Noise when building in the hottub

[marcel]

I am thinking about buying a hot tub.
My wife wants it to be flush with the deck (well, only the plastic can stick out).
Therefore I need to construct a concrete hole/box with a pump to safely place it.

My concern is the noise resonance of the pomps within the concrete box.

Does anyone have experience with this?

[CanadianSpaTech]

DO NOT BUILD YOUR SPA FLUSH WITH THE DECK OR PLACE IT IN A CONCRETE BOX!!

As a service tech with 20+ years in the field I implore you not to build your spa flush with the deck or even worse in a concrete box. Think about getting into and out of the spa. You will either have to step down from height into the spa and this can be very dangerous especially at night. Your other alternative in to get down on your hands and knees and crawl into it. No fun at anytime but even worse if you are in an area that gets snow. Then there is the cover. What do you do with the cover flip it and somehow stand it up and lean it against something? It will wear the seams out quicker than if you were using a cover lifter. Sure you could use a deck mounted lifter but it will stand way up high and flop around with the wind if any. You will also not be able to lock the cover down in most cases.

Most important if you ignore above when you build the deck or box make sure you build in relief panels around the spa so that if you have a leak the tech can not only have access to ALL the panels around the spa but also have enough room to work to fix the spa. If you don't and the tech can't get at it you will likely be in for a huge bill to either have a crew of guys come out to lift it out of the deck/box and in some cases a crane.

Ideally if you put a spa into a deck have it about half way so you can easily sit on the edge of the spa and swing your legs into it safely and enter/exit the spa. Again very important for the tech to be able to access all the screws on the panels in order to repair it when needed.

I could not count how many times I have got to a job with the spa built into the deck and in need of repair and not be able to get at the screws to remove the panels and having to tell the customer "Ok it will be $X00 to get the spa out of the deck to where I can work on it and another $X00 to put it back in and I can't give you a quote for the repair until it is out"

Building it into a concrete box is even worse than building it into a deck. Even with a sump pump to remove rain water and splashing form using it will get REALLY nasty in there. It will never dry out and leaves and debris will retain moisture and go stagnant and get smelly.

Think it through before you build. Just because your wife saw it on some HGTV reality show doesn't make it right.

Just my opinion.

 

[bud16415]

DO NOT BUILD YOUR SPA FLUSH WITH THE DECK OR PLACE IT IN A CONCRETE BOX!!

As a service tech with 20+ years in the field I implore you not to build your spa flush with the deck or even worse in a concrete box. Think about getting into and out of the spa. You will either have to step down from height into the spa and this can be very dangerous especially at night. Your other alternative in to get down on your hands and knees and crawl into it. No fun at anytime but even worse if you are in an area that gets snow. Then there is the cover. What do you do with the cover flip it and somehow stand it up and lean it against something? It will wear the seams out quicker than if you were using a cover lifter. Sure you could use a deck mounted lifter but it will stand way up high and flop around with the wind if any. You will also not be able to lock the cover down in most cases.

Most important if you ignore above when you build the deck or box make sure you build in relief panels around the spa so that if you have a leak the tech can not only have access to ALL the panels around the spa but also have enough room to work to fix the spa. If you don't and the tech can't get at it you will likely be in for a huge bill to either have a crew of guys come out to lift it out of the deck/box and in some cases a crane.

Ideally if you put a spa into a deck have it about half way so you can easily sit on the edge of the spa and swing your legs into it safely and enter/exit the spa. Again very important for the tech to be able to access all the screws on the panels in order to repair it when needed.

I could not count how many times I have got to a job with the spa built into the deck and in need of repair and not be able to get at the screws to remove the panels and having to tell the customer "Ok it will be $X00 to get the spa out of the deck to where I can work on it and another $X00 to put it back in and I can't give you a quote for the repair until it is out"

Building it into a concrete box is even worse than building it into a deck. Even with a sump pump to remove rain water and splashing form using it will get REALLY nasty in there. It will never dry out and leaves and debris will retain moisture and go stagnant and get smelly.

Think it through before you build. Just because your wife saw it on some HGTV reality show doesn't make it right.

Just my opinion.

I agree with the above 100%. 

[castletonia]

Ditto what others said.  Don’t sink the hot tub.  Besides being a complete pain to ever service, it’s also more difficult to enter the hot tub than you think.  With so many company’s making an emphasis on aesthetics, there are enough options that will not look like a plastic box.

[ratchett]

Just to chime in - My best friend's dad built a custom home in the late 1980's.  Legend has it he built an entire patio room around a large hot-tub - had an 8-seater installed at floor-level.  Apparently lasted less than a decade before the shell cracked.  It was far too expensive to remove/repair, and the room had been built around the tub so there was no way to install a new tub.

Instead they simply drained the tub then built up the floor and installed a new hardwood floor over the whole room.  As far as I know It's still sitting encapsulated under there for the past 25 years.  I truly wonder what condition it's in now.

[CanadianSpaTech]

Just to chime in - My best friend's dad built a custom home in the late 1980's.  Legend has it he built an entire patio room around a large hot-tub - had an 8-seater installed at floor-level.  Apparently lasted less than a decade before the shell cracked.  It was far too expensive to remove/repair, and the room had been built around the tub so there was no way to install a new tub.

Instead they simply drained the tub then built up the floor and installed a new hardwood floor over the whole room.  As far as I know It's still sitting encapsulated under there for the past 25 years.  I truly wonder what condition it's in now.

And no one has seen his wife since...

[marcel]

Thank you all for the feedback. Loud and Clear 

[Tman122]

Thank you all for the feedback. Loud and Clear 

It can be done and it can be done properly. Digging and building a vault as long as it is big enough and can drain water is cool, but leave the tub stick up a foot or so and have removable panels around the tub. Or lower the tub and build a deck around it but make sure the panels are removable to allow access around. Ideally have the tub exposed on 1-2 sides and have the removable panels on the other two sides.

If done properly and set at the proper height it does look very nice.

[swilly1000]

Way too much aggro for me personally to even think about going there.  Amongst the other super valid points raised earlier, the tipping point for me would be the awkward and unsafe entry and exit, even if it was raised above ground a bit.   I would also be waiting for the first of many slips on the wet deck in the rain or snow and falling into the tub.

Aesthetically pleasing? Yeah.

Expensive, unsafe, service issues?  Pass.

[CanadianSpaTech]

OP...if you want to post some photos of the area you want it perhaps we can aid you in your decision.

[Tman122]

Way too much aggro for me personally to even think about going there.  Amongst the other super valid points raised earlier, the tipping point for me would be the awkward and unsafe entry and exit, even if it was raised above ground a bit.   I would also be waiting for the first of many slips on the wet deck in the rain or snow and falling into the tub.

Aesthetically pleasing? Yeah.

Expensive, unsafe, service issues?  Pass.

A nice solidly mounted SS pool entry rail at the steps can make entry very comfortable.