This guy is brilliant, he knows his stuff, a year and a half ago he helped me upgrade my new hot tub to a heat pump which made it stupidly cheap to run when compared to the standard internal heater, it’s already paid for itself with how much it’s used! 😅 I did it all myself with his instructions and I learnt allot. 👍
I'm a french floor tiler and I've seen many videos to create my hot tub. This one is the best I've found so far. Thanks very much for your advices, Every steps is detailed, clear and understandable (even for a french ;). Let's follow your advice, step 1 : draw the plan of my future hot tub. Eventually, I'll get in touch with you if I can't find a solution in one of your videos. Thanks again for sharing. Mat
I have the pump, heater, and controls from a hot tub we demolished (broken shell). Finding this channel is fortuitous, and I just wanted to say thank you for this, I'll be following along and planning a tub of my own! We have similar issues, no access behind our house.
I think its a great way to experiment with a build and I was thinking how cool the design would be as a tiny house… I would love to have the skills to build my own tiny house!
Thank you so much, I am looking at building a hot tub for my parents and had no idea where to start. This video was extremely helpful for me understanding the process of this construction. Great video.
48:47 sorry I had too 🤣 great video tho, very interested in these kits. I want to make one that emulates a Japanese hot spring style. maybe put two of them together
Hi Andy. Thank you for making your UA-cam channel. It is a wealth of information. I'm on a mission to convert an old oak whiskey barrel into a hot tub. I'm trying to do it as environmentally friendly as possible so I'm figuring out how to convert my exercise bike to power a heating element that will be inside the barrel. With the barrel being so small how many jets would you recommend? Kind regards, Jim.
Hi Jim - I would go for 4 jets - place them at different heights around the barrell and you will get a great massage from that - thanks for the kind words on the channel - Andi
Wow 🤩 thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. I’ve been thinking about building one on my patio. I’m looking forward to building a hot tub. I enjoyed it.😎😁
Good video thx a lot very well organized Questions 1) how much did your tub roughly cost? 2) how long did it take to built? 3) i understand that tgis was your start up and now you build for others.... how many have you built? Can you make a decent living of it?
Thanks for the comments Jos. My tub was around £5500 / $7500. It took me around 4 months to do working on it at weekends only really. I don't build tubs for customers, I design them and supply the parts plus consult on their projects. I've over 150 customers all over the world. "Making a decent living" is always somewhat subjective but I am happy with what I do and how the business is going. - thanks - Andi
Thanks for the comment - don’t see why not - depends on how much you can generate - if you are running on electric to heat and use jets could have you at 40A per hour which at 220V is about 10KWH - hope that helps - Andi
We purchased a large above ground spa for our RV park. The salesman sold it as a commercial spa. When the county health inspector showed up he shut it down because it was not a “commercial spa”. I guess the issue is that the filtration system won’t handle the number of bodies in it. So I was wondering if we could connect it into the pools system. I would think water from the pool system could be pumped in and then flow to the pool? This would then not be a true spa at higher temperature, but that would be better than no spa. Or could temp be higher if heated water went directly to spa then the pool. Your thoughts. Right now the investment is wasted. The inspector seems to think a commercial spa has to be inground.
