Hi, we are building a gunite pool and raised spa. The spa has a 7.5' wide spillover into the pool. The waterline, spillover ledge, and the vertical face of the spa below the spillover will all be tiled with the same tile; a 2"x2" porcelain NPT tile. Will this work? Is the spillover too wide? Should the spillover ledge be level, with a slope towards the pool, or a slope towards the spa? Are there too many grout lines with a 2x2 tile for this be more than a trickle? And will the grout and tiles fail? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Need advice/thoughts on spa spillover design
- Thread starter ChapelHillPool
- Start date
The spillway is wide and will take more gpm to get a good spill from the face, leveling is going to be of upmost importance. Tile size will work and it is going to have a lot of grout lines so the line up with the spa face tiles is important also. Spillways that are open and tiled can be dangerous for people who walk across them when wet, just something to think about. Failure of the tiles and grout depends on quality of installation.
The photo is of a spillway that’s cut towards the spa, reason for this is two fold, it keeps the tile submerged when the pump is off and that helps keep the calcium build up to a minimum on the horizontal tiles. Second, it builds pressure on the spillway water when back cut towards the spa because the spa water is going from deeper to shallower with the same amount of water, so in turn it throws the water farther from the face of the spa. So to answer your question, yes it will work if you hire the correct tile installer.
The photo is of a spillway that’s cut towards the spa, reason for this is two fold, it keeps the tile submerged when the pump is off and that helps keep the calcium build up to a minimum on the horizontal tiles. Second, it builds pressure on the spillway water when back cut towards the spa because the spa water is going from deeper to shallower with the same amount of water, so in turn it throws the water farther from the face of the spa. So to answer your question, yes it will work if you hire the correct tile installer.
Attachments
Thank you, this is very useful. What magnitude of slope towards the spa do you recommend for the spillover ledge? Not sure of the exact depth of our ledge, but I think it's between 12 and 14" deep.
To add to my query, I am seeing a lot of advice in this forum, indicating the particular importance of sealing both sides of perimeter overflow spa walls. Will that be necessary in the case of our overspill wall too? The spa side of the wall with be plastered and the pool side will be tiled as mentioned above.