Pool School, Pool Lifts
Pool Lift Configurator
Measure the pool edge, pick the lift that fits it, add the anchor and accessories, and send the set to the cart with your deck profile on the order.
A pool lift is chosen by three numbers before anything else: the setback from the anchor to the water, the drop from the deck to the water, and on a raised pool or spa the wall height. Every manufacturer we carry publishes a range for at least one of them, and the configurator holds those ranges for every lift on the store. Enter the measurements, choose a lift inside its stated range, add the anchor its manufacturer lists for your deck, and the order carries the profile so it is confirmed before the lift is built.
Configure your pool lift
The measurements, in inches
Measure at the point where the lift will stand. A is the drop from the deck surface to the still water. S is from the center of the anchor, or the lift's base on a portable, to the water's edge at deck level. On a raised pool or spa, B is the wall or coping above the deck the lift stands on. Not sure of a number? Leave it and the next step shows which lifts need it.
The ranges are the manufacturers' own, from their configurators, application charts and brochures, as printed on each lift's page. A lift whose manufacturer prints no range for a number you entered is listed to confirm, never guessed. S.R. Smith asks for a deck profile sheet with every lift and reviews it at no charge; the measurements you enter travel with the order so that happens before the lift is built.
How the configurator decides
Three numbers decide a lift before brand or price does. The setback is the horizontal distance from the anchor's center to the water's edge at deck level; the draft is the drop from the deck to the still water; and on a raised pool or a spa the wall height above the deck takes the place of both. Each lift's page prints the range its manufacturer publishes, and the configurator holds those ranges, so a lift is offered as a fit only when your numbers sit inside them. Where a manufacturer prints no range for a number, the lift still appears, marked with the number to confirm against that manufacturer's chart, and never as a guess.
What the lettered measurements are for
A and S are the two every manufacturer rates against. B matters on a raised pool, a swim spa or a spa, where the seat has to clear the wall. C and D describe a curb and a perimeter gutter, which push the anchor back from the water and are the usual reason a lift that fits on paper does not reach; E, the bullnose, is where a seat edge catches on a rolled coping. The bench depth and height only appear for a spa, where the seat has to clear the bench. All of them travel with the order so the profile can be checked against the lift before it is built.
The anchor is part of the lift
Most anchored lifts are sold without an anchor, and every one needs the anchor its manufacturer lists for the deck it stands on. The configure step offers only those, by the deck you chose, and a free standing lift offers its fixing kit instead. An anchor sleeve left by an old lift takes a retrofit model or the manufacturer's adapter, and a slab under 6 in takes a shallow anchor or a portable lift; the step says so when you choose those decks. Where the manufacturer lists no anchor we sell, the step says to ask us rather than offering one that may not fit.
After the set is in the cart
The lift line carries the measurements and your answers about the pool, deck and site as properties the order shows. The manufacturer's own check comes before a lift is built: S.R. Smith asks for a deck profile sheet with every lift and reviews it, Aqua Creek checks the setback and draft against its application chart for the model, and Spectrum and Global confirm against their grids. If a number is outside what the lift can do, you hear before anything is built, not after.
Products in this guide
Questions
What measurements do I need before I buy a pool lift?
The drop from the deck to the water, the distance from where the anchor will sit to the water's edge, and on a raised pool or spa the height of the wall above the deck. Every manufacturer's range is written against those. S.R. Smith's deck profile sheet also asks for the curb width, gutter width and bullnose radius, which the configurator takes too. Measure at the exact spot the lift will stand, with the pool at its normal level.
Does the order carry my deck measurements?
Yes. The set goes to the cart with the measurements and your pool, deck and site answers attached to the lift as line properties, so the order shows them and the manufacturer's profile check is done before the lift is built, which means a lift that cannot reach your water is caught before it is built.
Why is a lift marked confirm instead of fits?
Because its manufacturer prints no range for one of the numbers you entered. Global's Legend, Superior and Home lifts, S.R. Smith's aXs2, multiLift2 and PAL2, and Aqua Creek's Revolution XL and Scout Excel are rated by their manufacturers' own charts rather than a printed setback or draft, so the configurator will not guess. Choose one and the review step says which number to confirm; the order's profile check settles it.
Can I use the configurator for an above ground pool or a spa?
Yes. Choose above ground, swim spa or raised wall, or spa, and the wall height above the deck replaces setback and draft as the number that decides. The lifts rated for walls appear with their stated range; a spa adds the bench depth and bench height, since the seat has to clear the bench. A lift its manufacturer does not rate for a wall is left out rather than offered.
Which anchor does the configurator choose?
Only one the manufacturer lists for the lift you chose, offered by the deck you entered: concrete, a thin slab, pavers, wood, or a sleeve left by an old lift. A free standing lift offers its fixing kit instead, and a lift sold with its anchor says so. If the manufacturer lists no anchor we sell for that lift, the step says to ask us, and sells none, because a wrong anchor is the one mistake a lift cannot recover from.