My baby gets a Hot Tub- An adventure in hot tub-ing! Wenatchee Home Inspections
Well for our 20 year/5th wedding anniversary my wife wanted a new hot tub for the home. You may be asking how does this jive, 20 years and 4 anniversaries? We only have a true anniversary day every four years because we were married on leap day.
Now you may be saying “why in the heck is this taking so long to deliver on the gift”? Well we just moved into a new home in February so it took a while to get things in order and decide where the tub was to go.
As always with these little life endeavors there will have more to the story than just going and purchasing a new hot tub.
Being a home inspector I had to find out just what the requirements for hot tub placement and connections are. It has to be done right!
First off you will need the manufacturer’s specification for the pad and where the hot rub is to be placed.
Next is some information I found out that you may not know about the electrical connections. The electrical connections for a spa or hot tub installed outdoors will need to comply with certain provisions that apply to outdoor pools with some exceptions.
One of the main items is an outdoor receptacle; you are required to have a general purpose receptacle located within 6 ft to 20 ft from a hot tub or pool. This receptacle cannot be more than 6 ft 6 in above grade level. It also needs to be GFCI protected.
Any metal parts associated with or in the vicinity of an outdoor spa or hot tub must be bonded together. This includes all metal parts within 5 ft horizontally and 12 ft vertically must be bonded together.
The disconnecting means must be readily accessible to the spa's occupant but installed at least 5 feet from the spa water. There are provision for disconnects to be closer where space is limited but this has to be approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Here is something else the Electrical inspector here in Eastern Washington has informed me. Any spa or hot tub sold in Washington State has to be a listed tub by an approved authority such as UL or CSA, if it is not listed it cannot be hooked up.
He informed me that some people have bought tubs thinking it was a good deal (usually from out of state) only to find out the tub was not properly listed and as such could not be connected. If they find out the tub was sold from a local vendor they will issue a citation to them. Here is a link to the approved listing authorities for the State of Washington. Link
I called my supplier and found out they did not even know about this requirement but we had it checked out.
So when your baby wants that new hot tub I recommend you do a little research. There is more to know than just what tub you want to buy.
“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”
Red Adair
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
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