Question - spa or no spa for new pool build?

[JC707]

Hi folks,

Quick question regarding spa's and either building one when getting a pool installed or not to. My wife and I are going back and forth on this one and can't decide. We feel like we may not use it much. We have a 8/7/4 year olds and will love the pool and the spa addition was more for us, but we are unsure how much we will use it to justify the $10k+ additional costs. We live in the Bay Area California so decent weather year round.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[JC707]

I should add, I'm almost 40 and unfortunately my back and knee's aren't what they were in my early 20's. I was thinking a few times a week in a hot spa in the evenings would do my body good but not sure if that is medically true? Hence I turn to the experts here on TFP. =)

Thanks folks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

JC,

Have you ever been in a gunite spa??? If not, you owe it to yourself to try one before you buy one.. Integrated spas are the most oversold and underused items in all pool builds.

About 50% of the spa owners love them to death. The other 50% either never use them, or only use them once or twice a year.

The problem is knowing which group you are in.

If you are building a pool to impress your neighbors than you need to have a spa.. Most of them are visually stunning. If you are building a pool to use, then you need to decide if you will really use a spa or not.

If you have any doubts about using the spa, then I would vote no on adding one. On the other hand, if you have been in a gunite spa, and liked it, then I'd vote yes to adding one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JC707]

JC,

Have you ever been in a gunite spa??? If not, you owe it to yourself to try one before you buy one.. Integrated spas are the most oversold and underused items in all pool builds.

About 50% of the spa owners love them to death. The other 50% either never use them, or only use them once or twice a year.

The problem is knowing which group you are in.

If you are building a pool to impress your neighbors than you need to have a spa.. Most of them are visually stunning. If you are building a pool to use, then you need to decide if you will really use a spa or not.

If you have any doubts about using the spa, then I would vote no on adding one. On the other hand, if you have been in a gunite spa, and liked it, then I'd vote yes to adding one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

You know what, now that I think of it I am not sure I ever been in a gunite spa. My neighbor's up the street have one and back in the summer I went to a pool party of their's and am now kicking myself for not going in. Maybe I can ask them if I can try it out. lol

Thank you for the advice, we are definitely building this pool for us to use and enjoy, especially the little ones. We do keep coming back to IF we will use it much, if at all. Well we will continue to think if over, summer 2022 is when we might be breaking ground. Thanks for the input!

 

[TampaKathy]

Have you actually gotten quotes yet? I would be surprised if it was even close to only $10k extra...I am thinking more like $15k - $20k. That might help the decision, lol. We did not put a spa on but left space for a stand alone hot tub which we haven't gotten yet but should be under $10k even for a good one. Get quotes with and without... you may find you want to allocate your budget to upgrades and can ditch the spa if it comes to that.

 

[JC707]

Have you actually gotten quotes yet? I would be surprised if it was even close to only $10k extra...I am thinking more like $15k - $20k. That might help the decision, lol. We did not put a spa on but left space for a stand alone hot tub which we haven't gotten yet but should be under $10k even for a good one. Get quotes with and without... you may find you want to allocate your budget to upgrades and can ditch the spa if it comes to that.

It's been awhile since our last quote, we had a pool without spa in place to be built this year but some plans changed and we may be moving to a new home so we put the pool plans on the back burner temporarily. You are absolutely right, if it is close to $15-20k well then our decision is made lol. I'm going to reach back out to our pool builder and ask what a spa runs at the moment. Thanks!

 

[BritDan]

We added a spa and my son and I were in it last week. Maybe 50 degrees outside on a clear night but a toasty 101 in the spa and a great little chat with my 9 year old. It’s obviously much more cost effective just to heat that than the entire pool. No one overlooks our back garden so we have great privacy, and it’s just great sitting out there with the steam rising off the water. I’m very glad we included one in our build.

 

[hosseisemi]

I am of the 50% that use mine at least 3 nights per week. I built a pool at a second home this summer and it was my primary requirement. If you plan to heat a stand alone pool then your cost delta isn't as drastic. I would say, however, that bigger isn't better as far a a spa goes - bigger = more water = longer heat time. I would advocate for a stand alone pump and a second row of jets if you elect to go down the spa path.

 

[Oona]

We are in the same boat, our build starts in February-my husband and I couldn’t decide if we wanted a spa or not and so decided not to. We figured if we weren’t sure if we would even use it then we must not want it enough to justify the price. It is actually 1 of the things we haven’t even given a second thought too. I was at a
party in my younger days and saw someone vomit into the spa and the people in there got covered in it trying to get out-so spas tend to turn my stomach anyway!

 

[Turbo1Ton]

My wife and kids use ours all the time. I don't really care for it much, but mostly because I don't like freezing while drying off before going in the house.

