A hole for an indoor swim spa?

[SBMS]

51 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

and a fair chunk in up keep. 

Interested to hear how much it would cost you? Also.. you said you had two pools.. so the first must have been pretty good if you did it again??

[Russell griffiths]

Sounds like you have a plan, come back and let us know how it goes. 
if it’s a single story building just for the pool then that simplifies things loads, you could reinforce the pool walls and build the building from a slab onto the surrounding soil. 
waterproofing and a sump pump if needed. 
 

wait and see if anybody comes back with running costs. 
have a search on here there’s definitely a few that have done it. 
 

mine where abroad so different scenarios. 
 

 

[SBMS]

1 minute ago, Russell griffiths said:

Sounds like you have a plan, come back and let us know how it goes. 
if it’s a single story building just for the pool then that simplifies things loads, you could reinforce the pool walls and build the building from a slab onto the surrounding soil. 
waterproofing and a sump pump if needed. 
 

wait and see if anybody comes back with running costs. 
have a search on here there’s definitely a few that have done it. 
 

mine where abroad so different scenarios. 
 

 

Thanks @Russell griffiths  I am 50/50 abandoning the idea but worry I might forever regret it. Someone on here gave an excellent argument by reasoning what was the cost per swim. Good way to look at it. 
 

Will come back here once I know more and have a price for it all. 

[Russell griffiths]

Over the years I’ve removed two very expensive pools and the building re purposed as gyms, it seamed as though once the kids grew up and got bored with it they got very little use. 
 

depends if your an avid keep fit swimmer type. 
 

some people put in super ovens and kitchens because they like cooking. 
 

you do what you want its your house. 
 

just don’t be disillusioned that it’s going to be cheap to do.  

[Nickfromwales]

On 08/12/2024 at 16:56, SBMS said:

Right ok - well that’s not great. It

sounds like a basement design is required (or a really big pump running 24/7)??

If you need a really big pump running 24/7 you have made some seriously bad decisions. So "no" to that, and "yes" to some 'proper' thought/input from someone both a) sane and b) who's been there and done that and got the T-shirt  

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, SBMS said:

Appreciate it @Russell griffiths  we’ve designed it such that the pool room is effectively a single story flat roof extension connected to the house. Pool section would be at least 3m away from foundations of the main house. Have done this to try and minimise issues with affecting main house.

 

I think my current route is to get a design from SE for the retaining wall and foundation design. Then I’ll get a waterproofing design done. Builder can quote from that and I can see if it’s worth doing or not. Can report back here if anyone is interested

 

Appreciate some think it’s a crazy idea full stop… but Am I following a sensible plan there or missing anything? 

SE input is the first stop, and there's your 'sanity check', simples.

 

Crazy or not is decided by that person, as your ground conditions will dictate the majority of the lunacy aka cost but at that point it's only on paper so cheaper to bin the idea there (if the feedback says don't do it) before you spend big.

 

The main issue is the clay, and heave, as one slab set into a clients build (for a swim-spa about the size you state) featured a 100mm steel reinforced slab via the SE's "original idea"......this snapped clean in half over the first winter, literally. The SE was a cock, and very comfortable spending his clients cash like water. The clients were very lucky to have a great builder on board, and he went all-out on the second attempt; which worked out well, but only at twice (or three times) the price and about 4 months of delays....ffs 😳

 

I would recommend doing this in ICF in a heartbeat, and my ICF guy is someone who's done more pools than there are UK governments who have failed their constituents.

 

For a single-storey jobby, the pump arrangement should be a fail-safe at best, and the majority of migratory water influx should be near zero or mitigated against / dealt with by natural discharge (unless you live near @Russell griffiths where you poke a hole in the ground and get a swimming pool for free 8 seconds later).

 

Clever choices for the groundworks and robust french drains 'and what-not' should be your best friend here, but it just needs someone to look at it who has previous experience, and isn't just giving opinions. FWIW the last home we spec'd a pool for was indoors in a £7.2m home. Would be good if a design proposal for that scale of project didn't come back to bite me in the arse  so I trust my team and my ideas, unless they all tell me they're bad ones lol. At that point it's back to the office (pub) for more intensive talks  

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, SBMS said:

Someone on here gave an excellent argument by reasoning what was the cost per swim.

If I put my foot down, my V8 AMG returns less than 8mpg.

 

"Smiles per gallon" my friend.

 

You are dead for a VERY long time, fill your boots and do NOT listen too much to bean counters. Most get buried with their money and are boring as feck. Most won't buy a round either.

[joe90]

Many years ago I installed a pool with a swim pump for my brother in law, mind he is a millionaire (self made) and he said it was one of his best “toys” yes he could afford it (like @Nickfromwales running a V8) but why not if it’s what you want and can afford it. Nick is right, Life it too short to be tight. 

[Pocster]

100% . Dead long time . Alive short time .

If you can afford it and want it - do it .

You can then regret it later 😉

[G and J]

For reasons I can’t identify I’ve been thinking about this swimming pool question. I think the water in the centre only needs to be 3 feet deep. That’s the height of a kitchen worktop.

