The wife and I are kicking around the idea of a hot tub. I'm not sure if this is along the lines of buying a boat. We would be starting from a patch of grass in the backyard.

We would either do a concrete pad or possibly a gravel base and build a ground level deck around the hot tub. I would have to contract out the concrete but would most likely build the deck myself. Electrical would also be contracted out. I was also thinking of some type of pergola cover where I could add a drop down shades for privacy from neighbors.

Ideally I would like to seat 4-5 people comfortably.

Pricing is all over the place and I guess its all in what you want. Is there a difference in the 5k tub from Costco vs the 10k tub from a pool and spa place?

Ideally I would want to be 10k into this whole project.

I go back and forth about how much we would actually use the hot tub. I cant see myself hopping in the tub during summer months.

Had three, still have one. You will use the hell out of it for about a month or two then it will sit sucking up electricity for heat and pump. If you must get one, get one with a salt system. Why did I have three. Three different houses. Just had to have one. Didn't learn our lesson. We got a really high end one. It sits in the yard under the gazebo collecting dust on the cover.

I bought a Hot Springs Grandee in 2012. We are still using it today, mostly me though. I paid just under 10k then, and the last time I checked a similar Hot Springs tub goes for close to 20k today. I planned for mine by having a 220v breaker installed and pouring a concrete slab that encased the conduit line. Assuming you have those things covered you should also consider the energy cost, chemical cost, and maintenance. The hardest part I think for most people is doing the chemicals. I know I have posted in numerous other threads in this forum as well about my experiences. You will get many negative stories about ownership, but I really enjoy mine. Popular quality brands around here are Hot Springs and Caldera.

YMMV

Here's a few other threads I posted in:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...440050015#8440050015

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...380082805#3380082805

Those damn commercials 24/7 Hot Tubs, Hot Tubs, Hot Tubs. Makes me wonder.

Tell all your friends its "Out Of Order"

Explore the idea of a sauna (infrared is fine) instead.

We had a redwood hotub in the 80s. Good times but a pain to maintain. In 2024, if you're looking for something with similar health benefits you might look at a sauna setup. Probably easier to maintain.

We had a Hot Spring Grandee at the last house, and used it nearly daily for 3 years. We really liked the deeper footwell area compared to smaller tubs. My favorite time was after dark looking up at the stars, but any time was good.

Using the tub is a bit of a routine. For us it was a soak before dinner in the winter, usually with an adult beverage. When the grandkids visit it was an afternoon playtime.

The salt system is excellent. But be sure to fill with soft water, or you'll constantly struggle with the chemistry and sudden cloudy water. There are inexpensive portable water softeners which attach to your hose if you have hard water at your spigot.

The energy cost was minimal. The metal cartridges for the salt system were spendy, about $200 every 3 or 4 months iirc.

Go bigger than you think you need unless you're very good friends with the others in the tub with you.

The daily shower is part of good hygiene and good citizenship, but I can't imagine spending more time than necessary on such activities.

Bought a used Soft Tub from a friend in the 90's and it was great for what it was. Chemicals and electricity were a monthly cost. And since I was the only one who used it the time required to keep it clean and safe became another consideration for me.

Ultimately I came to the conclusion that owning a hot tub is similar to owning a boat: It's as much of a lifestyle as it is a simple purchase. Like the boats I owned, I finally decided the juice was no longer worth the squeeze and I sold it to another friend after about 2 years. Later he came to the same conclusions I did and sold it.

Hot tubs are great, but you need to budget dollars and time for the required upkeep.

I've never had a hot tub, but I know at least six people that bought them.
None of them kept them more than a few years.

quote:

I'm not sure if this is along the lines of buying a boat.

As somebody who has/had both, it's exactly along the same lines.

If you want a hot tub, and will use it, it is worth the money and the trouble. If you won’t use it don’t bother. A hot tub is a luxury not a need. The opinion of other folks has no bearing on if it is a good idea for you.

If it's for social use, no opinion (personally I wouldn't get one as I'm averse to the maintenance vs the use I would get from it).

But I'm very much in favor of a personal use, indoor Japanese style bathtub. Deep soaking and length sized to fit you. I don't need jets. They even make ones that will keep the water warm like a hot tub but I prefer the use and drain. BTW, usually one showers and cleans/scrubs well before getting into the bathtub to soak. The bathtub is for soaking, not cleaning.

It can use a lot of water (50+ gallons) though. But for me, it's therapeutic and just occasional use (not daily). 4-5 times per month?

I would love to have a $10k budget to remodel for a Japanese style bathtub....

Had a boat, don't now.
Had a swimming pool, don't now.
Had a hot tub, don't now.

All seemed like a good idea at time, and all became under-used cash cows. Ask yourself, "What am I going to stop doing to dedicate the time to maintain and use the hot tub?" and "What am I going to stop buying to pay for the maintenance and electricity cost of the hot tub?" Maybe, for you, financial cost is not an issue. Time, however, is a limited resource. If you can honestly overcome these issues, then go for it and have fun!

I think that I'd get a heck of a lot more use out of that outdoor sauna that SigSentry posted than I ever would out of a hot tub.

I've entertained getting one (hot tub) for years, but I'm afraid the novelty would wear off rather quickly and I'd be stuck with a very expensive lawn ornament. I have a deep jetted bathtub that I like to soak in maybe once a month. That'll do.

