Can I put a hot tub in my garage?

[Snowbird]

We have our tub indoors and were very concerned about moisture.

1. do not use regualr drywall.  Use greenboard which has more moisture resistance.

2. we put on two coats of primer followed by 2 coats of kitchen and bath paint.  never thought about a mold inhibitor as Chas suggests, but it sure can't hurt.

3. get a good exhaust fan and hook it to a humidistat.  we keep ours set to 70% and it only comes on when the tub is uncovered.

4. it helps to have windows (unless you have an apple).  we have two 4x8 sliders and a sliding glass door.  the light and air will slow down the mildew.

5. lay an old sheet on the floor under the end of the tub where the cover opens.  water will drip onto the sheet from the cover and you can hang it outside to dry when you get out.

6. local electrical code will deterione how you run your wires, but it would be a good idea to protect any surface run with conduit.  this could be an issue when you sell the house and it fails and inspection.

7. if you are limited on purchase price, you will also be limited on repair costs.  buying a 'cheap' new tub could be more expensive down the road as well as being a PIA.  it might be better to buy a 'well made' used tub from a good dealer.  you want this tub to be a positive when you sell, not a negative.

8. soak up any water that splashes out when in use.  we were very worried aobut this and planned for it, but it isn't that big a deal when just the 2 of us are in.  3 or more is a problem.

9 any regular repititive movement in the tub will set up a hamonic wave action resulting in a tsunami.  these effects can be curtailed by using the plug and pause method rather than plug and play.  

10. Hot Springs probably has a tsunami by-pass valve option specifically to address this issue because it seems as if they have thought of everything.

[Bonibelle]

T-Lady, I love my tub out doors, Snowbird has a beautiful indoor setting, perfect for him and his wife. If you look at his pictures, you can see and enjoy the outdoors. I just think a garage would eliminate that whole aspect. Just as well sit in your bathtub....unless he was thinking mirrors....not going there.... ::)they would just fog up!

[windsurfdog]

Please rethink your 8'x8' room......I just can not imagine a pleasurable hot tub experience in such a small area.  I would think, 12'x12' to be the absolute minimum but even that would still be rather small to me.  Windows would be a must.  Also think about enough room for servicing the spa and for the cover and lifter to operate easily.  And then there's the possibility of removing/replacing the tub in the future.  Lots to consider for adequate space requirements.

[Snowbird]

I sincerely don't mean to dump on you squale, but whenever I think of a 6x6 hot tub in an 8x8 room with no windows, this is all that comes to mind.  Also it brings a bit of culture to this board.  

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
                     from Macbeth

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.

               Enter the three Witches.

      1 WITCH.  Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
      2 WITCH.  Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
      3 WITCH.  Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
      1 WITCH.  Round about the caldron go;
   In the poison'd entrails throw.—
   Toad, that under cold stone,
   Days and nights has thirty-one;
   Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
   Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
      ALL.  Double, double toil and trouble;
   Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
      2 WITCH.  Fillet of a fenny snake,
   In the caldron boil and bake;
   Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
   Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
   Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
   Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
   For a charm of powerful trouble,
   Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
      ALL.  Double, double toil and trouble;
   Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
      3 WITCH.  Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
   Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
   Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
   Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
   Liver of blaspheming Jew;
   Gall of goat, and slips of yew
   Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
   Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
   Finger of birth-strangled babe
   Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
   Make the gruel thick and slab:
   Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
   For the ingrediants of our caldron.
      ALL.  Double, double toil and trouble;
   Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
      2 WITCH.  Cool it with a baboon's blood,
   Then the charm is firm and good.

[jsimo7]

9 any regular repititive movement in the tub will set up a hamonic wave action resulting in a tsunami.  these effects can be curtailed by using the plug and pause method rather than plug and play.  
 
10. Hot Springs probably has a tsunami by-pass valve option specifically to address this issue because it seems as if they have thought of everything.

I would like more info on this, Please explain
 

[Tatooed_Lady]

window? Heck....haul out the garage door opener, open that sucker up..... Have the neighbors drive by and smash your mailbox, if you're tubbin' nude, so be careful!
I'd imagine a garage COULD successfully be transformed into a partial tub room...I think it'd take a bunch of work and planning, though....and question: what happens if/when you decide to sell?
My husband asked me if the tub adds value to the house...so I asked HIM a question....
"If you had the choice of two otherwise identical homes in the same neighborhood, the price being slightly raised on the one with a nice hot tub in the back yard, which one would you be more interested in?" He saw my point....now if the tub were in the basement, I'd still be cranked up, but it would concern me because of the humidity....in the garage, I'd wonder WHY the previous owner put it there....and would base my final thoughts dependant on the way it was installed and separated from the rest of the garage "stuff".
Whatever you choose, best of luck!
And if you DO put it in the garage, take pictures and post them, please....it'll be informative all the way around, and you may get some AWESOME ideas from some of the forum members!

