To Spa or not to Spa - that is the question

[whixkid41]

Hello All,


I've read older posts regarding spill over spas - just curious if those that have done it could chime in and offer some pro's and cons. Also, I am getting estimates for 9k on top of the ~25k for the pool, Does this seem right? Seems awfully high - Almost 1/3 the cost of the entire pool + equipment!

I really like the idea of 1 body of water to maintain and I would likely skip a water feature as the Spill-over effect would suffice. I live in the Northeast and have no desire to Hot-tub it in the winter. Although the idea of using the SPA into October sounds nice....

Any advice I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks

 

[Gorilla]

I'd say that price is in line with what I was quoted to add a spa to my in-ground pool. I decided to pass because of the cost and the difficulty it would have been to run the gas line to heat the spa. The PB would have had to trench all the way around my house and I've got solid rock under the sod so it wasn't worth the price to me. I wanted a pool to cool off in the summer, if I decide to get a spa later I have a big enough patio to install a free standing unit.

 

[2girls4us]

We are in Florida. It’s too cold to swim in the winter without heating the pool, which can take nearly a full day depending on how cold the water is (we did it, just not terribly often). But, we were in the spa several times each month through the entire winter.

We have said many, many times that adding the spa was one of the best decisions we made regarding our build. I think it’s only topped by having our entire outdoor entertaining space screened in.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

An integrated spa is a water feature that can occasionally be used as a spa when the pool is open.

The cost is driven up by the extra gunite and plaster work, lots of plumbing, most likely automation to operate it, a heater, etc.

You do need to consider it must be manually cleaned. The robot you will use (I hope) will not climb into the spa.

Decisions decisions ............

 

[2girls4us]

Welcome to the forum!

An integrated spa is a water feature that can occasionally be used as a spa when the pool is open.

The cost is driven up by the extra gunite and plaster work, lots of plumbing, most likely automation to operate it, a heater, etc.

You do need to consider it must be manually cleaned. The robot you will use (I hope) will not climb into the spa.

Decisions decisions ............

Is there a reason you shouldn’t put a robot in a spa?

 

[mknauss]

Most spas are not all that big. The poor thing would be bouncing off the walls! I tried it with mine. It was fun to watch, but it did not accomplish much.

 

[2girls4us]

Most spas are not all that big. The poor thing would be bouncing off the walls! I tried it with mine. It was fun to watch, but it did not accomplish much.

Mine is only 6x8, but my dolphin does a great job on it. Across the bottom, up the sides, across the seats. The first time I watched it for a good 30 minutes and it had covered most of the spa, but I usually leave it in for the full cycle. Our spa is a rectangle rather than a circle or oval...maybe that makes a difference? The only part of our pool that we have to manually brush is the sun shelf since the water level is only 6” and the dolphin won’t go up there.

 

[whixkid41]

The pool I am looking at is poured concrete reinforced with rebar with a vinyl liner. The cost of 9k for the spa seems way off considering the cost of the pool which is 20x36. I don't want anything huge - enough for max 5 people. I would imagine what they are offering is a drop in spa that would need to be connected to the plumbing - perhaps some sort of base that it sits on.... I am by no means trying to be cheap about it but I was hit with sticker shock. Is this a proportion thing? Meaning they quoted me on a larger SPA that is sized to the pool so it doesn't look ridiculous? I was hoping it would be around 5k and get this entire pool wrapped up for about 30K....​

 

[jza1736]

We were quoted 8500 for the spill over spa with the pool. That was for the spa, plumbing, and stone surround. So your not far off.

We live on LI also and decided against it. The problem I had with it, is when you close the pool, you close your spa. I wound up getting a stand alone spa and now I can use it all year long.

 

[Esloser]

I have one and love it. I think it was another $9k option. However, I live in New Jersey. We open the pool in the middle of April. Even though it is too expensive to heat the entire pool at that time, it is nice to go out and sit in the spa on a cool night. The spa heats up in about 30 minutes and is ready to go. I also keep the pool open until the end of October - hopefully before the leaves start to fall.

Cleaning it is easy. I skim the big stuff out and then turn on the spa. I brush the bottom and most everything gets sucked down the drain. All done! I’ve used a vacuum in it maybe twice.

 

[sktn77a]

Not a fan of spas but $9000 doesn't sound out of line. $25k for an inground pool in 2018 sounds like the bargain of the year!

 

[whixkid41]

We were quoted 8500 for the spill over spa with the pool. That was for the spa, plumbing, and stone surround. So your not far off.

We live on LI also and decided against it. The problem I had with it, is when you close the pool, you close your spa. I wound up getting a stand alone spa and now I can use it all year long.

Maybe thats what i am missing. The 9k may include the surround and now that I am thinking about it, the salesmen mentioned the finish work being 2k alone but i just assumed it was extra. Thanks for pointing that out. Still doesnt make it any easier to digest lol but you only do this once, am I right?

 

[Gorilla83]

I was going to mention the same - the cost of a raised spa can vary a lot based on finish options. Typically they won't tell you that when you just ask for a spa - ask me how I know. Side finish and coping choices in my case can drive the price from an extra 0 - 5000 dollars. For example, travertine coping and a high end natural stone veneer can get pricey quickly.