Spa Tub Redo | Redo It Yourself Inspirations : Spa Tub Redo

Monday, July 7, 2014

Spa Tub Redo



I really wanted to get a hot tub for some time now. I planned on it and the placement of it with our deck since we bought our fixer upper home. Hubby explained the expense and  maintenance is why some people buy them and give up on them. It could be an expensive and regretted experiment. 

So, I thought why not find a used, inexpensive tub for sale to try it out. Several are listed weekly and older ones are usually free for various reasons. ("You Remove" and "Take Away" are always stipulated in the ads.)  I found quite a few during my searches over the last couple of summers. Often too late for a freebie. Until this one. It was advertized: "$250 or best offer, you haul away". I called and the owner decided it was "free, just come and get it". The motor, heater and everything functioned. Awesome!

Original state at the original owner's home. 






The appearance was another story. A vintage kind. The beige/pink finish was really faded.  The original wood frame was rotted and carpenter ants resided in and around the insulation. So we took off all of the framework and exterminated the insects. Once the ants vacated and died, we built a new frame, added new insulation around the base of the tub, and cleaned and tested the tub in motion. We lost water. Quite a bit leaked each day during testing process. After researching where the leak was, we found that it was located at the tub base, somewhere in the air flow system. Then we needed to find a way of sealing it underneath. More complicated to do than say. 




The air vents were completely sealed from underneath the unit. That was frustrating after getting so far.  That made us decide that we could live without the air bubbles on the bottom. So I used bondo to seal them off at the top.  





Bondo, used for automobiles, boats, etc., was ideal for this fiberglass tub. It's workable in small portions, using the bond material and a hardener solution. It dries rock solid within an hour. After applying and drying, I was sanding it to smooth it out in no time at all. After sanding the entire tub (old water stains and whatever other residues), we vacuumed the remnants and cleaned the entire surfaces with an alcohol based cleaner. Looking "pinkish" and clean, I taped off the blowers and controls in preparation for painting.Using Scotch painters' tape on each area not painted remained protected. 






I chose a blue, summery colored pool paint. ( Insl-X 1-gal. Semi-Gloss Water Ocean Blue Swimming Pool Paint).  Spraying the paint was best for even coverage. (Wagner Power Painter) It went on nicely and decided one coat was sufficient. Should we see any wear during this season, it isn't that difficult to drain, clean, tape and paint again. 




Finally, after the hard work was done, I filled the tub with the garden hose. The 6'x6' tub took awhile to fill to the water intake vent. 

We started running the motor, jet blowers and the heater. Then the ultimate test, watching the water level for leaks.




After waiting overnight, everything was good to go. 




After adding sanitizing chemicals and checking water levels again, 



we discovered no leaks. 



Running perfectly. 




This was worth the work and the small investment.
(Pressure treated lumber for the frame, cedar siding, some wood preservative, some caulking,  bondo, pool paint and a few chemicals.) 


Oh, and the cover? To "top it off" (pun intended)... a curb side rescue during town clean up week. What a lucky coincidence! 







So far, I'm a spa tub person. This is a keeper.








Thinking of doing this yourself? Yah, go for it. 






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~










38 comments:

  1. I have one of those leaky hot tubs in my backyard; been sitting for 2 years and I would love to fix it. How did you determine where the leak was? That's my biggest mystery and I don't know where to begin - can you help?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Man...I wish I could find something like that. That's my next expense...hehe Yeah, the hubs doesn't know yet. Whoops.

    Thanks for sharing. You did an awesome job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It was a process of filling and sealing each of the openings. We started with the drain. Sealing all around it with waterproof epoxy sealant. It still leaked. Then we checked for cracks. There weren't any. Then we repeated the sealant process at the rims on each of the jet spots. It still leaked. That left us with determining that the leak came from one or both of the air bubblers at the base. After sealing them from the top, the leaking stopped. We suspect ours was ruined most likely because the former owner allowed some trapped water to freeze, making the tub material crack.