[squale]

I have seen setups in the garage, very nice actually, you build a little room, maybe use white lattice for the walls so the humidity can escape from the hot tub room, then you put in a tv hanging from one wall, a little stereo with speakers moutned above the hot tub on the wall, you can hang some christmas lights above the tub or whatever to make a cool looking effect, you put some rubber floor mats down on the concrete garage floor surrounding the hot tub, maybe a red light bulb hanging overhead the hottub with a dimmer, yes you certainly can make it very very nice.  In fact for all the hot tub setups I have seen, the ones done up inside a home built in a moderatly small sized room were by far the nicest setups I have seen.  In my opinion way nicer than outside, although you don't get to see the stars,,, but hey for those, just get some of those reflective star stickers and put them on the ceiling above the hot tub, done!

as for wind, put a little fan in the room, lol

[squale]

I have seen setups in the garage, very nice actually, you build a little room, maybe use white lattice for the walls so the humidity can escape from the hot tub room, then you put in a tv hanging from one wall, a little stereo with speakers moutned above the hot tub on the wall, you can hang some christmas lights above the tub or whatever to make a cool looking effect, you put some rubber floor mats down on the concrete garage floor surrounding the hot tub, maybe a red light bulb hanging overhead the hottub with a dimmer, yes you certainly can make it very very nice.  In fact for all the hot tub setups I have seen, the ones done up inside a home built in a moderatly small sized room were by far the nicest setups I have seen.  In my opinion way nicer than outside, although you don't get to see the stars,,, but hey for those, just get some of those reflective star stickers and put them on the ceiling above the hot tub, done!

as for wind, put a little fan in the room, lol

[Chas]

9 any regular repititive movement in the tub will set up a hamonic wave action resulting in a tsunami.  these effects can be curtailed by using the plug and pause method rather than plug and play.  
 
10. Hot Springs probably has a tsunami by-pass valve option specifically to address this issue because it seems as if they have thought of everything.

It's an option.

BUT, this IS yet another great reason to have no bypass filtration.

[drewstar]

I park my cars in the garage.


I'd fully and seriously look into upgrading the deck. before making a desicion. If it just needs to be re-enforced, then it could be a lot cheaper than you think. Privacy can be adresses with some very inexpsesive lattice screens.   As  Snobird said, and 8 x 8 garage room with a hot tub doens't sound like a nice experience.

[drewstar]

7. if you are limited on purchase price, you will also be limited on repair costs.  buying a 'cheap' new tub could be more expensive down the road as well as being a PIA.  it might be better to buy a 'well made' used tub from a good dealer.  you want this tub to be a positive when you sell, not a negative.

Otherwise known as "being to poor to buy cheap".

And I count myself among those.  

[squale]

well the deck I have is off of my second level, I would say the deck is about 12' x 10' or so.  There are a couple issues with it that I see.

1.) There are no stairs that go up to the deck, the only way onto the deck is by going out the sliding door off my living room.  This would mean I would need to hire a crain to lift a hottub onto my deck (very expensive and I'm not even sure a crane can get to the location where my deck is).

2.) The deck only has 2 vertical supports.  The deck is connected to the house and then it is only two 4"x4" pieces of wood supporting the two far corners of the deck.  I would say the deck is about 8-10' off the groud.  In fact the two wooden supports don't even have concrete footings.  Instead, they are resting on a sheet of slate rock which is about 2-3 foot underground.  In my opinion the deck doesn't seem very strong to hold a hottub, when I get on the deck, I can hold onto the railing and sway my body back and forth and make the deck sort of move with me, not a great feeling!  Now put the thought of a 10K lb hottub filled with people on this deck and THAT SCARES ME!!!!

[jim97219]

I think Drewstar's idea would be worth a little bit more investigation.  Here's a link http://www.handymanwire.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB1to a handyman (sorry, ladies, but that's its name) forum. There's a structural engineer, Clint Robbins, that answers posts regularly. I'd suggest getting all your data together and seeing what they say.  I'm sure they'll at least be able to tell you if it's doable or not.  Of course, you should check with your local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction), meaning the permit people in your area.

This link http://www.handymanwire.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=520758&an=0&page=0#Post520758 has nothing to do with your situation but it's a good reference to what you might expect for an answer.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Jim

P.S. your estimate of 10,000# for the weight of your tub is a bit high.  400 gallons x 8.5# per gallon is 3,400#.  Add roughly 700# for the tub itself and another 700# for people (4@175#each) and you're at almost 5,000#.

[Tubaholic]

Squale:
Living in a cold climate like you do we love having our tub indoors. But I  dont think the garage is the place for it. As stated earlier in the post your 8X8 room is way to small and being all closed in is just not the right setting in my opinion. Also the moisture will cause you problems down the road if not properly ventilated. My room is 20X20 and I have the tub in a corner but left 2 feet minimum around it for access. I posted my pictures a couple weeks ago but if you missed it here is the link.
http://photobucket.com/albums/e195/Tubaholic/Hot%20Tub%20Room/

Good luck

[ndabunka]

I have seen setups in the garage, very nice actually, you build a little room, maybe use white lattice for the walls so the humidity can escape from the hot tub room, then you put in a tv hanging from one wall, a little stereo with speakers moutned above the hot tub on the wall, you can hang some christmas lights above the tub or whatever to make a cool looking effect, you put some rubber floor mats down on the concrete garage floor surrounding the hot tub, maybe a red light bulb hanging overhead the hottub with a dimmer, yes you certainly can make it very very nice.  In fact for all the hot tub setups I have seen, the ones done up inside a home built in a moderatly small sized room were by far the nicest setups I have seen.  In my opinion way nicer than outside, although you don't get to see the stars,,, but hey for those, just get some of those reflective star stickers and put them on the ceiling above the hot tub, done!

as for wind, put a little fan in the room, lol

Hmmm, Christmas lights strung above the tub and the term "nice" in the same paragraph?   You wouldn't own a Mobile home and be from the south now you ye?  Just joking with you but honestly, people with christmas tree lights up (anywhere) well asfter Christmas is NOT a good sign.