Finally figured out how to embed pictures without using photobucket so I figured I would upload a few of my install two months ago. I started looking at tubs a while ago and no one within a 1.5 hour drive of my house actually has tubs that you can wet test which was a total bummer.
The only spa place around here sells Marquis and after doing a little bit of research I figured I would give them a try. I ended up getting the Marquis e435 which was a floor demo and by floor demo they sit them out on the floor without water in them for you to look at. After a few trips and LOTS of negotiating I ended up paying $5300 cash with a hydraulic lifter 3 months of chemicals and free delivery and setup. I have no idea if that's a good price so if it was terrible don't tell me and I will continue to be happy with my purchase, hey ignorance is bliss
! Honestly what drew me to it was the size, the high seat and the captains chair. So far my wife and I have been happy with it and it seems to suit our needs for now. I know it's not the fanciest tub it there but I wanted to make sure we would use it and that we really love
Once I bought it they agreed to hold it until I got a place setup to put it. I kicked around a ton of different options and we considered pouring a concrete pad and building gazebo over it or trellis but in the end we decided we wanted it as close to the house as possible so you don't have to traipse across the yard. I decided to cut out a section of our deck build a secondary deck and then wrap the other side of the deck around the tub. I ended up building the secondary deck heavy duty enough and much bigger than needed just in case I decide to get a bigger one in the future. Here is what we came up with. Took me two weeks of working on it off and on but in the end I'm happy its close to the house, like two steps out the back door!
Getting started
Drilling the post holes. Each one is a 4"x6" post, 16" in diameter, ~36"deep, and has 80# of concrete at the bottom I then set each post with another 80# of concrete around it. I double headered each row of posts.
Then I built the deck on top with 2x10 lumber set 12" on center