Saskman

It would be best to have the same base.

I have said this before. Its about what the consumers want. Putting everything else to the side people are buying the infinity tubs like crazy. All my friends are wooing over the infinity at Costco right now. It has all they toys and in there price range. Like it or not they are moving they out the door.

My elliptical trainer made in china - broke My DVD Player made in china - broke My childrens toys made in china - recalled for lead paint My cat food with additives from china - recalled and killed other people pets Anything with made in china is not on the top of my list these days. I wonder if matel would be having all these problems if they just kept a few more jobs in north america. Matel....Here's your sign

I have a question about the pad, also. We bought a house last December that has a hot tub. The house was built in '94, and the date on the hot tub is 1997. So, I believe the pad has been there 10 years. The previous owners had somewhat "let it go", and the gutters were leaking on the back of the house in a way that caused erosion (there is a general slope away from the house) around this area and under the rest of the deck. I've since fixed the problem and have done some grading work so that the runoff water now goes where it's supposed to, and no further erosion will take place in this area. Some dirt around the perimeter of the slab is gone, probably around 2 of the four sides. The slab is at least a foot thick, probably less thick where it meets up with the sidewalk that runs directly next to (parallel) the concrete block foundation of the basement of the house. I'm wondering if this bit of erosion will hurt anything? I had filled the old hot tub, a 91" x 91" Caldera. It held water, and I didn't see any problems. Everything seems level to me, as in, I don't think it is sinking one direction or the other. The erosion probably extends 6 inches, maybe up to a foot or so in places. I jammed some river rock up under the one side I could get to. Once I get the old tub out of there, I can do a better inspection to see if the concrete has any cracks. I don't think I have anything to worry about. Or do I? Got a brand new tub coming in a couple weeks... Thanks, sker If you are asking about replacing ground that has washed away from under the slab then the answer is yes you can. Pack damp material into the void and use something to pack it from the side like a 2x2. If the material is to wet then it will shrink and not pack as dense. If it is to dry if won't pack well either. If the slab has good rebar then a little wash out shouldn't hurt it. If it has none then replacing the washed out material will make it as good as it ever was. I would pack in the same material that is under the rest of the slab if possible.

I think when post get to 10 pages they should die.

Thanks for the great info and calculations. Now I know how to determine how much yardadge someone needs to pour a slab. This should last forever. The ground should be firm and no settleing taking place underneath at all

I have bad news you will have problems but they will be slow coming and should take years. First your house looks new. I suspect that when the house was built the contractor backfilled around the foundation. Depending on the type of soil backfilled the ground may settle as much as 2 feet. Count on a foot at least over the next 20 years. Your pad will fail as the ground settles on the house side. This will probably take a while. A well reinforced pad would still tilt. If it was anchored to the house then a void would form underneath. This is the gift that every contractor leaves behind when they build a house. There is no weight issues with the concrete. Good concrete can hold 4000 PSI and up (32 MPA for the Canadians). Your spa will be less than 1 PSI. You will have to watch it. Look for movement. Any pad next to a new house is doomed. The posts that say its all about whats underneath are correct. I was a tech for an engineering company and a CSA certified concrete tech for years. I would suggest to anyone putting in a tub not to do it right next to your house if your home is newer. Most basements are backfilled and the ground next to your foundation will settle. This can easily last for 20 years with some soil types. Most yards are graded with some excavated soil. The ground will settle everywhere if this is the case but to a lesser extent. Now the part about rebar. Use rebar...it adds a major amount of shear strength to concrete. Shear strength is important when the base under the pad fails. If you use rebar ( the more the stronger ) the pad does not have to be as thick. I poured a 10 ft sq pad for mine. The pad is about 8 feet from the house (mine house is over 30 years old). I went 4 inches thick with rebar on 16 inch square.

That was supposed to say I WOULDN'T go wild...sorry

Wow I made an order from cabelas and its still not here 3 weeks tomorrow. My Pacific took just over 3 weeks. These are big things to ship. I would go wild over 4 weeks.

Just to be clear here - all three (Silver1, Saskman, and Duck_man) you mentioned purchased HydroSpa tubs. HydroSpa tubs are not exclusively sold by Costco, but are sold by independent spa dealers as well. Any advice that says to stay clear of Costco and go with a dealer could potentially lead a consumer into a dealer that sells HydroSpa tubs. The criticism should be of the HydroSpa tubs and not of Costco. Incidentally, this thread started as the Infinity Sun Peak Spa. There haven't been any reports of anyone turning in their Costco-purchased Infinity spa yet. To lump all bad experiences users have had with their HydroSpas as an indictment of Costco is wholly misleading. I have said that over and over...I know nothing about the infinity and I am not upset with costco. Regards, Ken

Just want to get all the important facts down here....first you say you have a hot tub and second you are single. Sorry just being silly there. I can agree with you they a 10 grand tub isn't an option for everyone. I hope you tub lasts a long time and you injoy it

Just want to get all the important facts down here....first you say you have a hot tub and second you are single.

Wait a sec....I'm not here selling tubs. If I would have kept the tub I would have closed this gap up so I never would have known. I don't think for a second I would save that much money. I do think with the added warranty and the higher efficiency in the reasonable number of years the added energy cost would eat up the money I saved. It wouldn't happen over night. It wasn't a two inch gap. I looked into a foam piece to close it off and it was on average about 1 inch but that still adds up.

No I had the hydrospa....I know nothing about the infinity. I bought a pacific now. Not saying its the best tub made. I don't know that either. Weighing all the options with my market area and checking references it came out on top.

Pathfinder - please provide more substantive proof other than "Others have inquired about the policy". Sure can. I asked the manager at Costco. I was referred to their return policy which Bob64111 has quoted below. If I'm not satisfied - for whatever reason, at any time, I can return the merchandise. This policy was starting to cost Costco on computers and electronics - people were buying big screen TVs, using them for a year, and then returning them when something bigger and cheaper came out. Costco has limited their return policy on electronics, but all other merchandise has the same excellent "guaranteed satisfaction" return policy. Bob summed it up quite nicely below. Returing a tub as an option. It is a last option. I swallowed my pride a few time in hopes that somebody would just make it right for me. I know if I returned it the neighbours would see and whats if my electrical had to be redone. If you have problems chances are you will try to stick it out past the point of reason. I'm glad the policy was there. I wish I never needed it. I'll tell you when a hot tub starts giving you hastle its not like a car breaking down. you need to spend money on cars but you don't need a hot tub. It bugs you more. I wish you the best cheers