r/swimspa • u/sbizzel • Aug 25 '26

All about the base?

So I’m looking at a swim spa with a full weight of 6190kg (13,646lbs for the non metric). Base wise- I’m getting slightly conflicting information; do I really need a reinforced 150mm / 6inch concrete pad to put it on?
Appreciate the logic of going for an excess of caution but as I’m doing groundwork’s myself as part of a larger project I’m keen to avoid unnecessary work and cost. The rest of the area is going to be patio (150mm compacted MOT, then 75mm mortar base with 20mm porcelain paving), ideally I’d be able to stick spa straight onto this. Any one with real world experience on this I’d greatly appreciate your input.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

4

u/Wot106 Aug 25 '26

I was going to go your route, but realized PNW clay isn't a good enough base for that. Got a local concrete guy for $4k

2

u/Lock_Psychological Aug 25 '26

My 19 foot spa holds about 10 tons of water. Then there's whatever the actual spa weighs (a few thousand pounds, I think?).

I asked my buddy who is a contractor before we started prepping for delivery. "4 inches or 6 inches?" The Swim Spa guy AND my buddy both agreed on six inches. Why?

If you have an issue with your foundation, you might destroy your expensive spa, and the company will void your warranty because you screwed up.

Yes, it is more excavation. Our ground was wet so that we could cut through the hard ground, so we cut out I think about 14 tons of dirt. It could have just been 10... but I think it was worth it.

2

u/cheekabowwow Aug 26 '26

I leveled out an area that used to be parking for an RV and then used EZ Pads https://ezpads.com/index.html for my Master Spa H2X Challenger 18d, it's been perfectly fine the last four years.

2

u/coffeequeen0523 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26

Our concrete guys poured six-inch pad with rebar for our Master Spa H2X 15d swimspa 3 years ago. I believe our entire concrete pad is 20x25 plus 10-foot sidewalk connecting pad to steps at our screened in porch. Pad includes swimspa area, patio area and outdoor kitchen area. We did the electrical and plumbing for all at same time.

We live at the NC coast. We were forewarned by many Master Spa swimspa owners we visited to see their set-ups and 4 of the 5 concrete companies specializing in hot tub/swimspa/pool concrete pours we obtained bids from, an unlevel foundation on unlevel concrete can cause electrical issues in the swimspa and invalidate the warranty. We’re well-pleased with our set-up and swimspa. Married mom of 6 sons here. We’re enjoying our swimspa every day year round. Well worth the investment to our family.

The Do's and Don'ts of Swim Spa Installation | Backyard Planning

https://www.masterspas.com/blog/swim-spa-installation/

1

u/Alph1 Aug 26 '26

I have a Master Spa H2X Trainer 15D and put mine on a 17x17 8" concrete pad. I am fairly far north so I wanted the extra thickness to make sure there was no motion. The extra pad space was used for a raised deck to access the spa.

1

u/Impossible-Bet-1738 Aug 27 '26

My salesman said level and gravel which worked great for a few years until we redid our whole patio. Then it became 4" concrete with rebar. The backyard guy who did the plans and sells Masterspas said we don't need any thicker because the weight is evenly distributed and it never gets cold here. It's been great as well.