How To Move a Hot Tub…UM…or How NOT To!

THE FREE HOT TUB

Our backyard dream project continued because that included a FREE HOT TUB REMEMBER?  Ed’s buddy from work was ecstatic that our concrete was finished because it meant just one step closer to removing his unwanted hot tub off his deck and loading it onto our beautiful new patio.  (ALL the credit for that beautiful new patio I am giving to the highly skilled concrete workers and foreman who actually did the work, NOT THE GOOFBALL CONTRACTOR company).  If you did not see how this project got it’s beginnings, check that post out HERE.   

Well, it just so figures that around here, HOT TUB movers are a little hard to come by.  Ed contacted 5-different spa places that we thought for sure would move a hot tub, but apparently not.  Buying a new hot tub and getting it delivered is much easier than finding someone who will move a hot tub from house A to house B.  2-3  supposed HOT TUB MOVERS wouldn’t even call back.  Really? High demand for this?  Finally, we heard from Robby, a hot tub mover, ready to put our hot tub plan in motion. 

Robby:  

’ The way this works is…. I will come with 3-5 big burly guys and we will actually carry the hot tub from the truck trolly to where it needs to be set on your patio or deck.’  

I said to Ed, Really that’s how they do that?  They don’t use a crane.  Huh, this will be interesting!   Ok I am excited! Excellent, it’s a plan Robby!

The day before the big move, Robby checked out the hot tub to make sure everything was working properly.  CHECK AND CHECK!  The hot tub guy was on top of it!  Woohoo!  The spa didn’t have any problems and looked great!!! YAY, it was ready for the big day and keeping all fingers crossed!

Hot Tub Moving Day

Ed took off from work just to make sure the hot tub move went smoothly.  Cough.  The kids were all in school; no kids to get in the way here!  The old HOT tub trolly truck drove an hour without any obstacles and finally the hot tub was here!!!.  WOWee.   ‘This was a pretty big HOT TUB’.  It was the first I was seeing it in person.  5 person hot tub, OMG master spa, I love you…..no more aches, & soreness.  Oh Thank you Robby for getting it here safe!    The other guys saunter out of the truck and I whisper ‘Ed, Where are the 3-5 big burly guys?’

WHAT THE…

Robby had shown up with 2 skinny dudes.  He actually had to teach the guys how to use a dolly!  HUH? UH OH!!  What the heck is going on here?  Ok, Lets just hope!  I mean this is what they do right?   

They were taking their TIME getting the hot tub off the truck so I went back into the house for a few minutes.  I guess in the meantime, they picked up their speed where they had gotten the hot tub off the truck, onto its side, onto the dolly, and started moving it without the nervous homeowners around to watch the disaster!    Ed was also inside the house, passed by the window and witnessed (of course in slow motion) the whole HOT TUB in an UPRIGHT standing position FALLING to the ground.    Oh YES!! The HOT TUB was not strapped down (why would they?) on the dolly that the guys apparently didn’t know how to use!   WOW, why would they be so careful to bungee it to the truck to get it here but now at it’s most vulnerable upright position on it’s SIDE, not strap this thing in?    Ed starts yelling through the house

‘THEY DROPPED THE HOT TUB!’  

I looked out the window but by that point the men were cursing at each other and had gotten the HOT TUB back upright on it’s side and back on the dolly for one more try.  BUT as you can see in this picture it is still not strapped in! 

I snapped a pic because I was thinking ‘What the heck are they doing?’  I was thinking…….Should I be running out there (like I know my dad would) and yell at them to get that tub strapped in.  No, No, this is what they do. I may just make them mad!  

Finally they came to the realization that it needed to be bungeed down. DING!   Thank God, I didn’t have to run out there to tell them the obvious.  Ed comes running out ready to help them move the hot tub on the dolly.  I guess they also came to the other realization they should have had more men. DING DING!  Holy crap, and this is all right next to the driveway.  We have an obstacle course to get to the backyard.  S^/+!

 

The obstacle course and will the hot tub turn on?

Surprisingly, with the help of Ed, and this great invention called a bungee strap,  they made it around the skinny cement walkway, around to our gazebo.   Surprisingly, the tied down HOT TUB made it around our gazebo only centimeters from scraping the sides of it.  