Hi Ivan. Thanks for the message. I stay away from commercial projects for this exact reason - a lot of red tape. Commercial Spas usually have a balance tank (an overflow as you never know how many people will be in them and you need to store the displaced water to be returned when they get out - this is probably what you are refering to as being in ground) a higher turnover of the water (speed it all goes through the filter), they use sand filtration medium not cartridge and usually have auto dosing chemical systems attached to them too. The heat controls are usually not accessible to the bathers who just have on/off buttons for the jets and blower. This is somewhat simplified and this may vary from area to area but as I said, this is not my area of expertise and i only work on domestic projects. The chances of doing what you are suggesting and getting a health inpector to sign it off is slim in my opinion, again, only an opinion as I dont work in the commecial area. Sorry about that - my opinion is that you are best getting in a spa professional to convert what you have to being comercially complaiant - hope that helps - Andi
thanks for such long and detailed information. im wondering if i can make myself one of those and if i can re-use some of the "gadgets" from my old 'normal' home bath tubes with 'jacuzzi' :)
Hi Antonio, the parts from those "bath tubs" are more suited to stock tank tubs than concrete or block built hot tubs - you will really struggle to make them work for that kind of a build. For example, you might have a 0.5HP or less pump on a Jacuzzi bath, you will need 3HP+ on a concrete tub. Jets are totally different too and wont fit to block or concrete and pipes are much smaller on a jacuzzi tub - there also tends to be no external heating or filtering. I have more info on stock tanks here - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-the-ultimate-diy-stock-tank-hot-tub/ if that is something you are interested in - cheers, Andi
Hi Ramohn, Many thanks for the message. How hot are you looking to get the pool to? Lots of variables here like insulation, goegraphic location, ambient temperature and starting/target temperature. Electric is probably not the way to go as you are looking for speed. Gas would be around 37KW/122k BTU for that size. Gas/Propane is the quickest in terms of heating. An Air Source Heat Pump would be more efficient and you would need 17KW/58K BTU for that body of water for the brand of ASHP. These figures are based on the brands I supply and their spec sheets. Hope that helps - Andi www.buildahottub.com
Hi Jeff, I get my covers custom made to fit the tub that has been built. Best way is to build the tub first, then once you have at least the walls in place, get an order in for a custom cover. Dimensions can change on site during a build so it is always best to work with actual dimensions rather than ones from drawings. - Hope that helps - Andi
Full System, pump, filter, heater jets - hope that helps. Subsequenty, I have remodelled from that video and have added a circulation pump and separated the jets and the heating and filtration - thanks for the comment - Andi
Hi Dean - thanks for the comment. On this kind of a setup, you use a blower rather than veturi for the air. With a plastic shell hot tub, quite often they dont have a dedicated air blower. What they do instead is open up a valve to allow air in - this is drawn in by venturi and increases the power of the jets. On the system that I use in my builds, the air is blown in by the blower and as such, you dont need these air valves - hope that makes sense - I have a video on the blower and how that works too - thanks Andi
Not sure what you are getting at here. Yes, the dirt you remove weighs a lot but there is no structural integrity required for just the dirt alone, there is to hold the water though. Thanks for the view though.
Hi There, I can supply all the parts you need in the USA - head over the website and you can chat live there or contact me www.buildahottub.com - Cheers
Sure, it came in at just over $6K. Most of my customers today are building in the $5500-$6500 mark depending on specifications and finishes. Thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe to the channel ;)
@@Buildahottub Isn't that what someone could buy one for? Minus the situation you were in, what would be the benefit of someone building one at that price tag?
@@marlaplunk2833 - lots of reasons people build them, I have highlighted a few here - buildahottub.com/why-build-a-hot-tub-when-i-can-buy-one/ I have lots of people come my way because the lead times for plastic tubs are so long at present too. If you like building things, its an awesome project! Some just dont like the plastic tubs to be honest. Each to their own I guess. Thanks for the watch and comment, Andi
@@Buildahottub :) I appreciate the reply. I am for sure a DIY person, and I do like to build things myself, however, my motives are MOSTLY driven by saving money. Curiosity and challenging myself are a close second and third motive. :)
+dragonaac - thanks for the watch and kind comment. I certainly do - you can find these here - shop.buildahottub.com/product-category/infinity/ - I also have an article here - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-a-diy-infinity-or-overflow-hot-tub/ Hope that helps
I am reading these photos. And it looks like those are zero edge on one side. The design I want is a zero edge on the entire perimeter of the rectangle jacuzzi. I don’t see anything on your website about it.
I dont have anything on the site for zero edge all the way around. This is certainly something I can design for you buildahottub.com/custom - there are a number of variables to work out in terms of the size, max number of people going to use the tub etc as the water needs to be stored in a balance tank then returned to the tub.
