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Will this indoor pool be hard to do? (see picture)

10K views 18 replies 16 participants last post by  Kshuf 
#1 · (Edited)
I hope people are reading this new forum.
So I'm thinking of building this house with an indoor pool but of course I've never done an outdoor pool let alone an indoor. So I'm wondering if someone can enlighten me. See the attached building section plan. The pool will be in the basement, built into the foundation, then added by pool people. But I'm wondering roughly what this is going to add to the cost of just doing the foundation without planning for a pool. The foundation plan says 'MIN POOL WALLS 8" THICK W/ #4 @ 18 OC EW'. The foundation will dip down about 4 ft deep and the pool will be 12' wide by 23' long.

So,
1) what would you guess would be the extra foundation costs
2) what will the 'pool people' put in that 4 ft deep hole in the foundation
3) what do you think the actual pool will cost on top of the foundation costs

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Your foundation costs will be minimal for the pool project when compared with the associated necessary mechanicals for an indoor pool. You'll need a "desert air" system to properly dehumidify the space, so that you don't have a rain-forest type condition growing mold on every square inch of the room.
 
#3 ·
mdshunk said:
Your foundation costs will be minimal for the pool project when compared with the associated necessary mechanicals for an indoor pool. You'll need a "desert air" system to properly dehumidify the space, so that you don't have a rain-forest type condition growing mold on every square inch of the room.
I can attest to that. Not real familiar with all the needs that a indoor pool requires but I was involved with a repair aprox. 5 years after pool and house was finished....the level of rot was totally amazing...framing studs crumbled in my hands as did the many window frames and entry doors. Indoor walls were done with stucco and no apparent damage was visable until a painter came in and started poking around...:blink:
 
#6 ·
You're also going to be going a lot deeper with the footing and foundation wall shown on the right side of the plan for the "mechanical room". As it's shown now, it's going to end up in the overexcavated area you're going to need to construct the lower level. You'd better be sure to get great compaction on the backfill under the slab in that mechanical room as well, or you're going to have major settlement issues.

Bob
 
#7 ·
Dom

I don't know enough about foundations to answer question #1

as for #2 (what will they put in the hole), I'm assuming you'll have a gunite pool (I haven't heard of a fiberglass/vinyl built indoors --- actually, I have seen pics of indoor vinyls). It really depends on where you live though --- in some areas, you won't find a shotcrete contractor, so you are "stuck" with gunite. vice versa.

Shotcrete is the term for concrete that is pneumatically applied (with a hopper gun pump and air compressor). It's used for applications where poured concrete is either impractical, or impossible (Tunnels... hmm some other stuff). Swimming pools too

There's two types of shotcrete: dry and wet mix. The materials are the same - portland cement, sand, agg. The difference lies in how the water is added. In a wet mix, the mix is wet from the start (just like concrete --- well, it is concrete) and shot through a hopper and through a nozzle.

In a dry mix, or "Gunite" -- the mix is dry, and water is added as it is being shot.

Whether to use shotcrete or gunite ? Don't bother the research. You'll get different answers that'll confuse you. In the end, it'll depend on the area of the country you live in. Unless you live in FL, TX, AZ, CA, you may not find shotcrete crews -- and you'll have to settle for gunite. And vice versa. Both will meet the ends.

And of course, this is reinforced by steel --- as you mentioned in the plans.

As for the cost on top of the foundation?? Well ... it'll be whatever the pool costs. The dehumidifier will certainly add weight on that bottom line. But it's necessary.

Is it worth it?? That's up to you. I'll have one in my home someday (well, I need a home first I guess:blink: )
 
#10 ·
I worked in a house that had their pool enclosed, all glass...patio doors and skylights, and in the middle of the summer it was stifling in there even with everything open and fans running. Not much fun to be in there except in the winter.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Indoor Pool ??????

Inside pool Started one last year in NH (Myown) what a :censored: Nighmare do you have any idea what it cost to keep a room at less than 30% humidity when the pool water is 84 degrees and the outside air temp is -20 degrees and snowing the cost of the system will set you back about 40k the electric to run the system and the propane to heat the pool to 84 D allone is over 700 @ month not counting the (BROMINE) at 280.00 a 100lbs ( smell of chorine) all the other chemicals ,special lighting,speacil fans ,demiderfer, time time time
i could go on but the money i wasted per year I could have easily gone to any island in the country and used some nice hotels pool (inside Or out ) for the entire winter months (cheaper)
so unless you got plenty of MONEY and Time Think About it REAL Hard
Also when is nice and sunny out your still stuck inside:cry:
So Unless you have a 2nd love for water :clap: GO TO AN ISLAND its Cheaper and you dont have to clean the mess Heres a Picture of Mine
Good Luck!!!
 