If I thought I would use it for therapy/massage jets and all the such, a stand alone hot tub would be better, and likely much less costly. And you can always add those later.

Mine was about a $10k add. But that was 3rd quarter 2019. I imagine they may have gone up quite a bit in the last 2 years.

--Jeff

 

[PoolBrews]

We have had 3 pools and hot tubs over 35+ years. I found a gunite hot tub to be uncomfortable to sit in for any period of time, and expensive to keep at the temps I like all the time (and I don't want to wait xx minutes for it to heat up when I want to go in).

My new pool was built without a hot tub, and we then added a standalone hot tub. It's more comfortable to sit in, and maintains 100 degrees at minimal cost. I would never be without my hot tub, but highly prefer a standalone one.

 

[Njmurvin]

I owned a home for about 7 years which came with a pool with a gunite spa attached. My biggest complaint with the spa was the time it took to heat up. Sometimes, I'd heat the spa and when it was finally ready, I was no longer in the mood or had gotten involved in something else. When I bought my next home, I swore I'd not have another pool but I would get an above-ground spa that stays hot all the time. So that's what I did - and built it into a large gazebo. Then, the kids and wife started working on me to build a pool and we did. It's a very simple play pool - no heater, just a pump, filter, two skimmers and suction port for my Poolvergnuegen. That was 30 years ago. The spa was replaced about 10 years ago. Total cost for both spas was in the ballpark of $10K. The pool is just now coming up on its first re-plaster/re-tile job (hoping to start that project in the next month or two). I have no regrets for my decision to keep the spa and pool separate. I think it's the best of both worlds.

 

[klanel]

I initially wasn't going to get a spa but I decided I'd rather have one that I may not use than to wish I had one and it be too late. I too thought about how it might feel on my back after working around the house all day. Will find out next spring if it was a good decision.

 

[Joshwl2003]

The question is do you plan to have or want automation and do you want a heater.

If the answer to those questions is yes. Get the spa . Most of the cost goes into those 2 items. The actual spa doesn’t add too much cost above those items.

It also gives you a water feature from doing it to. So think about that.

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

We love our spa, and use it a lot in the cooler months. It's 8x8, so we have lots of people watching a movie or just hanging out.

 

[Katodude]

Another item to consider is running cost. If you have natural gas going to the house then heating the spa is very affordable. Propane is going to be about 3X the cost, and you are going to have add an underground propane tank. You might be able to use a heat pump to heat up the spa but it would take forever, and then you probably would not end up using it.

We are in the 50% that LOVE our attached spa. My wife would live in it if she could. She also calls it the teeny pool. Sometimes she just heats it to about 90 degrees puts her float in it and reads a book while on her float with a tub of popcorn at the side. Much more affordable than heating the entire pool.

What I tell my friends is if you like a hot bath you will like the spa.

 

[Newdude]

The built in spa can also be a GREAT spot to lounge while the kids are swimming and you have to be there anyway. It’s usually far enough away to avoid most of the playful splashing that ensues.

With an unlimited budget I’d want one because they are stunning and a hit at adult get togethers. I’d also want stand alone tub for the full spa experience.

With a limited budget one has to decide which way they’d rather use the spa and go that route.

 

[JC707]

Thank you all for your wonderful replies. Definitely a lot to think about. Will keep this thread updated when the time comes.

 

[darkrider]

Have you ever used a good stand-alone hot tub? It seems like a silly question, but I would venture a guess that most have not. Commercial hot tubs generally suck, and rental units are typically of lower quality. Even the best integrated gunite builds out there are going to be lacking in number, placement and quality of jets, as well as the fact that there's always going to be a lag when you want to use it since they are not constantly heated.

I would strongly advise that you demo some of the better stand-alone tub brands including: Hot Spring (and any of the Watkins brands; Caldera, Limelight, Hot Spot, etc.) and their competitors Jacuzzi , Sundance, and Marquis before making a decision. Any good local dealer will have several tubs filled and will let you make an appointment to test their hot tubs before buying. It won't cost you a thing, and I can pretty much guarantee that if you're serious about having a hot tub, you're going to prefer a stand-alone to an integrated tub. At the very least, you'll figure out whether a hot tub is right for you and your family. This is coming from someone who uses their tub pretty much daily, and sometimes even multiple times a day!

 

[6XSBChamps]

Love my attached spa. For me its a way to extend the pool use through the winter. I'm in it 2-3 nights a week. The 11 year old joins. I would caution that gunite spa's are not good for muscle therapy. They are more just a tub of hot water that feel amazing but the jets aren't going to do much medically. The Mrs will not join me in the winter because she hates getting out into cold air.
they do add a lot visually as well.