In my last post I mentioned that we planned to add a hot tub to the back of the house near the slider in our Master Bedroom.  We originally thought we’d purchase a smaller close-out model as our ‘joint’ Christmas present to ourselves, but while browsing Craigslist recently I noticed that they tend to pop up for FREE with only minor issues.  Apparently many people get them or inherit them when they move in and don’t want to maintain them, so they want someone to haul it off to make room for other things.  Works for us!

We’d called about one advertised as ‘working but has a crack due to water being left in it over the winter and freezing’.  Apparently so did a lot of other people and we were too far down the list to end up taking it home.  It must have been fate because the other night I spotted another post for a free hot tub that said it ran, had a new pump and heater, but had a small leak.  I emailed the contact and asked to come take a look the next afternoon.  Luckily, I was the first to do so because the gal said we had first dibs before she responded to other emails.

The hubs went to look at it after work Monday night and made arrangements to come back when the lady’s boyfriend was off work since he owned a nearby equipment rental business and could load the massive 8 PERSON tub on our 4-wheeler trailer with a forklift!  So, later that afternoon the hubby went back to their house with our trailer in tow and came home with this.

It’s in desperate need of a good scrubbing, but upon inspection of the inner workings it seems to be in great shape albeit home to many creepy crawlers – who didn’t seem to faze my hubby from inspecting every nook and cranny.

From what my jet engine mechanic husband can tell, it just needs a fitting on this pipe (photo on the left) next to the power box replaced so it looks like its match on the other side (photo on the right), and a new plug.

Hubs estimates the fitting to be under $15 and thinks the plug should run less than $50!  There is a hot tub store nearby so we plan to take it by there to confirm the parts needed and order them.

The standard cover was included, although it too needs a good pressure wash.  The new heater is still in the box, so we’ll keep it as a spare if everything works fine when we fire it up.  It also came with a box full of chemicals to maintain the PH and whatnot.  I haven’t checked for expiration dates on any of it but I’m sure there’s enough in there to get us started and figure out what we’d need to have on hand.

I’m sure this will be one of the first items ‘set up’ upon move in, and plan for it to be in use when we do finally have a house warming party!  We plan to build a deck off our bedroom to match the builder provided deck off the dining room and have a lower area between them covered with pavers or gravel for additional seating.  The hot tub will sit on a paver or concrete pad just to the right of the deck off the bedroom so it’s an easy step down into it rather than having to climb in and out of it on the deck.  That plan also eliminates the need for extra support beams and braces when we build the deck, saving money yet again.

Now I’m on the hunt for ideas on how to update the worn exterior paneling on the tub, which I’m thinking can be lightly sanded and restained or painted.  I’m sure Pinterest will have a host of ideas for that rather large project!   But the elbow grease will be well worth it in the end! And the hubs and I will be singing Phil Vassar’s “Hot Tub” song while enjoying the fruits of our labor! 🙂