The sauna, on the other hand, I could see myself using that daily. Maybe I'll build one. I can sell my boat to pay for it.

A friend of mine of mine had one that overwhelmed him with costs and maintenance. When the pump finally went tits up, he decided to get rid of it.
Tried to sell it. No takers.
Tried to get someone to haul it away. No takers.
Finally ended up using a Sawzall to cut it into pieces and hauled it to the dump. Day long PITA.
So consider not only what it takes to get and use a hot tub, but what it will take to get rid of a hot tub!

We have one here and one in MI. They get used everyday we are at each home. We also use our pool and our boats. A hot tub is much easier to use and take care of than a boat especially if your boat is on a trailer or you use it on saltwater.

Ignoring Rolexes and certain automobiles, every luxury purchase is the same decision: if you aren’t going to use it or you’re going to bitch and moan about the cost in dollars and time to use it, then don’t buy it. Figure $75 a month for electricity, chemicals, water, and an annual filter.

Are you going to use it? If you are on the go all the time and don’t spend a lot of time at home, then you probably won’t use it and probably won’t maintain it.

How hard is it to use a hot tub? You take the cover off, press a button, and sit in the water. When you decide to get out, you put a couple tablespoons of some stuff in, press a button again, and put the cover on.

How hard is it to maintain? If you put the stuff in every time you use it, then you’ll put some tablets in a floater twice a week, rinse the filter once a month, replace the water every few months, and replace the filter once a year. You’ll use some test strips a few times a week when you put the tablets in and may have to add some other stuff if your bromine or pH is out of whack. It’s about 10 minutes, twice a week. Once in awhile, you might want to get the wet/dry vac out and suck the sand off the bottom. I actually just use the hose and tubes from the wet/dry vac to siphon the sand off the bottom.

How hard is it to get it started in the first place or after draining and refilling? I’ll use the MI hot tub as an example since we winterize it. I take the winter cover off, take the normal insulated cover off, and fill the tub. I run the pump for a bit to get the pink anti-freeze out of the pump and pipes, siphon the water out, then suck the remaining water out of each jet, and the bottom with the wet/dry vac. Then, I fill it with water again, test the water, press a button, add some stuff, wait 30 minutes, test again, add more stuff. Repeat the waiting, testing, and button pressing until I don’t have to add more stuff. This takes me a day because I’m doing other things to open the property up for the summer at the same time. Figure a couple hours for most people. Winterizing is drain, suck the water out of the jets and pump, pour pink stuff in the pump, and cover.

The hardest part and what trips people up is not understanding the chemicals and skipping the twice a week maintenance or adding stuff after use. That’s like anything else, if you don’t do the easy stuff or take care or a problem at the beginning, it costs a lot more time and money to fix it later.

Testing is going to be a problem if you’re are color blind.

If TL;DR - then don’t get a hot tub.

A) Haven’t used a hot tub socially since college.

No real desire to do so. Never heard of that as a social thing.

Pools can be a nice part of landscaping/kids like playing in them etc.

B) A sauna can be nice. (Note: I have family from Eastern Europe. Saunas are pretty normal to me, but I used them, regularly, while competing, as well.)

C ) Large soaking tubs are great. I think they would be the. OST useful.

As an 18 year old pool and hot tub/spa owner, I love the hot tub. You can have the got damn pool. The pool is a huge waste of money due to my geographic location. It’s so hot and humid here, the pool water is piss warm from June through September. Not even worth it. It’s cost so much money in equipment and remodeling over the years I can say with a certainty I’ll never own another. I bought my rural land for my next move 3000 ft from an extremely clean rocky bottom lake.

The hot tub on the other hand, I use a lot. It’s excellent. Nice medicinal benefits and very handy for me training as an athlete so I use it for recovery when muscles are completely fatigued. I could make a medicinal case for having one. The costs for maintenance or repair, pale, and that’s putting it mildly, compared to owning a pool. Above ground fiberglass hot tubs are very easy to maintain but it’s like mowing your lawn, you’re going to have to do it every week. You can’t just blow it off. I remember a friend (RIP) who had one and was bitching to me one night about having to repair some things on it. Cost to repair $200. I laughed at him. When just a piece of my pool equipment needs to be replaced, unless it’s the Polaris motor, it starts at $1,000.

I would look on the used market and buy used. So many people buy them, use them for a season, a year, then just let it go. They are regularly for sale on the used market. You’ll save yourself thousands of dollars compared to buying new. Yeah you may have to fix something on it but again you’ll save yourself thousands compared to new.

That old boat wives tale, is bullshit too. What kind of bought? How large? You know why people always whine about boats? Because you actually have to maintain it and they are lazy asses. Boats really aren’t that much maintenance. I have a waverunner and it’s a nothing burger to maintain it but yes you actually have to lift a finger. I will always bitch about my pool because all the equipment combined is probably around $10k. And when something goes out, to replace it, it’s usually 4 figures. Remodeling mine as it required new tile, all new plaster, coping installed, respray/repaint the deck was $20k. And that was before Covid. I hate it because the use I get out of it is minimal. I’d rather have a boat

When I bought this house it had a deck and a hot tub in the back yard . It needed some work and I had zero interest in spending any time or money on it . My son's father in law brought a trailer and some help and we loaded it up . Good riddance . The thought of sitting in someone else's butt wash is too much for me .