cverboort

A roll-up cover...There ya go Roger! Great idea! I guess you "technically" didn't hi-jack my thread bu you sorta did. The reasons you stated were incorrect. Maybe read the first post and you will understand why we kept the smack-talk to a min...minus the last couple threads.... All in fun there Rog.. But check your PM, I did answer your question!

Yes, you are right. I should take it easy on ol' Rog. He poo-poo'd on me earlier in the thread. But I digress. Perhaps it's post traumatic spa syndrome.

Hey Roger, In all your expertise as a "part-time repair technician", you should be able to answer the guy's question about his clearance issue? I'm trying to help the guy out and he and I seem to be communicating just fine. Maybe you have something more intelligent to add than a less than witty blond joke? If not.....Go find someone's skirt to play under.

I will have my husband help me tonight so we can take the measurements while getting the cover off the tub. It really doesn't need much clearance, I would estimate about have the width of the cover itself. But I will get you specifics.

I did post pics. They are under a new post in the hot tub forum. We are happy to far with the purchase. Feel free to ask questions.

Now ROGER.....Was THAT REALLY Necessary????? Are you clairvoyant? Do you know that I haven't compared the dealer tubs or read the threads? Rest easy man. Have a great weekend and go enjoy a soak.

TINY BUBBLES~ The entire skirt acts as a surround system so the music can be heard throughout. And yes, if we turn it up we can hear it just fine over the jets, only problem is.....I'm sure all the neighbors can too... DEEPCHILLIE~ Thanks! We are very happy with out purchase. I am simply amazed I didn't have anyone bump into my thread to rain on my parade. When I first came to the forum I was amazed at "the hot debate". But I feel great about our purchase, it seems to be a great tub for a great price. I am very happy nobody poo-pood in my nice, hot, bubbling puddle. In the wise words of Thumper...If you can't say something nice.... Cheers and happy soaking~

Here are the pics of the Keys Backyard Discovery Arcadia spa purchased through Costco....First soak last night and so far so good! Hope we got these pics to work right!

I guess I don't fully understand your question "soakittome"....Call me blond..Are you concerned about the total space needed to get the cover off and onto the side of the tub? Basically, folding one side over, then the entire cover off and onto the ground leaning on the tub? And the angle it would need to be at in order to do that??? Let me know and I can do the measurements for you. BTW~ We had our first soak last night and everything was in perfect order. I would recommend filling it just above the fill line or else it will suge into the filter and make the water kindof swoosh around. The surround sterea system works great, but obviously can be heard better w/o the jets. I would LOVE to find a gazebo, but they are so outrageously overpriced. Might have to wait til summer and have the hubby build one. Get back to me with your questions and I'll try to clear things up for ya!

Hey there soakittoya..cute name! We did not see the tub prior to buying. After over a year of looking we felt it was a deal we couldn't refuse. The tub is very nice looking and is true to the described specs. The shell is a nice pearly color and the skirt is light, but seems to be very cleaner friendly. I'm not sure what material it is, but it's not wood. There are 74 jets, lounge, waterfall, two pumps, led lighting all around the tub and one big one inside...Like I said, all according to the specs they advertise. The insulation has about an inch of foam and then a foil type liner around the tub itself. There are two access doors that easily screw out which gives full access to everything you will need to do the electrical or additional insulation if you choose. I just went out and measured for you and the width of the tub (with cover) is 83.5 by 83.5. The cover when lifted is 39 inches. Sounds like it would fit your space. If you do decide to purchase the spa, I would recommend NOT buying the "suggested" chemicals that costco offers. We did that and had way too much of we did not need. Since the tub has an ozonator it cuts down on what chemicals you do need. They also suggest using Bromine only. The kit Costco suggests is Chlorine. We are taking the Costco kit back and have already purchased a bromine kit from a dealer. It was much easier talking to someone about exactly what we needed for our specific tub. The manual also instructs applying a shell protector and we were able to pick a spray gloss up for 7 bucks. Easy app, spray on, wax-off. We will be soaking tomorrow night so I will let you know how things work once turned on, but so far so good! If I can figure out how to post pics, I will put some up for you. I noticed that the price went up on the tub! I got it for 4899.00, they had a special for 700.00 off. Now it's back to regular price. Wonder if you called if you could still get the deal? Oh yeah, it's only curbside delivery, but I offered the guys a hundered bucks and they were more than happy to set it up on our patio and even took all the garbage off for me. If you try to arrange that service through the company, they will charge close to $350.00!!!...Craziness! Good luck!

Well after reading and calling a few stores to ask if what we had was appropriate for our tub, we decided to take back the box of chemicals I purchased and have a dealer set us up. Since it has an ozonator we should not have to use as manu chemicals and the tub is supposed to be Bromine only. We now have all the we need. Which ended up being half of what was sent. We did get a spray on gloss that was easy to apply and then as Mr. Miage would say...wax-on-wax-off. And as far as getting the tub from the curb??? I am recently out of shoulder surgery and made sure to wear my sling when I greeted the delivery guys. I offered them a benjamin and they happily obliged to tote it to our patio, set it up and take the trash with them! They were good guys. I probably wouldn't have had to offer them anything at all, but figure they work hard and probably don't get paid much. It was worth the dough. I cleaned it out and filled it up tonight. The hubby will get it started tonight and we should be soaking tomorrow after the trick-or-treaters are done.