THEY DID IT!  Wow.  Then they made it around the bushes and positioned the hot tub to come down on top of the electrical wires that were sticking up out of the concrete just waiting for it.

WOW perfection, and I mean no sarcasm here this time!  I seriously was so surprised they did all this without a hitch.  Like I said, this part of our backyard is one big obstacle and never did I ever think with how it all started that they would have accomplished it without any problem.   Would all of this been possible without it being strapped down? HELL NO!  I’m thanking Robby’s little light bulb for going off.   

Robby told Ed to flip the switch to make sure this bad boy turned on!  This is where we were all biting our fingernails including ROBBY!  WOHOO!!!!! And Yes it did!  Oh the Heavens.  Thank you Robby!

‘OK you can turn it off.’  Robby gave us maintenance tips and a short lesson on how to care for our ‘new’ master spa.  ‘OK guys, get out the hose and fill her up!’

HOT TUB FILL UP

OK this is when Robby took off!  I mean he was outta there! Ha.   This should have been a little clue for us that he was leaving before the hot tub was completely full with water.  Oh and don’t forget, he may have turned it on to see if the electrical was working but he never tested the jets with water actually in it.  

Sure enough after filling with water only 15 minutes after Robby left, Ed tried to run the jets! water was leaking all over out near one of the valves.  Ed and I didn’t know the first thing about hot tub maintenance……..ROBBY!!!! AHHHHHH!  ‘He’s got to be only 15 minutes away.  He’ll come back, call him!’ I said.  Ed got him on the phone and sent him a pic.  Water was just pouring out at this point and it was supposed to be freezing temperatures overnight.  Now we were worried about pipes freezing and this hot tub having an early death. 

‘Oh good luck man, I’m on my way out of town for the weekend!  I have a tailgate bbq I have to be in charge of.  I will be back on Monday.’

NO!!!! ROBBY!!!! Son of a … AHHHHH!!!

Our FRIDAY NIGHT ‘HOT TUB LEAKING’ SCRAMBLE

From here we ran from LOWES to Home Depot and back to Sweetwater Pool and SPA.  Ed couldn’t find the plumbing connectors he needed for the spa valves that broke from that glorious fall.  Of course it was a Master Spa custom order that may just take a couple of days too long especially if it froze overnight.  Considering that the water had not been heated yet, and not even knowing if the heating element was still in working condition, we were clueless as to what would happen to this thing.   Ed had the old piece in hand and was able to find a somewhat similar connector piece at Home Depot.  When we got home Ed rigged it all up! 

 Ed said,“I was able to temporarily stop the leak!  Just don’t turn on the jets!’   

OMG….

Finally, Hot tub Maintenance!

WOOHOO! After calling around for some time, a spa maintenance guy (NOT ROBBY) answered my emergency call and came out the very next day.  He took a look at it, asked Ed where our spa came from, and proceeded to tell us the entire history of this exact Hot tub.  What?  YUP the serviceman did previous repairs on this exact hot tub! HA! what do you know!   He knew the whole history behind the hot tub that originally lived an hour away.  We couldn’t have found a better maintenance guy in the end.   

Luckily, the parts to fix it were not expensive at all.  we paid for maintenance, which it needed, and a $10 valve part.  Our new hot tub maintenance guy got his old friend up and running. We were so excited despite the drama and the headache Robby and his fellow cronies gave us.

A Working Tub- Oh it’s awesome!

We have been enjoying the hot tub as you can see.  After cleaning it, googling and getting the tricky chemicals under control, we are so happy that we put one in.  I hear people don’t like hot tubs anymore….hmmm… well then that’s delicious for those who do!  Just find a good hot tub mover that uses a bungee cord. HA!  

AND  DAD, now I know why you run out to “HELP” all the time even when you are paying for ‘expert’ work!  I get it!   From now on, they will be asking themselves, ‘why the heck is this small person out here ‘helping’ us?  Doesn’t she know that we know how to do our job?  My answer- NO YOU DON’T! SORRY!…….Dang it… Strap that in!  Dad, I know now…it’s ok to run out and ‘help’ them(ahem- yell at them), 

they will get over it!

K.Rupp

P.S.- Names have been changed to protect GUILTY parties.

Until our next DIY project…I can’t take the paid fiascos anymore!

 

 

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