Hi Eduardo, I can certainly help you with that. I supply all the kit you need. Can you drop me an email to andi at buildahottub.com and we can discuss this further. Or, you can get in touch via the website at www.buildahottub.com
Thanks for the comment. Depends on so many factors, choice of finish, heating option you choose - most of my customers will build for around $7k-8K on an electric heater setup - hope that helps - Andi
Hi Dexter, thanks for the message. You can find a link to the design here. shop.buildahottub.com/product/the-original-102-x-90-dimensional-plumbing-shopping-list-instructions-imperial/ There is a metric version in the store too. Most customers will build all in for between $6000-$7000 (USD) - a lot of that depends on how your finish the tub and the tiles you use etc. Hope that helps Cheers Andi
Relaxing in "agitated" water which is what the jets and blower do, for many is the experience they are looking for - including me. Their purpose is to "agitate" the water. You would need some form of hot water return from your heater if you were going to have just a hot swimming pool. Some do this, especially on a plunge pool or cocktail pool setup - there tends to be no jets. You are right, that setup is cheaper too. Thanks for the comment, cheers, Andi
Hi Max, sure, that is not a problem. I have another video that looks at the different heating options - ua-cam.com/video/MhNAWmx51y4/v-deo.html Hope you find that useful - any questions please do get in touch - thanks
Hi There, yes, I sell all the plumbing and electrical parts as a kit - please get in touch with me through the website www.buildahottub.com if you would like a quotation - thanks, Andi
You can have a hartford loop in your blower lines or in your Ozone lines - it can work without as long as you have the right check vavles in place. Thanks - Andi
Hi There, depends on what you are comparing the saving against. A custom made tub from a spa builder will cost you 3x what it costs to do it yourself. You will be able to build for about the same cost as a large plastic shell tub, 7K ish (GBP or USD) Hope that helps - Andi
How long is a piece of string - varies massively. I started mine in Early september and was done by the end of December doing just weekends - hope that helps - Andi
If someone wanted a round one they can buy a precast cess pool ring they just need to beable to pick it up and drop into place might have to rent a small excavator or something idk.
If it were me, i'd use my good looks and natural charm..............neither of which my wife is convinced I have!....thanks for the watch and comment, cheers - Andi
So your telling me if I want to build a wood fire hot tub not to ? Well I have an outside wood furnace that runs off of a pump. You didn't covet these...
Hi There, thanks for the comment. I specialise in Concrete and Block Built tubs. I'm not a big fan of wood fire myself although I do have some customers who are building them. You can read a case study about Francisco here - buildahottub.com/case-study-franciscos-fire-pit-hot-tub-build/ this is an ongoing project I am working on with him. I do have a blog post on the wood tubs that you can read here too - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-the-ultimate-diy-wooden-hot-tub/ Hope that helps, cheers, Andi
I hope you find the video useful. For more information, head over to my website www.buildahottub.com
Do you have a coupon for your blueprints on website. It asks for a coupon
This guy is brilliant, he knows his stuff, a year and a half ago he helped me upgrade my new hot tub to a heat pump which made it stupidly cheap to run when compared to the standard internal heater, it’s already paid for itself with how much it’s used! 😅
I did it all myself with his instructions and I learnt allot. 👍
I'm a french floor tiler and I've seen many videos to create my hot tub. This one is the best I've found so far. Thanks very much for your advices, Every steps is detailed, clear and understandable (even for a french ;). Let's follow your advice, step 1 : draw the plan of my future hot tub. Eventually, I'll get in touch with you if I can't find a solution in one of your videos. Thanks again for sharing.
Mat
Thanks Mathias for the kind words - get in touch if I can help! - Andi
I have the pump, heater, and controls from a hot tub we demolished (broken shell). Finding this channel is fortuitous, and I just wanted to say thank you for this, I'll be following along and planning a tub of my own! We have similar issues, no access behind our house.
Thanks for the kind words Rich. If you need any help with any parts or designs, give me a shout, always happy to help! Cheers, Andi
Brilliant, you can never spend too much on your fur baby. New sub here.
I think its a great way to experiment with a build and I was thinking how cool the design would be as a tiny house… I would love to have the skills to build my own tiny house!
Thank you so much, I am looking at building a hot tub for my parents and had no idea where to start. This video was extremely helpful for me understanding the process of this construction. Great video.
You're very welcome!