    I would start with your drain. Remove the plug and apply sealant all around the rim of the drain. Replace the plug and add just enough water to see if the leak stops at that level. If it is a slow leak, wait and check it later in the day or next day. If it does, that may be the problem. If it still leaks, check for cracks. If you find any, you can use an epoxy sealant to cover the crack(s). Allow it to set up, then try adding water and check for leaking again. If it leaks, move on to investigating the jets. Leaving the other bubblers for last. I'm not sure how yours is set up. You may want to opt to temporarily seal off the bubblers individually to find the leak. I'm hoping the set up you have and doing this sealing method doesn't eliminate too many of the jets due to water flow.


    I hope this helps. I'd be happy to guide you through more if you would like to email me with a photo of your tub. I'll try my best to get you in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Robin....this is such a cool redo. I never, ever would have even thought of doing something like this! Thanks for sharing at this week's Project Inspire{d} ~ pinning!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha! That is fantastic! I hope you find one and have tons of fun! Check Craigslist in your area. Also "Freecycle" online. Getting the free ones, you really need to act fast. Find out why it's free too, so you can determine the fix up costs. I've missed out perfectly running newer models from posts by people who gained a tub with the purchase of their new home and didn't want them. You never know. Good luck with your search! Thanks, Bobbie!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is an amazing re-do!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you, MaryBeth.


    Hopefully this helps many who are frustrated with leaks. Also giving "wanna be tub owners" like me an opportunity to get one to fix up inexpensively.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am in awe of you! Love your redos but this is very impressive! Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest board.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you so much, Carie! I really appreciate the pin!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is amazing! I had no idea that you could remake a spa like that! Fantastic job!! I love that blue color you picked, too. Thanks so much for sharing at Much Ado About Monday! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. It was with "tongue in cheek" tackling this because I've never done it before. Now knowing it's possible, I'm hoping others will be able to do the same. Thanks so much, Lydia :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. You did a great job! Thanks for coming and linking up at The Weekend Social. All posts get pinned on our pinterest board! Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on culinaryflavors.gr ! I hope to see you there!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! Super impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dawn @ We Call It JunkinJuly 11, 2014 at 12:16 PM

    This is just amazing. I had no idea you could re-do a hot tub like this! Thanks for sharing this at History & Home this week, take care: Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, you rocked this transformation from trash to treasure. Enjoy your sweet spa time. Thank you for joining in the fun at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your hot tub turned out great. We got ours that way too. We've had ours a few years and just are now replacing the heater. Thanks for sharing it at the party. Theresa @DearCreatives

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow!! Your spa tub is amazing! I love the color you chose. Enjoy!! Thank you for linking up with The Caffeinated Crafters!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your projects are always so cool! Pinned. Thanks for being a part of our party. We love having you! We hope to see you tonight at 7 pm. and let us see what you have been working on! http://loulougirls.blogspot.com

    Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dawn @ We Call It JunkinJuly 14, 2014 at 12:05 PM

    I'm featuring this on tomorrow's link party :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. That is awesome! I really want a hot tub and I have never thought of looking for a free one on craigslist. So glad you were able to get it up and going!! Thanks for linking up to The Creative Exchange Linky Party!

    ReplyDelete
  21. It looks as good as new! You did a great job. Thanks for linking up to Snickerdoodle Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you so much Dawn! I'm looking forward to another party of yours :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. awesome redo i totally love a hot tub myself hope you are still enjoying it

    ReplyDelete
  24. I could not love this more. I've seen the craigslist ads and what you and hubby did is excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It is wonderful. So far, we are loving it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. It is so worth it. I really hope you can get yours working again.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I hope you find one and are able to work with it. It's certainly worth the effort!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love that summery blue too. Thank you and for having me.

    ReplyDelete
  29. You are welcome! Thanks for visiting me :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm so glad you did this too! I really hope your heater works out.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I will. :) Thanks so much, Katherine!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm so glad we did this. Thanks, Ashley!
    ox

    ReplyDelete
  33. It was with tongue-in-cheek, Dawn. But it worked out great!

    ReplyDelete
  34. this is awesome! our spa has not worked ( leak!!) in 20+ years!!!! we are at a standoff.. I want it OUT and dh does not..even tho we had people out to find leak and no luck OUrs was installed in ground ( wrong!) and has flagstone decking..so basically we need to get it OUT and then test, then build wood thing. How much did it cost to do that?? I want to use the area ( once it is filled in) for a "living/dining " space outside our living room.... i will show him this article

    ReplyDelete