Structural Engineer for Outbuilding and Pool

[phykell]

Hi,

 

I'm having an indoor pool built to replace an existing outdoor pool and while I think it should be a relatively straight-forward project, the structural engineer seems to disagree.

 

In addition to the cost of calculations for the roof and steels they want to drill several 5m boreholes to test ground conditions, in-situ geo-technical testing and soil samples for chemical testing.

I've recently had a water borehole dug out to 50m with a basic report (soil/ground type, water found, etc.) issued - I gave them a copy and they still said they wanted the above work done. 

I accept that they need to cover all bases due to professional liability, etc. but I've been through the mill with the LPA and all of their "required" reports, investigations and mitigations.

Am I now just being cynical or does that all sound reasonable?

Thanks for any advice/opinions offered.

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, phykell said:

Hi,

 

I'm having an indoor pool built to replace an existing outdoor pool and while I think it should be a relatively straight-forward project, the structural engineer seems to disagree.

 

In addition to the cost of calculations for the roof and steels they want to drill several 5m boreholes to test ground conditions, in-situ geo-technical testing and soil samples for chemical testing.

I've recently had a water borehole dug out to 50m with a basic report (soil/ground type, water found, etc.) issued - I gave them a copy and they still said they wanted the above work done. 

I accept that they need to cover all bases due to professional liability, etc. but I've been through the mill with the LPA and all of their "required" reports, investigations and mitigations.

Am I now just being cynical or does that all sound reasonable?

Thanks for any advice/opinions offered.

Listen to your SE!

 

Anything short of their current proposal would be what worried me here, plus they won’t put even the hairs of their crown jewels onto the chopping block of assumption, why would / should they?

 

This one is absolutely fundamental, as the downward and outward forces at play here are significant to say the least.

 

If this is done even slightly poorly you risk losing the integrity of the house you’re putting it into.

 

Best not to tar them with the same brush…..

[Mr Punter]

The boreholes should not be too costly.  If they are good designers they may use the information from the geotechnical report for a more cost effective solution for the pool.

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, phykell said:

it should be a relatively straight-forward project,

But it is not. It is a very big water tank, and if the ground moves a tiny bit, the slab and or walls could break and it gets very messy and expensive.

And you will be indoors now, not outside., so damage and repairs are x3.

There are a lot of failures of swimming pools and contractors have gone bust and Engineers had very expensive claims.

And some of these are for proper designs: the ground we live on is very mobile.

 

If the results of the boreholes are encouraging then you will save cost on the amount of concrete and of reinforcememnt.

If they show poor ground then it really is essential to know that and design to suit.

 

Is it still 27m long as previous posts? that is big and not to be dabbled with.

How much do you want it?

[phykell]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

The boreholes should not be too costly.  If they are good designers they may use the information from the geotechnical report for a more cost effective solution for the pool.

For just the additional report on the ground composition, etc. it's just over £4k.

 

From the comments here and some "pseudo-research" on AI, it's not something I can or should avoid having done so looks like I just have to bite the bullet.

[phykell]

53 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

But it is not. It is a very big water tank, and if the ground moves a tiny bit, the slab and or walls could break and it gets very messy and expensive.

And you will be indoors now, not outside., so damage and repairs are x3.

There are a lot of failures of swimming pools and contractors have gone bust and Engineers had very expensive claims.

And some of these are for proper designs: the ground we live on is very mobile.

 

If the results of the boreholes are encouraging then you will save cost on the amount of concrete and of reinforcememnt.

If they show poor ground then it really is essential to know that and design to suit.

 

Is it still 27m long as previous posts? that is big and not to be dabbled with.

How much do you want it?

Understood 😎

Yes, it's the ~28m one that I had to take to appeal. The pool is approximately 11m x 4m with the rest for plant, changing area, and three-bay garage.

One day I'll update this place with the completed project, one fine day 👍

[Nickfromwales]

24 minutes ago, phykell said:

it's just over £4k.

This will be the best £4k you ever spend sir....  

 

21 minutes ago, phykell said:

One day I'll update this place with the completed project, one fine day 👍

Please do. I've done a few pools for clients over the years, next one is outdoors in ICF, and am ever curious (and keen to brush up where any opportunity presents itself).