We get this question from time to time – can a swim spa be partly or completely sunk into the ground?
The answer? Technically yes, but it is not recommended..
We see all sorts of cool marketing pics with cool sunken in swim spas and hot tubs, and while they look great…
Coming from a service and maintenance background, all we see is the potential service nightmare if we can’t access the main components of the swim spa.
It would be foolish to assume that nothing will ever go wrong – anything plumbing, mechanical or electrical will fail eventually, and when it does, you want to make sure you can service your swim spa easily, saving time and money.
If your swim spa has to be craned out to even be looked at, you’ve got a real problem on your hands.
So to sink a swim spa in, you essentially need a concrete bunker poured with access hatches around it to be able to get down below.
This will add at least $15k to the project and a lot of unnecessary complexity that will cost you time and money both now and later.
What most people do instead is build up AROUND the swim spa, not lower it down.
We even had one family build a steel platform for it to sit on, and built an addition onto their house so they could have the swim spa on the second story . They get a gorgeous view of the lake, and we have a beautiful heated room underneath with everything accessible!
Truly awesome but also not cheap.
Please think twice before sinking in a hot tub or swim spa. Just a simple concrete pad close to the house will do!
