aren't moisture issues pretty important too?

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As an architect, I recommend you get some professional design help rather than just an engineer. Engineers aren't trained to know how "space" works, they just make it stand up.

That being said, you don't need space on either end, you could just have a walkway next to the pool. Your average hallway requires 3ft. of clear space side to side, at the very minimum. I'd recommend at least 5ft. all around, if not more. My two cents.

But seriously, spend the money up front to come up with a plan with an architect and save yourself thousands of dollars in mistakes. Think of this as an ironman, you don't go into a big event without a game plan perfectly laid out.

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marceves.com

Actually, I have....lol

But the basic structure I have in mind for the house is all exterior walls being built from ICF, the floor and roof trusses would be steel. Would an architect be able to design it so that it was setup to add at a later date? Like have the provisions I need in order for it all to work together put in beforehand during construction but not the actual equipment (wiring, plumbing, excavation of that part) done befor hand and then when we were ready we actually put in the pool and the equipment.

I'd do an Endless pool if I were you. IMO, there's a bit of specificity in open water swimming (not having a break every 25m). There's a local lake swim by me where I routinely smoke kids who are 0:10/100m faster than me in the pool. I chalk some of that up to them having faster turns and some of it to the fact that I swim in open water a lot more than they do.

Is this going to be your "forever" home? If not, have you thought about how much of the additional expense of building a 36' deep home with no internal load bearing structure you're likely to lose on resale?

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Agreed. If it is not a forever home good luck getting you money out. 36 deep by 84 long is pretty big. With a pool in the basement. It is an unusual home

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
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Hmmm....my current home (ranch style) is 60x40' wide with wooden (not steel) roof trusses and zero internal load bearing. (no basement).

My previous home (2-story) had a 40'x40' basement, also internally unsupported. In that case, there was a 8" wide x 12" tall steel I-beam (made of out 3/8" steel) that ran across one dimension and the engineered wooden I-beam (2x3's with 10" OSB) floor trusses ran crossways to that. so, 20' of span for the floor joists. This was a standard home plan from the subdivision builder...nothing "custom".

So, I don't know why this needs to be "all that" expensive.

That said, I agree with the Endless pool vs. lap lane. To me that's where the "crazy" expensive...zero resale value comes in. Only the "right" buyer would even WANT it. Many people would actively avoid it.

Man, where I live just getting the municipal approvals for this would be a 5 year project.

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https://markmcdermott.substack.com

Yeah, but think of the cool factor....haha. I'd love to have a 25 yard pool and just have it flush with the ground to where I can put a cover over it that would basically just disappear and seem like floorspace. Endless pool would be great too, but I'd rather have a lap pool. Endless seems like it's get boring.

Well I have had both an endless pool and built my own backyard 4 lap 25yd pool. I loved the lap pool but it is no longer in service, someday maybe on a smaller scale like you describe.

I would lean towards the endless pool in your case, unless you just have cash to burn and don't care. IT will do nothing for your homes value(although that might not even be a consideration) and it is a bit of a hassle over an endless pool. However if you do go the lap lane route, most definitely do a salt water one. Very low maintenance, and easy to up keep on a daily basis.

As an engineer, I'll agree.

Not necessarily a "forever" home, but very well could be. It is in a good school district and we would want our children to be able to stay in the same place through graduation (we have a 7 month old and going to try for #2 sometime this coming summer). So it would at least be 18 years.

Getting approval would be a bit more work, but not as bad as some people would have it (this is in a small town of like 300 people, but with the way things are going around here it qont be long before developments pop up around).

As far as the expense of making it clearspan for both levels, it would be more but not crazy. I have looked and they make floor joists that allow for 40'+ of clear span and roof trusses that go well of 60' clear span as well. And there is also the option of steel beams going across the middle (18' part) and then truss from the side wall to those beams, allowing for an almost clear span basement.

I really do like the cool factor of an actual lap pool, but unsure of the considerations I need to make to make it work (dimensions for everything, special equipment, humidity issues, anything about salt water pools, etc). Because of those potential issues I am leaning towards the endless pool, I know they have the aame issues just on a smaller scale.

Would an architect be likely to just design the basement and then an engineer make sure the whole building stands, or would I use an achitect and they could do it all so it would meet code?

I'm totally new to this, and it gets a bit confusing.

On something like this, regardless of whether you use an architect you're probably going to be required to use an engineer to ensure soundness of the structure.

Given the size of the investment, I'd use the architect because they can design your dream palace in a way that makes sense and can easily work with the engineer to ensure all design aspects are doable before start construction and can help coordinate all the permitting documents with the engineer and contractor and city.

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https://markmcdermott.substack.com

Architect designs the space to code and aesthetics and engineers make it stand to code. It is best to hire the architect to take the lead and then let them hire the consulting engineers they need to provide permit ready drawings and with enough detail to get a decent price from your builder.

Being a builder, my biggest concern would be controlling the moisture of your indoor pool (either option). Without really good vapor barriers between the wet space and the rest of the house, you are going to introduce a whole host of problems from mold and humidity. Make sure you have a really good builder that has built an indoor pool, spa, etc. and knows how to maintain temperature, control moisture, and exhaust accordingly.

The endless pool option would be most similar to indoor hot-tub design solutions and more manageable.

You would need both. The architect's job is to make sure everything looks proportionally correct, and flows the way you intend. An architect does not have the legal ability to stamp structural drawings, (in every location I've worked, could be different in some states), but will have an engineer with whom they work frequently.

To answer your earlier question about planning ahead, this is where a good architect will really shine. It's worth spending the extra money up front to have these plans drawn out so that someone doesn't lay a new gas line, or plumbing in the exact place you don't want it in the future. The expensive part of construction comes when changes are made and things are ripped out, but is completely avoidable if done correctly.

To make an analogy to triathlon, think of the architect as a good coach. They know all the right people, have the game plan, and the experience to guide you through this as smoothly as possible.

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marceves.com

and whatever you do, hire a good general contractor - any of them you choose should be able to provide references and a work portfolio.

I would go for a lap pool with a mirror at the bottom, lionel sanders style.

You better come out first of the swim with this setup. What would be your excuse if you didnt?

I'm slow.....lol

Would get a lot of use (hopefully) by children from swimming

 

My first thought was if you had little kids it would seem like a big safety risk?

I worked for a guy who bought a house with a lap lane in the basement. It wasn't in ground so it wasn't hard for him to remove when he remolded the house. Are you set in stone with it being a permanent feature of the house. I would love to be able to walk down my basement steps and do some laps !

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I would put the pool outside.

Simple solution for kids, lock the door with a keyed lock.

As far as permanent feature, its be nice, I was thinking with the depth needed it would atleast need to be partially buried with 10' basement walls. If I made it 4' deep, your have less the, 6' on the deck area around the pool.

As to outside posted be someone else.......it gets cold here, cant use year round, and I refuse to pay that kind of money for a pool if I cant use it year round

rule #1 twice as long, twice as much
rule #2 nobody ever complained about too much garage
rule #3 focus on the have to haves, compromise on the rest

Couple of things to consider...

- not sure about the US, but in Canada we can use a Home Designer instead of an Architect. I'm not sure what the difference is other than the HD is a far bit more affordable.

- trying to share a lap pool with kids tends not to work well as the temperature that you want will likely be quite different from what they want.

Fun project, though. Good luck with it!