FOR many people, the point of having a weekend home is that it is a haven from workday routine and daily pressures. And whether it’s a place by the shore, in a ski resort or nestled in farm country, your stress-reducing getaway only gets better when you add a hot tub.
More in Escapes
More articles on second homes and vacation destinations.
Go to Escapes »
Related
More Your Second Home Columns
To relax and restore yourself in hot water is an idea that has been around at least since ancient times. The Romans built large communal baths, and Americans have flocked to Hot Springs, Ark., and similar resorts to take advantage of natural springs.
The idea of transporting the spring to one’s home began in earnest in the 1960s when Californians started putting heated water into large redwood vats. Redwood turned out to be a less than ideal material, but the idea was born. Wood was eventually replaced by acrylic, and the modern “portable spa,” as they are called in the industry, arrived, decked out with its own water heater and pumps to power air and/or water jets.
Today, if you’re considering a hot tub for your second home, you face a bewildering array of brands, product types and options. Here’s a guide to navigating the process and ending up with a hot tub that you, your family and your guests will enjoy.
Find a good dealer. Picking the tub itself is easy if a reputable dealer is advising you. You should talk to friends who have hot tubs, check dealers’ reputations with the Better Business Bureau, and look for one who has been around a long time and is likely to survive the current economic downturn. Hot tubs can be bought over the Internet, you and some robust friends can install it, and you can handle maintenance yourself. But as a relaxation-minded second-home owner, you will probably want a relationship with a local dealer who can take care of installation and service.
“Most of our customers are looking for ease of use,” said Al Campbell, who owns Napa Valley Hot Tubs, which has been in business in Napa, Calif., for 33 years. “They want minimum maintenance.” That generally includes changing filters regularly, every 30 to 60 days, and draining and cleaning the tub.
Decide where the hot tub will go. “Ninety-five percent of our spas are outdoors,” said Peter Southworth, a partner in Allen Pools and Spas in White River Junction, Vt., which has been in business for 52 years. “Most go on top of a deck or on a patio, but some condos require that spas are sunk into decks.”
Wherever your tub goes, it has to sit on a strong, stable foundation. A patio should have at least a four-inch-thick concrete pad for the larger tubs, and decks often require substantial reinforcement to support the weight of a tub filled with water and people.
Hot tubs can be placed indoors, but the humidity they create can be a problem. “You can use a dehumidifier,” Mr. Southworth said, “but in some homes with dry forced-air heating, the humidity is not an issue.” Some indoor hot tubs are placed in rooms with exhaust fans attached to humidity-detecting controls, so the fans run only when needed. Another approach, for those who don’t want to deal with cold winter winds, is to place the tub on an enclosed porch, protected from the wind but not posing interior humidity problems.
How big a tub? If it’s usually just two people at your weekend home, a small tub should do. If you entertain a lot, you might consider a party-size tub. Small or large, consider getting a cover lifter, a hydraulic device that allows one person to remove the insulating cover.
Be prepared to pay. Mr. Southworth said his portable spas range from $3,995 for a two-person tub to $10,500 for one that can hold eight or nine people. “That includes installation,” he added. Regular service checks cost about $60 a visit.
The cost of the tub and maintenance are not the only expenses. Some tubs have natural gas or propane heaters, but most rely on electricity. “It can be $75 or $80 a month” added to your electric bill, even if the tub is used only sparingly, Mr. Campbell said.
Mr. Southworth said that many of his customers keep their tubs at ready-to-use temperatures, 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Mr. Campbell, though, said his customers tend to keep the water at relatively cool 80 degrees when they’re away, then “flick the switch” when they arrive at their vacation homes on Friday evenings. “That gives them three or four hours to go out and have dinner,” he said, “and when they come home the spa is ready.”
