Winter hot tub in Michigan

[Stephfrog]

Hello,
I have a small Cyanna Valley 110 spa that I love! I just got it in May to help with some joint pain and neuropathy. It has been wonderful. This evening I realized that I need plan for winter in west Michigan! We get a lot of snow. What is an affordable way to temporarily shelter my little 7' X 7' hot tub during the winter months?
Would a canopy with a windscreen work somehow? Maybe if I buried the legs in buckets of rocks?
   

[39lasalle]

Not really temporary but I built a pergola over my A7L and plan on putting metal roofing on top over the winter. I was looking at the pre-fab pergolas but the cheapest I could find was about $900. I built one for about half that and it is probably twice as strong.

39

[Beck0101]

I don't know if you're going to find a truly temporary cover that will withstand a Michigan heavy/wet snowfall.

Why do you want it covered?  Winter skies are terrific.  Brush the cover off when it snows and you should be perfectly fine leaving it uncovered.

[bud16415]

We live in northern Pa just south of lake Erie in the snow belt and we know exactly your concern as some areas of Michigan are very similar. We get most years close to 300 inches of snow in the course of the winter where Erie just a few miles north will only get 100 inches.

I agree the winter skies are great and would love to have a way to soak and enjoy them. We got our tub in the summer and loved star gazing and fall came and every night I would get in the tub and we would get a cold rain. Then the leaves started falling and I started thinking about winter and going out to tub and finding 24” of snow on the deck and the lid. I thought I know I will skip the tub at that point the next day we might get a warm snap and then the next night I have 10” of ice to deal with. The cover didn’t look like it would hold up to a shovel well and salt on the deck didn’t appeal to me.

It was just before thanksgiving I strung up a tarp like an (A frame) house and it was kind of cool. It had enough slope to shed snow and still get the cover open and it worked great for wind and rain. We got an early snow and it kind of worked and the second snow proved it wasn’t the answer. We warmed up and I built the pergola over the weekend and covered it in tin. It was protection but at 8’ high left all the views except straight up. Worked good for rain most of the time. When the cold winds started we can get down as cold as -30f it needed sides. I used the posts and made soft sides I can roll up that attach to the corner poles and I can have them cover the tub and 1’ up or 2’ up and then I have a tall one for winter that covers it all the way up. We have house on 2 sides so it is just 3 hooks at the top and 2 on the ends of the soft covers and they are up or down. I take them down or put the low ones up for winter parties but the rest of the winter for just us it is buttoned up.

I don’t take the tin roof off in the spring like mentioned above.

I did add an outside faucet that has a hot cold diverter inside the house and use the hot water for de-icing the deck and cover if it needs it. I can’t imagen not having that feature. The hot cleans the filter better than filter solutions also with just water. 

[Stephfrog]

This sounds great. I was worried about the flat top on the pergola with the weight of the snow, but perhaps I can angle it. I am not super handy, maybe I can find a kit. I only need a small one. I like the idea of the wind break on the sides as well. We have our house on one side. Could you post a photo of your design?

[Tman122]

Hello,
I have a small Cyanna Valley 110 spa that I love! I just got it in May to help with some joint pain and neuropathy. It has been wonderful. This evening I realized that I need plan for winter in west Michigan! We get a lot of snow. What is an affordable way to temporarily shelter my little 7' X 7' hot tub during the winter months?
Would a canopy with a windscreen work somehow? Maybe if I buried the legs in buckets of rocks?
 

I always took the time to keep a path to the tub clear and the snow off the cover. I found a push broom the perfect solution to pushing the snow off the cover when it got over a few inches and a car brush for anything lighter. Took me an extra couple minutes of shoveling and brooming. Well worth it.

[bud16415]

This sounds great. I was worried about the flat top on the pergola with the weight of the snow, but perhaps I can angle it. I am not super handy, maybe I can find a kit. I only need a small one. I like the idea of the wind break on the sides as well. We have our house on one side. Could you post a photo of your design?

If you go to this site there is a thread I started and post #56 shows some photos.

It is a great DIY site that I Admin at and the guys there know nothing about hot tubs but are pretty good at building stuff. The photos show the deck build also but don’t show the side covers.

I would recommend at least an inch or two of drop just so rain flows off. Mine is attached to the deck and the posts are attached to the rail and there are a couple angle braces. Like I said I built it in a hurry. The framing and the poles for the roof are made from the round 3x5 landscaping timbers and deck stained. The rest of the wood was left over from the deck that was built from a recycled pool deck I got for free for taking it down. I have about 300 bucks in the deck and pergola. I think those 8’ landscape timbers cost $1.50 each.

  http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17318&page=6