Car vs. hot tub.

[Grape Ape]

I almost had a car in my hot tub while I was on vacation, but a fence and tree valiantly gave up their lives to stop the car.

The tree guy was just out and pronounced the tree a “total loss” although it is still standing for now. The tree guy also pointed out the tree’s root ball must be up against the gunite shell of the hot tub and pointed out a couple of new, cracks in the exposed aggregate coping of the hot tub, particularly where it meets the retaining wall next to it (left side of the pic).

So I looked a little closer and discovered that that side of the hot tub is about 1 inch lower than the other. I measured by lowering the water level to the bottom of the decorative tile that used to be level with the water (or at least a lot closer to level).

My question is, should I expect this to get worse over time? It is holding water now, but 1 inch over 7 feet, is a pretty small angle and PVC has a little give. The tree is coming down next week and they’ll grind the stump down for what it’s worth.

My second question is: I know I can have a pool builder come out and estimate the cost of replacing the tub, but is there someone who can opine on the hot tub’s future?

BTW: I haven’t looked under the fence debris so I don’t know what the rest of the little wall looks like.



And here is a pic I received while I was vacationing since everyone loves pool pics.

 

[sehrmude]

Wow! There's obviously some damage there.. I wouldn't wait for the pool to see if it gets worse. The insurance should cover proper inspection and repairs.

 

[d_red1]

Expected this to be about the benefits of buying a hot tub vs buying a sports car!
Definitely get a couple of quotes for the repair and hopefully somebodyelses insurance will cover it.
This wasn't a family members car was it?

 

[Grape Ape]

The driver was the neighbor across the alley.

His insurer is happy to pay, or they were when it was just the fence, the landscape light and maybe the tree.

 

[zea3]

I would report the spa damage to the insurance. Since the car caused the damage to the tree, and it looks like the force of impact carried through to the hot tub, you shouldn't have any problem making a claim. Once the tree is gone and the stump is ground down, the root system will continue to rot. I had two pine trees removed over 10 years ago. I now have a network of ankle-snapping holes that are covered with a thin layer of soil where the roots have rotted away. If the root ball is next to the spa the void it creates could cause trouble in the future. I'd have a pool repair expert take a look and see what they say.