Ron

Not related to the hot tub directly, but next time he brings it up, since he has tried everything, ask him if he should just get the toe nail removed. No more fungal problem.

LOL,,, great thread. Thanks for the replies, best laugh I've had all week. Nice to see I'm not alone,,,,,,,, Ron

Ok, I admit it. Every once in a while I am a knuckle head, lol. Opened the cover Saturday night meaning to get in for a while. Got distracted, forgot about it and knodded off. Woke up and went to bed totally forgetting the cover was open. It was open for around 7 hours. Was 45 degrees when I woke up at 7:00 and closed it. Anyone besides me ever have that happen or am I the lone bone brain? Also, never thought about it till now but can it do any damage (besides the dollars I wasted in electricity)? First hot tub here, got my Grande around May. Thanks. Ron

Hi,,, Strange question maybe but we've had out hot tub (HS Grande bought new) since the spring and have never noticed "gurgling" sounds from the interior pipes. Now we have. Have we just noticed a normal sound, or maybe something that has started up recently and is abnormal? Water levels are fine. Of course when the jets are on you can't hear it but when the jets are off and you want things to be quiet there is a very noticeable "gurgling and bubbling" sound. Kind of annoying. I wonder if I should have it looked at??? Thanks. Ron

Well, after much ado and worry, the tub is finally in. So far, so good,,, the deck has not collasped!!! (see my post "Deck Strength"). It's a little scarry,, it's amazing how much bigger the tub is on my deck than it was in the dealer showroom!!! A lot of weight,,,,, Got the electrical hooked up Wednesday and took my first dip tonight. Been raining since Wednesday night. Still is raining,,, off and on. Steps left: 1. build a privacy fence around it. Need that real bad,,, 2. invite lots of friends After just one dip, luv the tub (even though, it would have been much more relaxing without the kids :-)) Ron

Transducers and external speakers? I thought the redesigned Spadio was about the same except for the player unit (i.e. the portable cd payer)??? Can you elaborate on the "external speakers"? Thanks.

Ah, yes. I need some spatopia. Well, got the lag bolts replaced with 1/2" galv carriage bolts, what a pain, crawling under a low deck with rocks under my back. Had to remove some decking just to get to some of the posts. Didn't even get on my computer for 2 days, wow I'm exhausted. But, I am as set as I can be for my 10:00AM delivery tomorrow. And yes, still have a million worries. But, I think my deck will be fine (crossing fingers). I am going to call my electrician tomorrow. Bad news is,,, it is supposed to rain all week. Starting to cut the cedar for my pergola/privacy fence, with a lot of luck, maybe we will get to take a dip next weekend.

Got some good news today. Long story short, I have a neighbor who is an architect, but more of a designer. But,,, he works with structural guys. The structural guy did some calculations of my design. The calcs were way, way beyond me. Simply said, he shows that I exceed what I need. I do need to replace the lags with some carriage bolts. Will have that done buy Monday. When,,,,, I have the delivery of my hot tub at 10:00AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still need to schedule the electrician,,,, always something,,,, lol.

Awesome explanations Roger, thanks. I really like the idea of notching the post, but not practical. The beams farthest away from the house doable, the middle beam maybe, the beams closest to the house very tough. The deck is really close to the ground there. IIRC, the post is not much higher than the 2x8's. But, replacing the lags with carriage bolts shouldn't be too bad. Here's what I am thinking. Since I already have 4 holes in each post for the lags (2 on each side opposing diagonals) I will replace 2 of the lags with carriage bolts. Basically taking out the lags (one at a time) and drilling all the way through with a long 1/2" bit and bolting in the carriage. This will leave 2 diagonal carriage bolts on one side and 2 diagonal lags on the other side (opposing each other of course). This way I don't have to drill any additional holes in the posts (just run 2 of the holes through to the other side). Sound strong enough? I will probably go with the galvinized. Haven't found any SS carriage bolts locally. Problem is, I am not sure what the deck is rated. Calculating that is way beyond me. But, I did find a website that looks like they have some awesome load calculators. It is a pay feature but only $9.95 for a 2 month password.

Thanks Roger. I think I'm tired from the lack of sleep,, but I'm not sure I follow this. Do you mean to cut (notch) the 4x4 that is already there? In the first part what do you mean by "header"? Also, if I went with your 2nd suggestion, there would be (4) 1/2 holes in each 4x4 for the carriage bolts. Is this too many holes in a 4x4? Any chances of it splitting? Probably can't be worse than the 4 holes I have for the lag bolts (I think I used 3/8", not all the way through of course). The 1/2 holes for the carriage bolts would be clean at least. Oh, forgot. Would SS be better than galvinized? How does grade 8 compare stregth wise to SS? I've found both but the galvinized does seem to list the grade (that I have found).

Thanks for feeling my pain,,, Yes, the sheer points are one of my big concerns. How did you add extra blocking under your beams? I did try to look up sheer points for bolts. Only had minor luck. I found a source that said "most bolts have sheer points of 200lbs". With a 6,000lb tub (filled) the weight on each beam-post bolt would be 166lbs, but this doesn't count the weight of the deck.

And I just want to be able to stop worrying about this and be done with it. Need to get some sleep. Besides, my better half is getting real irritated with me I sure hope it's worth it in the end.

Yes, under each 4x4 post is a footer 8" in diameter, 48" deep. 9 holes altogether, took me and my brother-in-law all day to dig them with a powered auger and get them poured! We started early and finished in the dark. And yes,,, it was mixed. We rented a power mixer. Never thought about having the dealer take a look. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow. Is it common for them to evaluate decks?

Last fall I added on to my deck in anticipation of getting a tub this spring. Well, the tubs almost here and I think I am getting cold feet as far as the deck strength goes. Was'nt nervous all winter but now I am. I thought it was designed adequately now I'm not sure. Surfing the net for information and examples isn't helping. Some stuff I find makes my deck feel inadequate, some makes me feel ok. My basic design is: Added new deck off from existing deck and screened in porch (actually 5 sided since it ties into existing deck at an approx 45 deg) Ledgers are 2"X8" New deck is roughly 13'x11' (not including angled section which adds a couple of feet) Under the tub are 3 beams, each beam is doubled up 2"x8" Beams are spaced apprx 3 1/2' apart (puts one beam at each end of the tub and one in the middle) Beams supported by (9) 4x4's posts (3 each beam) Beams lag bolted to sides of 4"x4" 4"x"4" posts on top of 8" diameter footings, 48" deep Joists are 2"x8" 15"OC The tub going on this is : HS Grande (I know,,, just had to get the biggest/heaviest) Thanks for any insights. I have pics if anyone was interested. Ron

Soon, I hope. Gotta get it installed, then build a privacy fence/pergola around it. Have to keep the prying eyes of the neighbors out :-). The projects never seem to end.