I am considering doing my own pool as well. I found Pool Warehouse, they build and send the walls and all items needed for quite a reasonable price. They have kits to pick from but also do custom. of course the one I have in mind needs to be custom and I am in the process of getting a quote. Here is their website so you can take a look. https://www.poolwarehouse.com/small pools/ Also click on the dig sheets for layouts. I will be interested to see how much the one I want is going to cost compared to the standard kits already in production I have attached a photo of the pool I am interested in installing, no shallow end, steps right into deep water.

We started getting bids from PBs, but have since decided on the OB route. This is due to crazy money we expect to save (and most likely transfer to upgrades and more features as Joe said). We OB our house several years ago and saved a good deal of money there - this should be a baby project in comparison. Just to be clear - we didn't actually do any of the work ourselves - subcontracted it. We will do the same for the pool. There are a few things to consider when doing OB. One, you need to be organized and detail oriented and make sure you are very clear about what you want. The fastest path to disappointment is unspoken expectations. Also, it helps to research a little and come into the bid process informed. The more informed you are, the more negotiating you can do. Kind of like buying a car and knowing the dealer invoice price. Another thing - expect that there will be bumps in the process. Not everything turns out exactly how you would like. For little problems you need to be able to process it, adjust expectations, and move on. Also, if you are considering the OB process it helps to hook up with a consultant. I think that Houseful and Swimming07?? are in Arizona and used a consultant. This is kind of like an insurance policy to have someone knowlegable in the industry on your side. If all this talk scares you - you may want to consider using a pool builder. $40k sounds pretty reasonable. I am assuming no spa? BTW - here is a picture of our finished house. Our lowest bid was $95 a sq ft - we built it for $68 per sq ft. This is with wood floors/granite/etc. Good luck.

In Ontario any homeowner can submit their own drawings, however, they will be reviewed by the planning department to ensure the drawings meet code. However, a professional I,e, draftsman, designer, architectural technologist etc must complete and pass exams and thus obtain a (Building code identification no) BCIN. An architect does not require a BCIN, however, they must be licensed in the province in order to have construction drawings approved. Some further explanations http://www.andythomson.ca/2016/11/15/why-a-bcin-is-not-an-architect/

I find there is an enormous people spending time on this board showing everyone why they need an architect and do not know what an architect does. In response to what I believe you meant, let me comment on the current discussion and answer this question. First, I am not sure I need to know what an architect does to know what an architect does for me. However, that is not really the point of this, so I will ignore that portion. There was a study done on architects quite some time ago, that informed my thoughts then, if this has changed please let me know. I am going to get some of this wrong but believe I can relay the basic ideas. The study selected three groups of people (1) office workers, (2) upper class college students in a selective institution, (3) and architects. They then presented all three groups with design problems. The people in the office had interaction needs and environmental preferences, while the physical space had environmental conditions. All three groups were then asked to create the best office in three different physical spaces. The environmental results were then scored on a 3 point scale: met requirement, partially met requirement, or didn't meet requirements. The interaction scores were then very slightly modified by those environment scores. This was all known to the participants and individually these interaction modifications were fairly small, I don't remember the exact numbers, but the cumulative effect could be significant. The architects performed significantly better than either other group. I don't remember the exact explanation proposed for this, but I do believe the idea was that architects tend to focus on some type of synergy between physical space and needs, while other groups tend to focus on one or the other. ---------------- So, what I believe architects do in a nutshell: Take my requirements and make all the things I need a little bit better by creating an environment in which those things can happen a bit more pleasurably or with a little less effort. Having said that, I believe that architects suffer from Baumol's cost disease and the value hurdle is becoming increasingly difficult for architects to meet. I personally find the value proposition for using an architect diminish as constraints increase. At this point, if I am developing something for sale, the quality of the design takes a back seat to the quality of the finish carpenter.