spa installation

[anne]

I'm soon to be the owner of an arctic spa requiring a 220/50 electrical hook up. I have found county codes relating to how  far my spa must be from property lines, how much distance is OK between spa and GFCI, etc, how deep conduit should be buried.... One thing I cannot find is : do I HAVE TO have a licensed electrician do the work? I realize this may vary state to state or county to county, but I'm not finding this info anywhere. I have a civil engineer brother, a very, very DYI father and an electrical engineer boyfriend. We plan to do the work ourselves, but I dont want to do something illegal or that will void my warranty.

[NE-Phil]

anne,
Ask the dealer selling you the spa. He should know. Or call up your local town/city inspector's office.

Phil

[galen]

Around here, if you own the property, you can and may do your own work on anything on the house yard or whatever. You must buy a permit.  After the work is done it must be inspected.  If anything is not to code it will have to be redone. I have been doing my own work for many years. And have only been knocked off the ladder a  few dozen times. Just kidding.  

[Brewman]

Check with your local buliding code enforcement agency.  Don't ask the dealer- they may not know code for each city, county, township, etc.....
In my area any homeowner may do their own wiring.  A permit is required, as are at least 2 inspections.  One is a rough-in inspection; it and gives the inspector a look at your work before you cover anything up or powering anything up.
Trenches not filled in, cover plates off, panels open, etc..
Then once that's approved, you finish up, and get a final.  If corrective action is required, another inspection is required on that work before finishing is allowed.
People who rent in this area are not allowed to work on electric, and neither are landlords.  

If there is work done without a permit, and the "enforcers" find out, you have to pay for the permit, plus another fee for not getting one in the first place, plus you have to uncover everything to prove work is up to code.  That mean digging up trenches, removing drywall, whatever it takes to get the inspector happy.

For those who are considering doing this type of work without a permit when one is required- don't brag about it to your neighbors.  According to the local building and electrical inspectors, the primary way the get tipped off is by neighbors ratting out each other when they get into some type of squabble.

[anne]

this is all definitely new information. I did not know I needed a permit for a "portable" spa.

[Vinny]

If it was a 120 volt spa that plugged in - no permit.

Most if not all electrical work needs a permit. Permits are cheap and keep the install legal. In my township, a homeowner can do whatever work he/she wants and get it inspected by the township.

A neighbor sold his house and had an above ground pool without a "legal" install - the township had him take down the pool.

[GoBlue]

I just purchased a new spa and the first thing I did was to call our township building inspection dept. They told me what permit I needed and was most helpful. Like they said, "It's easier to to it correctly and to code than to do it over".

[RayF-1]

If you have one in your area, try a local Vo-Tech school.

I had the "electrical" class come out (three neat kids) with their instructor (licensed professional).  I provided the material, kids did the work, prof. signed off on the work.  Cost me some pizza and a couple of bucks.

[Tatooed_Lady]

If you have one in your area, try a local Vo-Tech school.

I had the "electrical" class come out (three neat kids) with their instructor (licensed professional).  I provided the material, kids did the work, prof. signed off on the work.  Cost me some pizza and a couple of bucks.

DOH!!!!! Wish I'd have thought of that........ *LOL*

[galen]

Anne, your spa maybe " portable" but the wiring is not. Your lower voltage spas that are 110 volts can be plugged in any wall socket. High voltage tubs that are "hard wired", which means you can't just unplug it, is a permit type installation. There is a reasoning behind this. Wire it wrong and you could be killed or burn your house down.

[anne]

thank you everyone for your help. I'm going to have my dad do the work, even though he's not a licensed electrician, he's more than up to the job, has done this plenty and is a STICKLER for safety and detail, so I'm in good hands- much better than scanning the yellow pages. I love RayF-1's ideas though! Works for everyone involved!!!!

[Brewman]

 The spa itself doesn't need the permit, it the wiring.  
This is a sticky thing at best- lots of potential for injury or death if it's not done safely or competently.  
Get the permits and have the necessary inspections, it's poor economy to skimp out on that.  

[Mendocino101]

Ask your dealer to provide your father with your spas electrical requirements....these seem to be code for most any area and it will assure that you are in spec for your warranty .....If the work is done properly I do not think it matters who it is done by.....

[SurgTec]

We had a licensed electrician do the wiring for our new spa.  No permit required that I know of - so what is 'required' depends on where you are and who you talk to!

I definitely like the Vo-Tech student idea - wish I'd thought of that!

[jsimo7]

I did the same thing. I had a licensed electrician from a electrical company come out and install the electric. I didn't get a permit. The company may have done it but I not sure now because I didn't even ask. I called them they said they did spa electric frequently and I hired them and that was that. Should I ask for a copy of the permit or will my recipt from them be enough. It was done 1 yr ago and I never gave it any thought.