We purchased the Costco Discovery Arcadia and it is ready for start-up! I purchased the SERENA SPA 90 day checmical kit and now don't really know what to do with it. My first concern is the SERENA SPA kit comes with a Stain and Scale preventer that you add to the water upon fill up. This is said to protect the shell. However I read that a manual application of a shell protector is advised. Is it necessary to find a product to apply on the shell or is the SERENA SPA liquid sufficiant? We are virgin's to the hot-tub world so we are really not sure of what to do. The tub has an ozonater and we are not sure as to what chemicals we need to add since we have that. Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks for the info! Maybe I will wait to get an ETA on arrival date, then make the calls and ask how they prefer to do it. I'm with you TINY BUBBLES! I want it plugged in and running ASAP! As far as the 'side"deals" I am already prepared to do that. I had surgery last week and may still be in a sling by the time they get here, so I could play the gimped up damsel in distess waving a benjamin. ..That might do the trick to get them to bring it to the patio..Think that might work??

Okay, my husband is working crazy hours right now, so I'm the one trying to get all the info on the tub. Found out it was shipped from Costco today. My stupid question is...Do you have to wait until you have the tub until you have the electrician out? Hadn't thought about it until I read Tiny bubbles reply to Biggz. Oh well, at least I'll know what to do and will impress my hubby with all my hot tub knowledge.

Yes, this is what I was referring to when I said tax write off. We have been told hot tubs for medical reasons can be written off w/ medical expenses with a script. Dr. Spa..Curious to know more and how you got the info? The short answer, as I can't remember it all , basically, a medical expense has to be only for the person with the medical problem. If you get a spa that seats 4 to 6 people, most likely the deduction would be disallowed. But HEY, it sure can't hurt to try (assuming you don't mind incurring a possible audit) Thanks all for the replies. No, we aren't wanting a possible audit. And No, we aren't trying to work the system. I have Extensive arthritis after all the surgeries and there will be a replacement in the not too distant future. I heard it can be done, just wondering if anyone had personal experience with it. SPATCH~GOOD idea, think I will make that call first. Thanks again!

Yes, this is what I was referring to when I said tax write off. We have been told hot tubs for medical reasons can be written off w/ medical expenses with a script. Dr. Spa..Curious to know more and how you got the info?

I posted a couple days ago asking questions about our recent purchase of the Costco Arcadia. One of the main reasons for the purchase was for therapeutic purposes. I've had 8 shoulder surgeries and could use the jet and heat therapy. I was wondering if anyone has had experience or information in obtaining a prescription for a hot tub? I am going to ask my orthopedist about it. I've heard they are difficult to get. But it would be good obviously for the tax write off. Thanks for any feeback!

Thanks! I will ask around to see who has some knowledge on that stuff. The hubby is pretty good at do-it-yourself projects, so I think with some guidance from someone with a little experience they could pull it off nicely. Better than paying 500 bucks at the least! The umbrella is a great idea. Would need to find something durable to hold up to the rain and wind. Plus I don't want all the drainage from the umbrella to drop onto our heads while soaking. You've given me some excellent pointers to start with. I thank you for your time. Any other pointers for a first time hot-tub owner??? Also, I am going to post a new question..but since I'm here. Do you have any knowledge regarding prescriptions for hottuns from Dr's. I am going to attempt to get one. I've had 8 shoulder surgeries and one of the main reasons for the purchase was for therapeutic purposes. I've heard they can be hard to get, but if you do you can write them off for taxes!

Thanks Tiny!!! Good to know about the electrical stuff. We will get several estimates. Since you are doing your own, do you have experience in this? Wondering if the hubby could do it? I'm also wondering if you don't have a licensed electrician do the work, does it void the warranty should something go wrong? As far as the gazebo! Great points. I will have to keep that in mind. We would love to have the open air experience, but here in Oregon we would be sitting in a great hot tub, but getting poured on or snowed on (that wouldn't be bad) for five months out of the year. I will consider now though about getting more of an open gazebo, or just one that covers..Fresh breeze, with warm tub.ahhh Yes, the Arcadia is very nice and it is the one with the lights all around the tub. Nice feature. It has 74 jets, seats 7 w/ lounge, CD/am/fm radio with several surround speakers. Just could not pass on that deal at all. It was 4,800.00. The comprable tubs we looked at at the dealers were roughly 10-12k!!!! So even if what the nay sayers say are true that it will crap out in a couple of years, we could get another one still under the price of the dealer tub. Thanks again and look forward to hearing back from you.

After about a year of hemming and hawing over buying a hot tub, we decided on Costco's Discovery Arcadia. We have visited many showrooms and spent a lot of time with dealers. Many failed to impress and could not adequately explain the difference between dealer tubs and big box tubs. I don't intend to continue any of the previous heated debates regarding the differences. We made our decision and will live with it. It's an impressive tub and I hope it lives up to the stated standards. Sooooo.....we need to have an electrician come out and do the hook-up. We live in Oregon. Does anyone have a ballpark figure we can expect to pay for this? There should not be a great length of wires etc, as the tub will sit on a concrete pad, close to the garage which has the panels. Our pad is slighly sloped away from the house, I'm assuming this won't be a problem. Any thoughts? And last...We want to protect our little investment as well as have a bit of privacy. We have been shopping gazebos. I know they can be pretty spendy. Anyone have any ideas for reasonably priced gazebo's..where to find and would any gazebo be compatable with the tub? Thanks in advance for any useful hints, tips and advice. Catherine