Man’s best friend 🐶🧠💪🙋♂️🤝
48:47 sorry I had too 🤣 great video tho, very interested in these kits. I want to make one that emulates a Japanese hot spring style. maybe put two of them together
Hi Andy. Thank you for making your UA-cam channel. It is a wealth of information. I'm on a mission to convert an old oak whiskey barrel into a hot tub. I'm trying to do it as environmentally friendly as possible so I'm figuring out how to convert my exercise bike to power a heating element that will be inside the barrel.
With the barrel being so small how many jets would you recommend? Kind regards, Jim.
Hi Jim - I would go for 4 jets - place them at different heights around the barrell and you will get a great massage from that - thanks for the kind words on the channel - Andi
Wow 🤩 thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. I’ve been thinking about building one on my patio. I’m looking forward to building a hot tub. I enjoyed it.😎😁
Thanks for the kind words Kevin. If you need any help with the design or with parts supply please get in touch through www.buildahottub.com - cheers
Wonderful Great Detail!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Good video thx a lot very well organized
Questions
1) how much did your tub roughly cost?
2) how long did it take to built?
3) i understand that tgis was your start up and now you build for others.... how many have you built? Can you make a decent living of it?
Thanks for the comments Jos. My tub was around £5500 / $7500. It took me around 4 months to do working on it at weekends only really. I don't build tubs for customers, I design them and supply the parts plus consult on their projects. I've over 150 customers all over the world. "Making a decent living" is always somewhat subjective but I am happy with what I do and how the business is going. - thanks - Andi
Is it possible to run a generator that is separate from the house to power everything that will be in the control room???
Thanks for the comment - don’t see why not - depends on how much you can generate - if you are running on electric to heat and use jets could have you at 40A per hour which at 220V is about 10KWH - hope that helps - Andi
We purchased a large above ground spa for our RV park. The salesman sold it as a commercial spa. When the county health inspector showed up he shut it down because it was not a “commercial spa”. I guess the issue is that the filtration system won’t handle the number of bodies in it. So I was wondering if we could connect it into the pools system. I would think water from the pool system could be pumped in and then flow to the pool? This would then not be a true spa at higher temperature, but that would be better than no spa. Or could temp be higher if heated water went directly to spa then the pool. Your thoughts. Right now the investment is wasted. The inspector seems to think a commercial spa has to be inground.
Hi Ivan. Thanks for the message. I stay away from commercial projects for this exact reason - a lot of red tape. Commercial Spas usually have a balance tank (an overflow as you never know how many people will be in them and you need to store the displaced water to be returned when they get out - this is probably what you are refering to as being in ground) a higher turnover of the water (speed it all goes through the filter), they use sand filtration medium not cartridge and usually have auto dosing chemical systems attached to them too. The heat controls are usually not accessible to the bathers who just have on/off buttons for the jets and blower. This is somewhat simplified and this may vary from area to area but as I said, this is not my area of expertise and i only work on domestic projects. The chances of doing what you are suggesting and getting a health inpector to sign it off is slim in my opinion, again, only an opinion as I dont work in the commecial area. Sorry about that - my opinion is that you are best getting in a spa professional to convert what you have to being comercially complaiant - hope that helps - Andi
thanks for such long and detailed information. im wondering if i can make myself one of those and if i can re-use some of the "gadgets" from my old 'normal' home bath tubes with 'jacuzzi' :)
Hi Antonio, the parts from those "bath tubs" are more suited to stock tank tubs than concrete or block built hot tubs - you will really struggle to make them work for that kind of a build. For example, you might have a 0.5HP or less pump on a Jacuzzi bath, you will need 3HP+ on a concrete tub. Jets are totally different too and wont fit to block or concrete and pipes are much smaller on a jacuzzi tub - there also tends to be no external heating or filtering. I have more info on stock tanks here - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-the-ultimate-diy-stock-tank-hot-tub/ if that is something you are interested in - cheers, Andi
@@Buildahottub thanks for such fast reply. i will give it a look later on! br
I built pools, but have problems with pool heaters. How many kilowatts can heat 50 cubic mt in 2 hours?
Hi Ramohn, Many thanks for the message. How hot are you looking to get the pool to? Lots of variables here like insulation, goegraphic location, ambient temperature and starting/target temperature. Electric is probably not the way to go as you are looking for speed. Gas would be around 37KW/122k BTU for that size. Gas/Propane is the quickest in terms of heating. An Air Source Heat Pump would be more efficient and you would need 17KW/58K BTU for that body of water for the brand of ASHP. These figures are based on the brands I supply and their spec sheets. Hope that helps - Andi www.buildahottub.com
Great video!
