Jacuzzi Bath Tub

[Brookenstein]

So my husband says I can't get a hut tub in the immediate future, normally I would take this as a challenge and would go get one just to prove him wrong... but in this instance I know it is the right decision for the time being, financially.

He did say I could replace the kids' surround bath tub with a Jacuzzi tub from Home Depot for $600 if I wanted.  Does anyone know if it is possible for me to remove the old surround tub and put in a new tub, let alone jacuzzi tub without a complete remodel of the bathroom?  I don't see how one would get a new tub in the tiny little room or in the door frame and then turn it/drop it into the spot.  Seems a lot easier to do with no dry wall.  I guess I could dry wall (dry walled my last kitchen), but I just put in a new sponge bob border and that was a pain.  Not to mention if I'm dry walling and whatnot that is money I could have been spending towards a real hot tub.

Any feedback?

[Brewman]

Dont' bother with those jacuzzi bath tubs, especially the cheaper ones.
We put one of these in when we built our current house, and even before we got a real hot tub, we never used the whirlpool tub.
For starters, you need to fill the tub up from your water heater, and any decent sized tub will drain your hot water tank.  From there, the water will cool off as you soak.  Lower priced tubs do not heat the water, ours doesn't.  It only has two whirlpool jets, which do a nice job of swirling the water around, but not even close to a real spa.
You might need to construct a base for the tub, and you'll need a GFI outlet under the cabinet to plug into.
Totally not worth the effort- put the money toward your spa fund instead.

If you do decide to put one in, you for sure want to measure the doorway to see if you can get the tub in there.  Depending on your current setup, this $600 tub could end up costing a couple grand, easy, unless you can do all demolition, reconstruction, and electrical yourselved.

[Brookenstein]

Thanks Brewman.  I was afraid of that.  I'm pretty good with demolition, not so bad with construction, but I'm not willing to leave my children motherless, so I won't touch electrical (I failed out of electrical engineering for a reason, lol).  I'll save the money for a real spa.

Man, I'm easily swayed.  

[rubiconruby]

he was right on. i did a complete remodel of my old house and put the jacuzzi tub in. it was nice and all but for all the work i did it wouldnt have been worth it except for the fact i started with a completly gutted room. he was also right about it not staying warm. the heaters are more money. just save for the real thing!!!

[stl-rex]

We finished our basement and put in the Jacuzzi drop in tub from Lowes.  Lots of ceramic, nice basement bathroom.  It has 10 jets and feels pretty good, but nothing like a spa although it is much better than the average builders spa tub.  But we don't use it as much as we thought we would, although we do use it.  The biggest thing is it only seats one.