Spas or otherwise the ever popular name ‘Jacuzzi” a brand name from an American company. First invented by the Jacuzzi brothers who came up with the idea of using a jet stream of water and mixing air into the water, achieved though a venturi. Meaning that as the water is rushed passed a small hole it draws the air in though the hole and the air is mixed / induced into the water, increasing the pressure by up to 50% depending on how the air hole is located.
Since the first spas where manufactured a lot of new technology has been introduced, this includes the different shapes and sizes and various types of jets being made available for a varying massage. So too has the installation of the spa evolved making it more effective and efficient.
The last 10 years or so most spas installed are the portable / free standing type. Prior to that most spas where dug into the ground or partly into the ground, referred to as build-in. Where the spa shell would be positioned in one area and the equipment moved away to another location. The spa shell would then be bricked in and finished off with tiles or decking to achieve an interesting aesthetic look. One reason for doing this is exactly for the aesthetically pleasing look, the other is due to the noise level which the blower and motors produced. The noise from the motor during the heating process being the most irritating of them all, as the motor would need to run for about 5 hours every time the water is required to be heated. However, the down side to the equipment being in a separate location the shell is that the water would take much longer to heat up, as the water travels further to the heater, then returns back and during this process the water is cooled down again. Besides the heat loss with the water travelling to and fro, the pressure of the water is reduced by every cm and bend, thus reducing the optimal pressure at the jets. In the long term servicing of the spa also becomes tricky, for instance if for any reason a leak develops on the spa, it may be necessary to break up the tile or decking surround, which is messy and costly.
With all this in mind it makes sense to leave the equipment attached and underneath the spa, as it is in the portable / free standing spa. Should it be necessary for the spa to be more aesthetically installed? Be it in the ground or raised up to whatever level is suitable, in my option the spa should not be less than 400mm out of the ground, as it is easier to climb in and out of the spa. Besides that if the spa is standing outdoors, there is no problem with dust etc blowing into the spa. To achieve the aesthetic finish, be it tiles or decking etc. the starting point would be to build a cavity with a drainage point for any excess water. The cavity should be built a little larger than the spa on the one side where the equipment is housed. This is to accommodate access to the equipment underneath the spa, normally 500mm is sufficient. The spa is placed into the cavity and all finishing’s like tiling / decking can be done on and around the cavity walls. The access opening would then be covered with a false panel, and tiled.
By doing the installation in this way, the spa can be lifted out of the cavity without disturbing any of the surround, the jets would operate at their optimum and the spa will heat-up much quicker. Some companies fit their spas with a unique small motor, separate heating system that provides both silent and really economical heating advantages. With this type of heating system it is easy to maintain the spa water at a constant temperature, which leaves the spa ready to use at will and spontaneously. As there is no noise while the heating motor is running and since the spa water only needs to be raise by 2° at a time every couple of hours, it works out to be really economical to keep the spa ready for use at any time.
See below an example of how to install a portable spa to look built-in, yet retaining all the advantages of the portable spa. This self contained spa installation thus provides both the best portable advantages and achieving required aesthetics.