Thank you, much appreciated.
How did you source spa cover? Would like more info on that and if you need to size spa based on standard cover sizes.
Hi Jeff, I get my covers custom made to fit the tub that has been built. Best way is to build the tub first, then once you have at least the walls in place, get an order in for a custom cover. Dimensions can change on site during a build so it is always best to work with actual dimensions rather than ones from drawings. - Hope that helps - Andi
Tanking !!! Most important issue .. how do you seal the inner and round the fittings ?
did you install a filter system or only the hydro jets pump/system?
Full System, pump, filter, heater jets - hope that helps. Subsequenty, I have remodelled from that video and have added a circulation pump and separated the jets and the heating and filtration - thanks for the comment - Andi
Thanks for the video. You haven't mentioned anything about air control valves...are these necessary?
Hi Dean - thanks for the comment. On this kind of a setup, you use a blower rather than veturi for the air. With a plastic shell hot tub, quite often they dont have a dedicated air blower. What they do instead is open up a valve to allow air in - this is drawn in by venturi and increases the power of the jets. On the system that I use in my builds, the air is blown in by the blower and as such, you dont need these air valves - hope that makes sense - I have a video on the blower and how that works too - thanks Andi
the confusing part for me is yes water weighs alot but.... so does the dirt you remove especially if its full of stones ?
Not sure what you are getting at here. Yes, the dirt you remove weighs a lot but there is no structural integrity required for just the dirt alone, there is to hold the water though. Thanks for the view though.
Bullseye!
Also do you have any tips on doing a wet deck? Or adding water features? Like a sprayer or jet underwater in the wet deck.
Or waterfall
I have an article here on waterfeatures - buildahottub.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-adding-a-water-feature-in-your-diy-hot-tub/ Hope that helps
What is a good internet source for the parts, gunite jets etc in the US??
Hi There, I can supply all the parts you need in the USA - head over the website and you can chat live there or contact me www.buildahottub.com - Cheers
So how much was the total cost of the project minus the deck and fencing if you don't mind me asking in us dollars...I love it...
Sure, it came in at just over $6K. Most of my customers today are building in the $5500-$6500 mark depending on specifications and finishes. Thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe to the channel ;)
@@Buildahottub Isn't that what someone could buy one for? Minus the situation you were in, what would be the benefit of someone building one at that price tag?
@@marlaplunk2833 - lots of reasons people build them, I have highlighted a few here - buildahottub.com/why-build-a-hot-tub-when-i-can-buy-one/ I have lots of people come my way because the lead times for plastic tubs are so long at present too. If you like building things, its an awesome project! Some just dont like the plastic tubs to be honest. Each to their own I guess. Thanks for the watch and comment, Andi
@@Buildahottub :) I appreciate the reply. I am for sure a DIY person, and I do like to build things myself, however, my motives are MOSTLY driven by saving money. Curiosity and challenging myself are a close second and third motive. :)
Do you build this for people’s homes ?
I dont sorry - I can help with plans and I can help with the parts but I dont do any on site work - thanks for the comment - Andi
awesome video. Do you offer instructions for a zero edge jacuzzi? I just saw info for an endless edge on one side. I’m building in the US
+dragonaac - thanks for the watch and kind comment. I certainly do - you can find these here - shop.buildahottub.com/product-category/infinity/ - I also have an article here - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-a-diy-infinity-or-overflow-hot-tub/
Hope that helps
I am reading these photos. And it looks like those are zero edge on one side. The design I want is a zero edge on the entire perimeter of the rectangle jacuzzi. I don’t see anything on your website about it.
I dont have anything on the site for zero edge all the way around. This is certainly something I can design for you buildahottub.com/custom - there are a number of variables to work out in terms of the size, max number of people going to use the tub etc as the water needs to be stored in a balance tank then returned to the tub.
Hi, where i can buy every thing to make hot tub my self
Hi Eduardo, I can certainly help you with that. I supply all the kit you need. Can you drop me an email to andi at buildahottub.com and we can discuss this further. Or, you can get in touch via the website at www.buildahottub.com
Man, i will order one!!! How much that size?
