirm before you fix the position. |
| Equipment pad for pump and filter | 4 x 6 ft | 1.2 x 1.8 m | Plus 3 ft (0.9 m) of clear space to service it. |
| Overhead power line clearance above water | 22 ft 6 in | 6.9 m | Electrical code figure. Check it before excavation. |
| Large tree set back from the water | 15 to 20 ft | 4.5 to 6 m | Keeps leaf drop out and roots off the shell. |
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Take the water size and add at least 4 ft of deck on every side, then add the setbacks your authority requires from the boundary and the house. A 16 x 32 ft pool with a 4 ft deck all round occupies 24 x 40 ft before setbacks. Draw the plot boundary to its measured length in the planner and place that rectangle inside it, and you will see immediately whether it fits.
Close enough to see from the kitchen or living room, far enough that pump noise and splash are not against the wall. Keep the water off the foundation by the setback your local rule requires, and put the deck route on the side with the door people will actually use. Draw the house wall and its doors on the same canvas so the route from door to water is a real distance, not a guess.
Yes. The pool, the deck, the lawn and the house all sit on one canvas, so you are never planning the pool in isolation. If the deck steps down to a lower lawn, put each level on its own level and connect them with stairs. The planner gives you the layout to scale in 2D and 3D. Excavation, shell and plumbing detail come from your pool contractor.
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