Spa or no spa? If yes, raised or flush?

[chiefwej]

Let me say first that I have a pool with a spa. The spa is at the same level as the pool. As said a raised spa will increase aeration which contributes to rising pH (already an issue in a SWG pool). A completely separate free standing spa means you have two bodies of water to test and manage.

If at the time I built my pool I had been short on either space or money, the spa would have been the first thing to eliminate. It is used less than my sun shelf, takes up an equal amount of space and cost a whole lot more. To save money I could have just added more sun shelf or to save space just eliminated it altogether.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

We have a stand alone hot tub. We don't use it as much as we could to be honest, but at least its closer to the back door than the pool is. I see pictures of folks pools with the spas at the far side and wonder how comfortable it will be to have to go so far out in the cold when one wants to use it in the winter?

The hot tub set on summer settings (about 85 degrees) makes a great small "kiddie pool" for the grandbabies during summer...its just their size!

 

[SuzfromTexas]

Mamiamjo: There have been soooo many great pros and cons raised regarding a spa. Have ya'll made a decision???

Suz.

 

[appelbe]

The raised spa keeps it cleaner - anything blowing around on the deck like leaves, etc. don't generally make it into the spa where if it was pool level, it would blow right in.

Our spa is level with the pool and this is not an issue. Anything that ends up in the spa immediately goes into the pool because the spa acts like a giant skimmer. The spa is always clean.

 

[Bigcarbs]

Similar size being built with no spa. We didn't think we would use it much so decided against it. Saved quite a bit of money and the kid gets more room to play on hot summer days. It can be 100 degrees outside at 10pm here so still nice to follow in cooler water. We will most likely just run a solar heater to warm it up if needed

 

[Dreynolds]

We are having our pool built now. We went with a raised spa. I have back problems and know I will use the spa all the time. I went with a raised spa with spill over. I think it adds a nice waterfall feature. We started with a budget, but than decided than if we where going to put a pool in we didn't want to have the wish we would haves. So we have gone over the budget a little. Really you should get a must have list. And a wish list. Than you can decided want works best for you. Good luck with your build!

 

[Mamiamjo]

Mamiamjo: There have been soooo many great pros and cons raised regarding a spa. Have ya'll made a decision???

Suz.

Thanks for asking, We haven't made a definitive decision yet. We both (but especially my wife) want a spa, but I would go without and maybe add a stand alone hot tub later if it saved enough money.
I'm still looking to get some additional bids as well as the ones we've received so far are as high as some pools that I've seen that are twice the size. I do know there are some fixed costs that don't change much based on size but anyway.
Hopefully we can find a design and cost that we like before too long,

 

[buccaneersdj]

We are having a IG pool built now and have opted out of the spa option for one main reason. We live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and it is hot, hot, hot! I bought a pool to be able to stand being outside during the summer (which last about 8 months here)! If I want to sit in a HOT tub, I probably would buy a stand alone that has comfortable seating and 80 jets! So it's not always a money decision it's just a personal choice...good luck, I know it's a commitment.

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...and a really nice stand alone will probably cost the same as adding it to the pool, I just think for therapeutic reasons a stand alone is nicer, comfortable and a ton of jets. So depending on why you want a spa, if it's just to soak up some warm water and relax in the evening with a glass of wine, you might want to add it to the pool, might cost the same.