Amanda Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Guzz supplied the answer on page 2. 60# high density rock hard bottom. ABS plastic bottom on a Brand Z spa: Bottom of a HotSpring Jetsetter: Vermin can also get inside a hollow spa through gaps like this: Terminator There are abs bottoms made much thicker and with far more support than this. Great pics terminator! This shows very well that there are definately different qualities in the making of the bottom of a spa even when the same material is used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brulan1 Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 I'm not sure to be honest. These varmints evidently got in through the gaps between the shell and cabinet. The shell had warped and pulled away from the cabinet: Terminator Nice pics man. I like how you presented a great example Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 That is a pretty good design for sure, the 60 lb. density foam is very hard, strong and waterproof. One thing I wondered after seeing the pic Terminator posted. The pic shows the bottom/base nicely sealed with the high density foam, however it looks as though wood framework underneath and around the perimeter would come in direct contact with the ground/or whatever it sits on (hopefully concrete). Just an observation, but I wonder if HotSprings has considered either countersinking the wood and foaming over the wood so all that would rest would rest on the ground would be foam. Another possibility would be using a composite material rather than wood. This might improve and already great base. Personally I would prefer the wood from contacting the ground and coming in continual contact with water that often splashes over the sides and stays around the base until evaporation occurs. This is a very good point. I have seen older spas removed from folks' homes where the wood (pressure treated) framed bottom touched the ground. Sometimes the bottom of the spa would fall out entirely when they were moved. I don't think the spray on foam would work covering the wood frame because of possible settling but then again... I am not educated in the laws of physics/compounds n such. I do have some pictures on my wall with a spa that was (only 4 years old) full foamed with the hard foam on the bottom... rats had gotten into it anyway and burrowed and chewed just like the picture mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Term, those are some hungry critters in that spa. Must not be enough feed for 'em in Texas. I've seen some mice chew on stuff from time to time, but NOT like THAT! Those mice must carry the Hanta Virus. When we were living on an acreage, I once watched, astonished, as a mouse zipped through a narrow crack between two boards. After I recovered, I found that I could barely slide a Canadian nickle (the thickest of our coins, less than 1/8 inch) into the crack. At the time, we had an older model Beachcomber hot tub (I didn't work for Arctic then!) with an open bottom. It was seated on a vinyl-painted plywood deck and at no point could I see any space under the spa base. Yet the mice found ways in. Every week or so we had to sweep up little piles of fluffy kernels of foam from around the tub, the results of their digging mouse condominiums in the insulation. We could see no damage to the cedar cabinet of our spa; the mice penetrated somewhere along the junction of cabinet and base. The Forever Floor is Arctic's answer to this, but any method of sealing the bottom area of the spa is bound to be a help. Poisoned bait produced some interesting smelly results (for a while; the little corpses dehydrate and mummify in a few days in the dry Alberta air) so we stopped doing that. A ring of traps outside eventually controlled the problem (and produced their own humorous results from time to time!). We never had a leak that I could trace to mouse activity, though. Brulan asked if mice could chew their way through wood. They sure can. The teeth of a mouse, like those of all rodents, grow out constantly, so they have to gnaw on whatever they can find to wear their teeth down. There was a place in our wood shed where mice chewed through a 2 inch wood floor, but I have always suspected that they simply widened an existing crack, little engineers improving the local highway. Happy mouse-free hot tubbing Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orourkeva Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Does any one know how Caldera's bottom is fashioned? I was told by the sales person that it is stapled to the wood frame which leads me to believe it is not a thick floor. Other than that, we are really pleased with the features and feel of the Caldera so I would appreciate any thoughts/comments/warnings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Does any one know how Caldera's bottom is fashioned? I was told by the sales person that it is stapled to the wood frame which leads me to believe it is not a thick floor. Other than that, we are really pleased with the features and feel of the Caldera so I would appreciate any thoughts/comments/warnings! A wooden framed bottom makes me wonder what happens if there is a leak inside? The wooden frame sitting on the plastic tray would have a great opportunity to soak up the water and possibly lead to dry rot, mold, mildew and such (at least around these parts in the northwest). I would hope that stainless steel staples would be used but punching holes in the thin plastic by means of stapling seems to me to leave something to be desired. I think stapling holes in the thin plastic foundation onto a wooden frame would automatically defeat the point of having a sealed plastic bottom to protect the insides of the spa in the first place. Strategically placed holes for drainage are very important though. If I were to choose a plastic bottomed spa... I would make sure that ALL of the bottom was plastic. The less wood (with the potential to rot out) = longer lasting foundation. I am very interested in the reasoning behind stapling to a wooden frame. Is it meant to last longer somehow or make the spa more durable? I can't figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I think stapling holes in the thin plastic foundation onto a wooden frame would automatically defeat the point of having a sealed plastic bottom to protect the insides of the spa in the first place. It would defeat the purpose if your purpsose was a hermetically dealed bottom but otherwise I couldn't see how stapling the plastric sheet to teh frame would be any kind of an issue. As far as wood goes, it MUST be PT and if so it should do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brulan1 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 A wooden framed bottom makes me wonder what happens if there is a leak inside? The wooden frame sitting on the plastic tray would have a great opportunity to soak up the water and possibly lead to dry rot, mold, mildew and such (at least around these parts in the northwest). I would hope that stainless steel staples would be used but punching holes in the thin plastic by means of stapling seems to me to leave something to be desired. I think stapling holes in the thin plastic foundation onto a wooden frame would automatically defeat the point of having a sealed plastic bottom to protect the insides of the spa in the first place. Strategically placed holes for drainage are very important though. If I were to choose a plastic bottomed spa... I would make sure that ALL of the bottom was plastic. The less wood (with the potential to rot out) = longer lasting foundation. I am very interested in the reasoning behind stapling to a wooden frame. Is it meant to last longer somehow or make the spa more durable? I can't figure it out. That is a very good point because I havn't thought of it that way. I don't see why stratigically placed holes wouldn't let the water out unless the tub was slightly pitched. I also wonder if enough heat would be let out as well to make the tub less efficient. I personally dont have to worry about wood at all in our tubs but that is a good point. What would be to worry about with a steel frame? Does anyone have any insigtht. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 What would be to worry about with a steel frame? Rust, especially if you screw into it in any way, which they do. At the same time, I wouldn't loose too much sleep over having steel it any more than I'd lose sleep over having a PT wood pedestal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brulan1 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Rust, especially if you screw into it in any way, which they do. At the same time, I wouldn't loose too much sleep over having steel it any more than I'd lose sleep over having a PT wood pedestal. Nothing is worth losing sleep over however sometimes you get thrown a curve ball and get hit hard and cant help but to lose sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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