sundance maxxus shim question

[diane]

New to this site and am positive I'll be here a lot in the next few months.  On Wednesday, we will take delivery of a Sundance Maxxus spa.  Our first!  I have hundreds of questions but this is my first...the concrete patio the tub is to sit on is approx. 15' wide.  When it was poured last week I didn't specify that I wanted as little pitch as possible.  I meant to.  The patio, now complete, has a pitch of a little more than 3 inches.   Is this tub "shim-able" or is its pitch over the span of 15 feet irrelevant?  Thanks.

[Chris_H]

I would not shim that spa due to the size and weight.  3 inches over 15 feet is a lot.  I would recommend your dealer to come out and give you advice prior to delivery.  The last thing you and them want is the tub to have to go back to the store because of this.  Worse case scenario is to rip it up.

[diane]

Maybe instead of ripping up a patio that's not a week old I'll just direct our vertically challenged friends to the shallow side of the tub!  Any concrete guys out there?  I thought I read that 1/4" of pitch per foot of concrete is standard.  Wouldn't that make my pitch not that unusual or particularly steep?

[Richs100]

I think the first thing you should do is check with the manufacturer (Sundance) as to whether shimming of this tub is permitted.  If so, make sure you have that in writing and have the dealer shim it for you.  (Hot Spring directly addresses which tubs can and cannot be shimmed in its owner's manual)

Only if shimming is prohibited by the manufacturer, do you have to decide if you can (1) live with the slope depending on its severity, (2) level the deck by building a proper support platform for the tub to sit on, or (3) arrange for a different model that can be shimmed.  I could never visualize ripping out a brand new patio.

Good luck
Rich

[Spatech_tuo]

I don't think you'll like sitting in the spa with that much slope. I agree, check with your dealer/manufacturer first.

This same topic was covered yesterday on this site and you can read about it here.

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1187524701


I would take the simple approach I've seen done well a couple times. Make a frame with PT 2x4s (or 2x6s, painted same color as your spa's pedestal) with length & width about 1" larger than the spa bottom but rip the 2x4s so that when you lay it in place the top of the frame is level. Fill the frame about 2/3 with pea gravel and rake level. Set the spa in place on the pea gravel and enjoy. People probably won't even notice what you've done, it'll look like the frame you made is part of the spa bottom.

[txwillie]

3"/15' is just under 1/4" per foot. Do you really think you will even notice that? I wouldn't shim it.

[Spatech_tuo]

3"/15' is just under 1/4" per foot. Do you really think you will even notice that? I wouldn't shim it.

Yes, that would be 2" from end to end on that spa and it will be very visually noticeable IMO. Plus, depending on the layout of the spa and what end goes where there may be an issue where you end up splashing out a lot of water from one end because you need to keep all the jets below the waterline on the low end thus making the waterline on the other end abnormally high. You can get lucky on this one if you have one side without high jets which you can put at the low end assuming the corner jets are not high either but I don't think that is the case with this spa. I've seen many owners fill their spas thinking it won't matter only to make a change after a month or so.

[Steve]

You'll want to build a frame as spatech suggested as that amount of run-off is extreme IMO. Whatever you do, it will require that entire footprint of the spa be supported.
It's too bad this wasn't thought about due to the cost of getting it done and the added time to make it right... :-/

[diane]

Thanks to all for replies...some gave me hope, others made me cringe.  However, after going out to the patio today to actually get a level line out there, quite a pleasant discovery was made, there is no more than 1 1/2" of pitch to the patio!  I am also beginning to recall tid-bits of a conversation I had with the contractor about our plans to place a tub on the concrete.  He mentioned some pitch being necessary but that the tubs water-line needed to be considered.  Whew!   I think we'll be okay.

[Spatech_tuo]

Thanks to all for replies...some gave me hope, others made me cringe.  However, after going out to the patio today to actually get a level line out there, quite a pleasant discovery was made, there is no more than 1 1/2" of pitch to the patio!  I am also beginning to recall tid-bits of a conversation I had with the contractor about our plans to place a tub on the concrete.  He mentioned some pitch being necessary but that the tubs water-line needed to be considered.  Whew!   I think we'll be okay.

If that is 1½" over 15' then I'd just fill it up and give it a go as I think you'll probably be ok, though you'll still notice it.

[tony]

This is always a problem when a contractor does the concrete pad because they are conditioned to give it enough slope to run water as if it were a patio.  As a base for a spa you want it as dead level as you can get it.

The platform idea works really well if you should decide you need to shim.  That spa cabinet cannot be shimmed.

[Chad]

Thanks to all for replies...some gave me hope, others made me cringe.  However, after going out to the patio today to actually get a level line out there, quite a pleasant discovery was made, there is no more than 1 1/2" of pitch to the patio!  I am also beginning to recall tid-bits of a conversation I had with the contractor about our plans to place a tub on the concrete.  He mentioned some pitch being necessary but that the tubs water-line needed to be considered.  Whew!   I think we'll be okay.

I don't think a 1.5'' slope on 15' is going to be a problem. My tub has almost a 3/4'' slope and I have had no problems at all.
I just noticed that the Maxxus is a rectangle. I never knew that.

It's 7'6'' x 9'2''. If you were to position the spa where the short side goes with the slope, you'd only have a 3/4'' slope as well.

Here's a pic of my tub with not quite a 3/4'' fall.

[diane]

Chad-

Those pictures really put my mind at ease.  The uneven water line is barely noticeable and I suspect when the jets are on, you wouldn't notice at all!  I appreciate your time in responding.