Pools & Hot Tubs Blog

Learn How to Build a Low-Level Deck for a Hot Tub

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Build a Low-Level Deck for a Hot Tub, you have to Measure the height from the ground to the top of the hot tub with using a tape measure. You need to add twelve inches to this measurement to find the length of the support posts you will need. You must Measure the length and width of the hot tub. You should add twenty four inches to the length and width measurements. You can note all these measurements on a sheet of paper.

After that, cut sixteen pieces of two-by-four lumber to the support post length with using a circular saw. You have to Varnish the posts using exterior grade varnish and a paintbrush. You need to cut twelve pieces of two-by-four to the length measurement and twelve pieces to the width measurement. You must cut the length measurement pieces in half. You have to cut the width measurement pieces in half.

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Learn How to Safely Wire a Homemade Hot Tub

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Safely Wire a Homemade Hot Tub, you have to turn off the power at the outdoor GFCI breaker where you will be connecting the hot tub. You need to Lift up the cover and flip the breakers to the “off” position. After that, Measure the distance from the breaker box out to the hot tub for the conduit. You must do so along the wall or other surface where you will be mounting the conduit, not in a straight line. Then, Cut the appropriate amount of flexible conduit to size with shears or a utility knife.

You should Insert one end of a four-line wire into one end of the conduit and push it through until it emerges at the other end. Next, loosen the screw on the locking collar at the bottom of the breaker box. You can feed the wires up through the locking collar and into the body of the breaker. You have to Insert the end of the flexible conduit in the locking collar and tighten the screw. Forth, remove the last half inch from the wires inside the breaker box with a wire stripper.

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Learn How to Support a Hot Tub on a Deck

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Support a Hot Tub on a Deck, you have to consult the manufacturer’s documentation that came with the hot tub or consult the supplier if you are going to build the deck before delivery to learn the hot tub’s maximum in-use weight. After that, call your local code enforcement office to confirm that your plans comply with any directions and load limits your municipality’s regulations may mandate. Then, Measure and mark the area you want to give over to the deck with using a proprietary inverted surveyor’s spray paint for the outside lines. Next, Pound stakes into the ground at the corners of your marked area and draw strings tightly between each opposing stake to create a diagonal cross over the enclosed area. Forth, Measure each string from the corner to the center and make four more marks at the half-way point of each string.

You need to remove the stakes and strings. After that, dig out 1-foot-deep holes sized to the bases of the foundation piers you are using at each mark. You must Put exactly the same amount of builder’s sand in each hole and level it off. Then, Install the piers in the holes. You should Use a laser level to ensure that the tops are all at exactly the same height above ground level.

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Learn How to Support a Hot Tub on a Raised Deck

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Support a Hot Tub on a Raised Deck, you have to find exact points under the deck to place 8-inch-square post material made of pressure-treated lumber. You need to select the placement of posts based partially on visual appeal to ensure the spacing looks appropriate from every angle. You must ensure to install a support post for general support under every third or fourth deck floor joist. After that, install a support post underneath deck flooring at all four corners of the hot tub, regardless of other deck support placement. You should add support in these areas to ensure the safety of the occupants in the hot tub.

You can Plan to hide the posts from yard view via decorative lattice or plantings if needed. Then, find ground-level dimensions for concrete footings twelve inches square each. You have to build concrete pads to support posts after carefully defining placement of these footer forms so that they will each sit under the decking in the right footprint. You need to Drop a plumb bob to define the center of each square you will construct. Next, Dig down to solid soil to build the footings below the frost line in your area.

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Learn How to Connect a Center Drain in a Pool

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Connect a Center Drain in a Pool, you have to find the lowest lying area in the ground beneath the pool or area prepared for pool installation. If the area sits completely level, you need to make a slight dip in the center of the area with a shovel. After that, dig a hole in center of the pool area or other low-lying area. You must make the hole deep enough to fit the center drain assembly when letting the top of the drain to protrude slightly from the earth. You should Base the depth of the hole on specifications provided by the installation manual.

Then, assemble the collection pipe, a piece of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe that extends from the bottom of the center drain. You can Screw the pipe into the opening at the bottom of the drain. Next, Screw a drain plug into the opening at the bottom of the collection pipe. Forth, Dig a trench about six inches wide that extends from the hole dug for the drain past the edge of the area reserved for pool installation as well as to the pool pump. After that, Place the drain in the hole, orienting it vertically so that the collection pipe goes into the earth at the bottom of the hole as well as the top of the drain sticks up slightly from the top of the hole.

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Learn How to Connect Hot Tub Motors

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Connect Hot Tub Motors, you have to shut off the power supply to the hot tub with removing a fuse or placing the circuit breaker in the off position in your electrical box. You need to open the hot tub’s access panel with unscrewing the screws that hold it in place and depressing the pressure clips. After that, find the hot tub pump assembly that is a metal housing connected to two or more PVC pipes. Then, determine whether your hot tub pump uses a separate grounding wire that will be an exposed copper wire that connects a terminal on the pump to a metal rod driven into the ground. You must untwist the wire to remove it.

Next, close any valves between the tub as well as the pump or insert a drain plug into the drain line from inside the tub. Forth, unscrew the plastic unions that hold the pump in place by hand. You should twist them counterclockwise. You can unscrew any mounting screws that hold the pump to its base. You have to Remove the pump and let any water inside it to drain out.

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Learn How to Build a Square Concrete Pit for a Hot Tub

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

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To Build a Square Concrete Pit for a Hot Tub, you have to Mark the perimeter of the planned pit with stakes and string. You need to make the perimeter of the pit four feet wider than the hot tub you will install to compensate for the thickness of the concrete and to leave room for equipment. You must Use the carpenter’s square to ensure that the corners are perfectly ninety degrees. You should Mark under the string with the spray paint as well to aid in getting accurate pit dimensions. After that, dig out the pit using a shovel and wheelbarrow.

You can begin from one corner. You have to dig down four feet as straight as possible. You need to dig your way diagonally across the pit so that you have a basic ramp to use to cart out dirt. You must keep the sides as straight as possible, even they do not have to be perfect as the poured concrete will compensate. Then, Cut 2-by-4-inch wood to the following dimensions: twelve pieces eleven feet, eleven inches long and four pieces four feet long.

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