Thanks for the comment. Depends on so many factors, choice of finish, heating option you choose - most of my customers will build for around $7k-8K on an electric heater setup - hope that helps - Andi
How do I do this but with a log burning heating system
Thanks for the comment. Check out this case study it should help a little - buildahottub.com/case-study-franciscos-fire-pit-hot-tub-build/
whats the rough cost for 8x8 / exactly the same as yours?
Hi Dexter, thanks for the message.
You can find a link to the design here. shop.buildahottub.com/product/the-original-102-x-90-dimensional-plumbing-shopping-list-instructions-imperial/ There is a metric version in the store too.
Most customers will build all in for between $6000-$7000 (USD) - a lot of that depends on how your finish the tub and the tiles you use etc.
Hope that helps
Cheers
Andi
Also what is the purpose of jets and a blower, if you just want warm water to soak in to save cost ?
Relaxing in "agitated" water which is what the jets and blower do, for many is the experience they are looking for - including me. Their purpose is to "agitate" the water. You would need some form of hot water return from your heater if you were going to have just a hot swimming pool. Some do this, especially on a plunge pool or cocktail pool setup - there tends to be no jets. You are right, that setup is cheaper too. Thanks for the comment, cheers, Andi
Is it possible to use natural gas as the heat source?
Hi Max, sure, that is not a problem. I have another video that looks at the different heating options - ua-cam.com/video/MhNAWmx51y4/v-deo.html
Hope you find that useful - any questions please do get in touch - thanks
Do you sale the pluming parts or supply a contact to buy from
Hi There, yes, I sell all the plumbing and electrical parts as a kit - please get in touch with me through the website www.buildahottub.com if you would like a quotation - thanks, Andi
Can a hot tub work without hartford loop
You can have a hartford loop in your blower lines or in your Ozone lines - it can work without as long as you have the right check vavles in place. Thanks - Andi
Does it save much money?
Hi There, depends on what you are comparing the saving against. A custom made tub from a spa builder will cost you 3x what it costs to do it yourself. You will be able to build for about the same cost as a large plastic shell tub, 7K ish (GBP or USD) Hope that helps - Andi
How many man hours does something like this take?
How long is a piece of string - varies massively. I started mine in Early september and was done by the end of December doing just weekends - hope that helps - Andi
You could dump it into your lawn if you're using chlorine, just give it a week and let it turn green then drain it
If someone wanted a round one they can buy a precast cess pool ring they just need to beable to pick it up and drop into place might have to rent a small excavator or something idk.
What are the dimensions of this hot tub?
Hi Franklin, it is 2.4m x 2.6m (7.87' x 8.53') - thanks for the watch and comment - Andi
Where do I get the pvc fittings
I can supply you all the fittings you need - will email you as I have received your email too. Thanks.
Any tips for getting the hot neighbor's wife to come try it out once it's finished?
If it were me, i'd use my good looks and natural charm..............neither of which my wife is convinced I have!....thanks for the watch and comment, cheers - Andi
😂😂
Invite her husband.
You called the man hot. You meant to say “neighbors hot wife”
@@jakaubspina eh, I'll concede that it's ambiguous if you'll concede that you chose to interpret it that way
So your telling me if I want to build a wood fire hot tub not to ? Well I have an outside wood furnace that runs off of a pump. You didn't covet these...
Hi There, thanks for the comment. I specialise in Concrete and Block Built tubs. I'm not a big fan of wood fire myself although I do have some customers who are building them. You can read a case study about Francisco here - buildahottub.com/case-study-franciscos-fire-pit-hot-tub-build/ this is an ongoing project I am working on with him.
I do have a blog post on the wood tubs that you can read here too - buildahottub.com/how-to-build-the-ultimate-diy-wooden-hot-tub/
Hope that helps, cheers, Andi
why is your logo a shed and not a hot tub lol
lol - because DIYers build things in sheds - and a hot tub would have been predicatble! Thanks for the comment - Andi
To bad you can’t show stuff other then you
I make talking head videos....600+ of them are on my channel - thanks for the comment though