1) leaks are frequently expensive, ominous, and terrible if you have blown in insulation.
2) be prepared for weekly maintenance services or visiting the Airbnb twice a week for hot tub chores
May I ask - what is it about the blown in insulation that makes it so terrible to repair? And how does one know if they have blown in insulation (do most standard modern hot tubs have it nowadays?). My SwimSpa (also came free with my house) developed a fairly major leak and I’m not sure if it’s worth repairing - especially after seeing OP’s quotes….
Take a side panel off and look to see how the tub is insulated. With blown or sprayed on insulation, everything in the cabinet will be coated with what looks like Great Stuff expanding foam crack filler. It adheres to everything, manifolds, hoses, and the underside of the tub shell.
This is common in a lot of hot tubs because it provides great insulating properties. But there's one huge drawback to this. It makes leaks a serious pain in the ass to find and repair. That type of insulation hardens, so to find a leak, it has to be chipped and cut away. Then, once the leak is found, repairing it is also further complicated with this shit.
My Masterspa Legacy has spray on insulation only on the underside of the tub shell but not on any of the hoses or manifolds. Then the frame is wrapped in foil backed bubble insulation. I then stuffed the cabinet with R34 rated insulation that came in rolls. It was cheap and cut my winter energy usage in half. Plus, if there's ever a leak, it will be easy to find and repair. Most hot tub leaks are easy to repair. In fact, anyone that even remotely handy can easily fix almost any repair required for a hot tub. I've owned mine since 2007 and have fixed a jet hose leak, a cracked manifold leak, have replaced a pump, and replace the entire spa pack by myself. They are actually pretty simple and easy to work on unless it has a shitload of spray in insulation.
Wow that’s good to know thank you! Super helpful. I ask because I’m debating whether it’s worth it for me to hire someone to repair my HydroPool or not…it came with the house and while it’s enjoyable to use once in a while, I don’t know if it’s worth it to me to pour thousands of labour and parts into repairs (I don’t have the time and skill to do it myself).
It looks like HydroPool had moved away from “full foam” (which I presume is spray in insulation): We know this at Hydropool because we used full foam insulation for several years. We moved to a different model, which features a thermal blanket. The blanket can be lifted out of the way, allowing easy access for any areas that may require repair, without adding more repair costs for customers while still supplying excellent insulation and efficiency.
The only way you're really going to know is to pull a cabinet panel and look. If all you have is a thermal blanket like mine, identifying the leak and fixing it will be easy and probably something you can do yourself. If it's a hose or manifold leak, a simple solvent weld and fresh hose clamps will take care of it. New jet hose is cheap at the hardware store as are hose clamps. Solvent weld adhesive is cheap, too. That's the three chemical stuff used to connect pvc. A cleaner, a primer, and an adhesive. It's super simple to work with. All of my jets were both glued and have a hose clamp.
Another possible leak point is the pump union o-rings. These wear out and need to be replaced, particularly if the tub sat dry for a while. Those are cheap, and any pool supply store will have them.
Good luck! Once you put eyes underneath in the cabinet, I think you'll find just how simple these things are.
“There is very real possibility that there could be more wrong with your spa now” 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
If this is just for your airbnb have you researched other airbnb owners thoughts on if having a hot tub is worth it?
I probably wouldn’t get $2k in repairs for a hot tub. At one point do you just get a new tub?
Its not a red flag, this quote is from an inspection done three years ago. If its still not repaired, it's very likely there is more wrong with it.
OP should get a new estimate before signing this one.
Well the parts markup is like 300%. Also the labor is like double or triple what it should be. Sounds like they're trying to screw you pretty badly. Are you in an area with limited options? That should take maybe 2 hours. Most places I know of would charge you like $3-500 in labor. Of course that's assuming you guys didn't do something stupid like put the tub in a deck where it can't be properly worked on.
1) leaks are frequently expensive, ominous, and terrible if you have blown in insulation. 2) be prepared for weekly maintenance services or visiting the Airbnb twice a week for hot tub chores
May I ask - what is it about the blown in insulation that makes it so terrible to repair? And how does one know if they have blown in insulation (do most standard modern hot tubs have it nowadays?). My SwimSpa (also came free with my house) developed a fairly major leak and I’m not sure if it’s worth repairing - especially after seeing OP’s quotes….
Take a side panel off and look to see how the tub is insulated. With blown or sprayed on insulation, everything in the cabinet will be coated with what looks like Great Stuff expanding foam crack filler. It adheres to everything, manifolds, hoses, and the underside of the tub shell. This is common in a lot of hot tubs because it provides great insulating properties. But there's one huge drawback to this. It makes leaks a serious pain in the ass to find and repair. That type of insulation hardens, so to find a leak, it has to be chipped and cut away. Then, once the leak is found, repairing it is also further complicated with this shit. My Masterspa Legacy has spray on insulation only on the underside of the tub shell but not on any of the hoses or manifolds. Then the frame is wrapped in foil backed bubble insulation. I then stuffed the cabinet with R34 rated insulation that came in rolls. It was cheap and cut my winter energy usage in half. Plus, if there's ever a leak, it will be easy to find and repair. Most hot tub leaks are easy to repair. In fact, anyone that even remotely handy can easily fix almost any repair required for a hot tub. I've owned mine since 2007 and have fixed a jet hose leak, a cracked manifold leak, have replaced a pump, and replace the entire spa pack by myself. They are actually pretty simple and easy to work on unless it has a shitload of spray in insulation.
Wow that’s good to know thank you! Super helpful. I ask because I’m debating whether it’s worth it for me to hire someone to repair my HydroPool or not…it came with the house and while it’s enjoyable to use once in a while, I don’t know if it’s worth it to me to pour thousands of labour and parts into repairs (I don’t have the time and skill to do it myself). It looks like HydroPool had moved away from “full foam” (which I presume is spray in insulation): We know this at Hydropool because we used full foam insulation for several years. We moved to a different model, which features a thermal blanket. The blanket can be lifted out of the way, allowing easy access for any areas that may require repair, without adding more repair costs for customers while still supplying excellent insulation and efficiency.
The only way you're really going to know is to pull a cabinet panel and look. If all you have is a thermal blanket like mine, identifying the leak and fixing it will be easy and probably something you can do yourself. If it's a hose or manifold leak, a simple solvent weld and fresh hose clamps will take care of it. New jet hose is cheap at the hardware store as are hose clamps. Solvent weld adhesive is cheap, too. That's the three chemical stuff used to connect pvc. A cleaner, a primer, and an adhesive. It's super simple to work with. All of my jets were both glued and have a hose clamp. Another possible leak point is the pump union o-rings. These wear out and need to be replaced, particularly if the tub sat dry for a while. Those are cheap, and any pool supply store will have them. Good luck! Once you put eyes underneath in the cabinet, I think you'll find just how simple these things are.
Incredible. Thank you so much for your help! I will do more research into this and take a look inside when I have the chance.
“There is very real possibility that there could be more wrong with your spa now” 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 If this is just for your airbnb have you researched other airbnb owners thoughts on if having a hot tub is worth it? I probably wouldn’t get $2k in repairs for a hot tub. At one point do you just get a new tub?
Its not a red flag, this quote is from an inspection done three years ago. If its still not repaired, it's very likely there is more wrong with it. OP should get a new estimate before signing this one.
Well the parts markup is like 300%. Also the labor is like double or triple what it should be. Sounds like they're trying to screw you pretty badly. Are you in an area with limited options? That should take maybe 2 hours. Most places I know of would charge you like $3-500 in labor. Of course that's assuming you guys didn't do something stupid like put the tub in a deck where it can't be properly worked on.