I actually saw a picture of a pool this week (if I find the link I'll post it) where the pool was butted right against the house!! It wrapped around the corner and looked kinda cool) Now on the trees, depending on how close you may have to cut some, those roots stretch out as far and farther than their limbs do in the upper canopy...they may not survive having half their roots cut..and you don't want roots growing in/around your plumbing for your pool..

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.justtheplanet.com/images/hidden-gems/2007/issue-2_june-07/hermanus_cape-town_birkenhead-house-pool_pp.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.justtheplanet.com/hidden-gems/2007/issue-2_june-07/south-africa_hermanus_birkenhead_rh.php&h=578&w=715&sz=53&hl=en&start=15&sig2=SEM_xGEN7Gp2z_85S_6OVQ&um=1&tbnid=B9pYkRBUDKJCvM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=140&ei=SHdOSKyFOZfAggKo44GIAg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpool%2Bflush%2Bwith%2Bhouse%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

The first thing that popped into my brain has to do with teenagers....any of those in your home or future?

Just ignore this if not, but we actually designed our pool NOT to be close to our roof, because of a specific, very daring, very adventurous teenage living under that roof.

Sorry, your initial post is wrapping WAY around and off my screen, I see now that you have no kids, so that eliminates my concern.

Here in Texas, the pool has to be a minimum of 5 feet from the house and any existing structure with a foundation.

You need to find out "why" this code is in place. Theoretically every building code has some engineering or safety principal behind it except for the ones that concern attached property or utility easements.

I agree with barco. Here in Florida they have to be 5 or 6 feet from the house. Other than that if you'll want it then go for it! I dont' see anything 'wrong' with it!

I would look into the fact of digging next to and below the footing of the house. I wouldnt do it.

If you were building a pool next to an existing home than I would echo the above sentiments regarding foundation issues. But since it's a new home, you can easily design the perimeter grade beam to account for the pool being close to the house. I would suggest involving a structural engineer, my inclination for a pool that small would be to make it an extension of the foundation of the house.

Regarding the minimum distance requirement, I think there may some confusion in the above posts about this. The 5' restriction in most codes is based on proximity of a door or window to the pool. If the pool is closer than 5' to a door or window than any glass in that door or window has to be safety glass. Our firm has actually done a project where an outdoor swimming pool extended UNDER the house slab and came up inside the master bathroom!

Some people put pools inside their houses. I'm sure with new construction you could have engineers and architects figure out how it could be done.

HOWEVER.....

If you're going with a standard builder who is building a standard package home, he might not be familiar with the intricacies of pool construction and/or be able to design for it. So you probably have to invest in more architectural and engineering work than might otherwise be the case.

To even get the permit for a pool in a circumstance like this, I think they require proper engineering (by an independant engineer) to ensure the structural stability of the house. I would assume they would also shore along the foundation before excavating so that the soil under the house does not come out of place and cause it to sag or collapse. Honestly not really a whole lot to worry about, with the proper contractor.

AGH! I hate it when the board doesn't automatically wrap lines,
so I'll try to do it myself for readability.

This will be a totally custom home and I'll be the GC,
we've done a lot of renovation in the past and will be doing
a lot of work on the project ourselves. No permits will be
required for anything except the septic system because of
the location of the house. Weird, I know, but it will make
my life much easier. We will consult an engineer, though.

I think since it will only actually be underground for about the
depth of the footings it shouldn't interfere too much with the
foundation.

Tresw, that pool that comes into the M bath sounds awesome.
You don't happen to have pics, do you?

Thank you all very much for your input; I'm feeling better
about the project!

Hi Raenjapan
About the only thing I zeroed in on was your thought of having a retractable pool cover. Do you mean an enclosure to make it indoor/outdoor or an automatic cover to cover the water? I have an enclosure sitting in my backyard in a million pieces waiting for the pool to be dug. If you want any info on the enclosure I am happy to link you up w/ the website and salesman. Our pool will be vinyl 20x38 w/ an enclosure approx 34x54. I can't wait!
Good luck w/ your project; I wish we could be close to the house but we have all sorts of building requirements and need to be way off to one side.
joanneswimsct

Quote: "Tresw, that pool that comes into the M bath sounds awesome. You don't happen to have pics, do you? "

Sorry I don't, I wish we did! I'm an architect and work for a small firm that mainly does commercial work. My bosses really shun residential work because it ain't where the money is at ;-) But we've done a few odds-and-ends residential projects for some of our commercial clients and the mentioned project was one of them. I never saw it or there WOULD be pictures of it. My bosses are horrible about getting photos of our work!

Quote: "I think since it will only actually be underground for about the depth of the footings it shouldn't interfere too much with the foundation. "

Yeah, that's along the lines of what I was trying to describe. The grade beam adjacent to the pool would extend down to just below the pool (or the freeze line, whichever is deeper there). The adjacent pool walls would tie into the grade beam. In essence your pool walls would be an extension of the grade beam. I don't know your soils conditions and obviously that will impact it, for example if your grade beam is supported on piers and has void boxes under it then the pool would need to be likewise supported. But the pool and house structure would move together so you wouldn't need any separation (expansion joints) between the two.

I actually had this building code explained to me when we had our pool built. It has to do with the weight of the house. Basically, the house creates something called a "surge load" if I recall correctly. What happens is that the weight of the house creates horizontal stresses in the soil. This horizontal load can cause pool shells to crack. These stresses dissipate once you get several feet away from the foundation. The required distance varies with the type of soil that you have.

I believe that pools can be engineered to withstand this additional loading. You basically need to have the shell be significantly thicker near the house. I don't think it's difficult or even particularly expensive, but you do need to make sure that the gunite contractor does it properly. To be safe, you should hire a pool engineer to inspect the site and get you the appropriate plans.