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#14 · (Edited)
Inside pool Started one last year in NH (Myown) what a :censored: Nighmare do you have any idea what it cost to keep a room at less than 30% humidity when the pool water is 84 degrees and the outside air temp is -20 degrees and snowing the cost of the system will set you back about 40k the electric to run the system and the propane to heat the pool to 84 D allone is over 700 @ month not counting the (BROMINE) at 280.00 a 100lbs ( smell of chorine) all the other chemicals ,special lighting,speacil fans ,demiderfer, time time time
i could go on but the money i wasted per year I could have easily gone to any island in the country and used some nice hotels pool (inside Or out ) for the entire winter months (cheaper)
so unless you got plenty of MONEY and Time Think About it REAL Hard
Also when is nice and sunny out your still stuck inside:cry:
So Unless you have a 2nd love for water :clap: GO TO AN ISLAND its Cheaper and you dont have to clean the mess Heres a Picture of Mine
Good Luck!!!

Again, can we chill out with the "pools suck" and "pool builders suck" (the latter not from your post)
I never comment on how much of a waste of money someone's kitchen remodel is

Anyways, you could have researched all of that before

btw --- that is a freakin AWESOME pool:thumbsup:
 
#15 ·
d.j, nice work.

I have an outside pool and that's more than I want to contend with. Raising shrimp or catfish has come up on one than more occasion. I like space to pay for itself, not cost.
 
#17 ·
salt/generator wont help w/ smell.. the only advantage to a salt generator is not storing chlorine on premises. once the salt hits electodes it is converted to chlorine. when the chlorine breaks down to chloromines (from oxidation of organics, body oils pee etc bacteria in general) chlormines sublimate and thats your chlorine smell.

want the pool inthe basement??? oh i feel bad for the plaster crew that will be there when its time to resurface. im a bit sleepy so ill be brief now..

any more ? let me know

ray
 
#18 ·
You guys make an indoor pool sound like a problem. It is if you build things improperly. I've built 6 of them and consulted on two others. Personally I would stay away from frame, but I built one 25 years ago frame that is good as new today. I built my own in 1986 and it's good as new today. Both of those were vinyl. I built one indoor fiberglass and one indoor gunnite, the others were vinyl.

Issue #1 is moisture. Separate the pool building from the house. Putting it in the basement is a bad idea unless you're using a concrete deck for the floor above. Better to be in it's own room attached to the back/side of the house.

Covers help, auto covers are more likely to be used. Exhausting wet air is critical. Put in a commercial exhaust fan and allow for lots of outside make-up air. If you're in a really cold climate, you will need to heat that make-up air as it enters or you will create a wet foggy mess.

Block walls tend to work better. You can use a split face block that looks good and is durable. Poured concrete with a plaster finish should hold up.

Ceiling/roof need to be able to deal with lots of moisture. If it's wood frame, put a good epoxy paint on the ceiling finish, seal the cavity from the room and ventillate the cavity well.

Mildew will grow on paint and sheetrock. wet walls and ceilings will look like **** in no time.

I used a 3"laminate t&g cedar decking spanning 9' between gluelams on two of my jobs. Had Boise Cascade custom make the stuff. It was $$$$$$ but it has held up well.

Did one with a sheetrock ceiling. Plans were done by someone else. I told the homeowner it would be a major problem. I suggested the t&g cedar ($ didn't matter, he has more $ than god) but he thought I was just trying to run up the price. We used two coats of epoxy paint. Just one year later he called to tell me that a sheet of rock had fallen off the ceiling into the pool, and he reminded me that I had warned him. By that time he regretted his decision. The rock had absorbed so much moisture from the pool it had become fully saturated, no different than from a leaking rood.

I've seen buildings falling apart after just a few years, I've seen oxidized aluminum that looks crappy. Build it like the inside is outdoors. Protect your house like it's up against a sea spray. Put all the effort and detail in upfront and it will be fine. Cut corners on this one and the headaches will never go away.
 
#19 ·
There is some good dehumidification systems out there now, looking at the vareedry7000 for an indoor pool project we doing. Never done one before, but there isn't even a "pool guy" in our neck of the woods, nearest one is 5 hrs drive from here.

I would not try and do an indoor pool without the dehumidifier, the old air exchange route would not work where we live, to cold for too much of the year, all the energy spent on heating the outside air as you pump out the warm air and moisture.,, just wasteful, worth the initial outlay and have the heat recovery system, and 0 risk of mold, rot and air quality issues down the road.
 
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