Hotspring Vanguard Repair Advice?

[doctauri]

I have a 2005 HotSpring Vanguard that developed a small leak. I called the [semi]local repair company out. First he complained that it wasn't a Jetsetter (which we previously had, but apparently their records weren't updated), and was too heavy for him to move around to easily access.

So, he took off a panel near where we saw water, and found that termites had eaten the frame. He went on how it was the worst infestation he'd ever seen, and so on. However he'd only pulled off one set of panels (about 18", from top to bottom). He stopped there, said it was probably not worth it, and that to repair the damage would be between $2500 and $3000. He then went on to tell me that he'd make me a good deal on a floor model if I wanted. That was back on November 30.

So, I resolved myself to needing a new spa and went searching. Found a good deal, and was ready to order. Today, I moved the old Vanguard out to clean up and make an electrical change, when I decided to pull the rest of the panels off on that side.

So there's no doubt, the termites have eaten the frame on one end, however, once you get to the corners, the wood is untouched. I'm thinking the repair is not nearly as bad as the service tech made it out. I'm not sure if he was just trying to push a sale, or what, but I think I'm going to try to repair it.

So I have a couple of question:
1) In removing the old half eaten wood, it appears that the panels are meant to pop on/off or slide in/out (think push into place then slide to the right). The fact that the panels can be purchased as an entire piece tends to support this (http://www.backyardplus.com/proddetail.php?prod=W73012). Can someone tell me how to remove the panels?

2) It appears that the frame is more to give the panels something to attach to than structural, is this true?

3) Once I've pulled out the destroyed foam and rebuilt the frame (and fixed the leak), what do I use to replace the foam insulation? Spray foam looks to be ridiculously expensive, I'm sure because the minimum quantity is much more than I need. Is there some alternative? What about filling the void with regular attic insulation then foam panels in the spaces of the frame?

Thanks for any help!

[JKM]

It sounds like a lot of work. Of course you're assuming that you don't run into any more issues once you get into it. I'd say if you have the time to dig into it this summer and you're doing the work yourself, then go for it. Otherwise, I'd probably look for a good deal on a used, quality spa. They are out there. I bought my Hotspring Sovreign for less than $1000 and it was 3 years old at the time.

Good luck.

[doctauri]

Unfortunately, that's what got me here. I bought this used 3 years ago for $1500. It's been fine since, until searching for this leak. Given that, if I don't rebuild, I will probably buy new.

Thanks.

[Brian VT]

Any insulation is fine. I used bubble wrap. It's not affected by moisture.

[MargaretCanipe]

Hello,

Can someone tell me how to remove the panels?

As you said that your HotSpring Vanguard had created a small leak, so you have to start by interfering in one of them and just pull it off gently. You need to remove the old staples, slid the panel under the tub liner and used some real small finish nails instead of the staples.

Once I've pulled out the destroyed foam and rebuilt the frame, what do I use to replace the foam insulation?

You can use spray that can expand foam insulation to fill in around the tubing. But, spray foam doesn’t expand that much, so just make sure that the foam has been just to provide some freezing protection for the tubes.

But remember, that as you said that termites had eaten the frame, so next make sure that you should check out the forum regularly and if you saw any damage immediately call the termite inspection NYC services because termites can rapidly eat out the internal sections of structural timbers mainly the spring wood.