 

So would it make it a lot cheaper and easier if you just dug down a bit And allowing for walls slightly higher than the water level you ended up with at least 2/3 of it above the floor. Would that make it an awful lot cheaper and easier?

[saveasteading]

23 minutes ago, G and J said:

cheaper and easier?

A fair bit, yes.

[Pocster]

15 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

A fair bit, yes.

Cheaper still 

[SBMS]

2 hours ago, G and J said:

For reasons I can’t identify I’ve been thinking about this swimming pool question. I think the water in the centre only needs to be 3 feet deep. That’s the height of a kitchen worktop.

 

So would it make it a lot cheaper and easier if you just dug down a bit And allowing for walls slightly higher than the water level you ended up with at least 2/3 of it above the floor. Would that make it an awful lot cheaper and easier?

I think 90cm would feel a bit more like walking in a bath - I was thinking 140cm was pretty shallow. On site today and the groundworker has dug our foundations down to about 1100mm from DPC. The hole was dry as a bone at least…

[SBMS]

2 hours ago, Pocster said:

Cheaper still 

Do you work for an inflatable pool company??

[Pocster]

3 minutes ago, SBMS said:

Do you work for an inflatable pool company??

I sell inflatables for sure 😉

[SteamyTea]

22 minutes ago, Pocster said:

I sell inflatables for sure

You tried to charge me extra as it kept going down on me.

[Pocster]

Just now, SteamyTea said:

You tried to charge me extra as it kept going down on me.

That’s the delux model ! No returns , no refunds - you know that !

[SteamyTea]

5 minutes ago, Pocster said:

That’s the delux model ! No returns , no refunds - you know that !

Do they all have to look like Japanese school girls though.

 

Be my girl - Sally (Police)

 

I was blue and lonely

I couldn't sleep a wink

And I could only get unconscious

If I'd had too much to drink

There was somehow, something wrong somewhere

And each day seemed grey and dead

The seeds of desperation were growing in me head

I needed inspiration, a brand new start in life

Somewhere to place affection, but I didn't want a wife

And then by lucky chance, I saw in a special magazine

An ad that was unusual, the like I'd never seen

Experience something different with our new imported toy

She's loving, warm, inflatable, and a guarantee of joy

She came all wrapped in cardboard

All pink and shriveled down

A breath of air was all she needed

To make her lose that frown

I took her to the bedroom

And pumped her with some life

And later, in a moment, that girl became my wife

And so I sit her in the corner, and sometimes stroke her hair

And when I'm feeling naughty, I blow her up with air

She's cuddly and she's bouncy, she's like a rubber ball

I bounce her in the kitchen, and I bounce her in the hall

And now my life is different since Sally came my way

I wake up in the morning and have her on a tray

She's everything they said she was and I wear a permanent grin

And I only have to worry in case my girl wears thin

Edited Tuesday at 16:08 by SteamyTea

[Pocster]

17 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Do they all have to look like Japanese school girls though.

Customisation is available.

[G and J]

1 hour ago, SBMS said:

I think 90cm would feel a bit more like walking in a bath - I was thinking 140cm was pretty shallow. On site today and the groundworker has dug our foundations down to about 1100mm from DPC. The hole was dry as a bone at least…

Before Covid I went to the pool in Ipswich for lane swimming.  I was swimming alongside some serious dudes, hammering up and down and tumble turning.  The shallow end there is 900mm.  
 

I assume the shallower it is the less volume the pump has to shift, which I would assume is a good thing.  

[joe90]

28 minutes ago, G and J said:

I assume the shallower it is the less volume the pump has to shift, which I would assume is a good thing.  

I don’t know about that, the pump and pool I fitted had the pump outlet at the deep end (about 1.8 m if I remember correctly) and just below the water surface, the plume (volume of pumped water) was in a conical shape from the outlet and no where near the bottom. It worked really well because if you wanted to swim hard you tried to get near the pump outlet, the further away you got the water volume diminished so you could work less hard and decide (by distance) how hard you wanted to swim.

[Nickfromwales]

900mm (or less than 1400mm) means broken necks and dead kids. 
 

That’s a massive NO. 

 

Have a proper pool that you can jump into without ending up in a wheelchair or don’t have one.

 

Dig the hole, make a proper slab with 50% more concrete and 100% more reinforcing steel mesh, and enjoy the fruits of your labour (as you’ll be a lot “less rich” at the end either way, so why go half-cocked?!?).

 

”Do it”  

[SBMS]

39 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

900mm (or less than 1400mm) means broken necks and dead kids. 
 

That’s a massive NO. 

 

Have a proper pool that you can jump into without ending up in a wheelchair or don’t have one.

 

Dig the hole, make a proper slab with 50% more concrete and 100% more reinforcing steel mesh, and enjoy the fruits of your labour (as you’ll be a lot “less rich” at the end either way, so why go half-cocked?!?).

 

”Do it”  

Getting my SE to design it and can then get it quoted up. Will report back!

[G and J]

Ummm, I thought this was a pool with a pump for fitness swimming. 

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

50% more concrete and 100% more reinforcing steel mesh

If you do go concrete, ask here. It's not more, but carefully arranged that works for water.