In ground spa vs partial in ground spa

16 years ago

Husband is desperate for a spa, so the landscape designer added one to the plan for consideration. It's an acrylic version but level with the ground. I called a few spa places and several said they wouldn't touch or recommend an in ground spa: pump problems, leaks, etc... I'm wondering if anyone has a seperate spa and how reliable they are? One company does a partial in ground spa and a build up around it to blend in with the landscape. It is a cheaper option, but I'd really like the beast level with the ground (anything to hide/disguise it is good). The advantage to the partial in ground spa is that all the pumps/plumbing would be easier to reach.

We will not be adding a pool, much to the doggies' dismay, but I'd like to invite them into the spa. Does dog hair do serious damage to a spa? This is an added advantage to the in ground spa as I see it.

Are today's spas mostly maintenance free? I've seen too many dead spas from the 70's-80's to be really excited about spas. DH is certain my injured, aging knees will fall in love immediately.

Thanks for any insight you can provide

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Comments (4)

michelle_phxaz
16 years ago
We LOVED our Coleman Maax 705, we had to leave it behind when we moved to Phoenix.

A stand alone, to me, is much more of a value than an inground. They are much more therapeutic, you can have more jets, and you can bury it partially if you want, having the best of both worlds.

I would not let your dogs in the spa, ever; first, the hair will do a number on your filter and could clog it so badly that it damages the pumps. Second, the water is way too hot for the dogs, it would definitely harm them. They need to be kept cool. Third, their claws could damage a spa, especially an acrylic one. A panicked dog could possibly puncture the shell or claw out a jet. Best put a kid pool in the yard if they like water. You would have too much invested in your dogs and spa (financially and emotionally) to let anything happen to either.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coleman Spas
cascade
16 years ago
Most manufacturers offer their spas without the skirting.You can install either a skirted or unskirted tub in-ground. You can dig a hole and build a box (concrete or cinder block) that the tub will sit in with one side 3' wider for access to the equipment(if your tub is 6'X6' the inside dimension of the box should be 6' X 9'). Build the box so the top of the walls are just below finished grade, depending on your finishing materials. The elevation of the floor should allow the tub to sit on the floor with the lip slightly above the finished height of the walls (not hanging from the walls). Set the tub in place and landscape up to it. Build a removable wooden "deck" over the equipment area.
Don't forget to bring power/water to the equipment area. This will only work provided drainage from the bottom of the box is not an issue.I have left the bottom of these boxes gravel.
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I think above ground looks better and is more dramatic. I have a planter on one side of mine, they are going to seal the backside. I think you can do it if you seal it properly. But a lot of grass and or dirt may find its way into the spa regularly. Search Plano, Tx to see my pool build, it may help you.
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We have a 35 year old inground concrete spa at the house we just moved into this winter. It had two pumps that were non-functional (one for circulation, one for jets). Having both the pumps replaced was about $700-800 here in Oklahoma. The spa is very small, only about 6x8 foot square, and I think we had 3/4 hp or 1.0 hp pumps put in. I can't recall exactly, maybe the PB said he used 1.0 but he under powered it for 3/4? I didn't really understand all the technicalities of it. There was a new gas heater already installed (not that we need it right now - water temp was 89 degrees yesterday with our daytime air temp about 100) but never used. When we had the pumps installed they tested the heater and all is working. I know there is some kind of leak in our plumbing, since whenever I run the circ pump for any length of time the water level drops several inches. However, we just put the hose in and run the water to keep it topped off as we use it. If we are not running the circ pump for a long time (like when we are in the hot tub for an hour or more), the water level stays fairly constant except for evaporation. We only need to run the circ pump 30 minutes a day to turn over all the water since spa is so small, and don't bother adding water until we want to get in. Our idea was get it up and running, see if we like having it, before we decide weather to fill it in or track down the leak. Our PB said he sees a lot of people turn them into big landscaping planters by filling with soil. I imagine you'd have to somehow drill drain holes if you wanted this. I believe he said performing a leak test would run about $600, which sounded very expensive to me. Right now, I plan to keep the spa and budget for new pipes in the next few years, assuming the leak doesn't get worse, as part of a whole-backyard update to our pool and deck. If we need to remove decking to get at the pipes, that seems to be the time we would want to do it. The spa came in handy yesterday when we came home from vacation and found the pool was green and our A/C was out in the house. 100 degrees outside and that little spa was the saving grace. In fact, I preferred it to the pool because I like my water warm, and our 38K gal pool takes a looong time to get warm enough for me.
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Thanks for his reply. Let me add some clarification, as I'm afraid my initial post was unclear. The old motor had a ground wire running from the case of the motor to a universal grounding bar on the panel (where other components were grounded as well). The new motor has no grounding connection at all. Does that mean none is required? I am not talking about the grounding of the entire spa - that is still intact. I'm talking specifically about the grounding of the small motor that runs the circulation pump. Hope that's clear! And again, thanks in advance.
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dpz1
16 years ago
I've had both styles of spas - portable and inground with traditional pool style heater and filter. I would say that the portable spa is a much more enjoyable and therapudic spa. We just took out the inground spa in our new house, replaced it with a fiberglass pool, and decided to get a new portable spa. An inground spa running off of the pool equipment would have looked nicer (or more artistic at least), but the limitations of the jets and seating options in these types of spas just does not compare with what can be found in the portable style spas.

As far as whether you want to 'submerge' a portable spa, the advice in the prior response seemed spot on. The key is all about drainage, because, if it doesnt drain quickly...the water will end up in your spa electronics and pumps, which are not designed to be under water, and will be damaged or short out.
John Williams
6 years ago
I have been thinking about this for years. Yes, with the flash flooding type of rains Houston gets you would need a sub-pump with an auto trigger to start pumping that rain water out ASAP. That is the ONLY reason I have been thinking against it. The excavation, concrete, foundation and extra electrical would probably add $10K to the cost of the unit. Not bad, but 10K is 10K....

In ground spa vs partial in ground spa

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michelle_phxaz

cascade

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John Williams

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