I have a full foam insulated hot tub and was wondering what is the best method to refoam. Had a problem with some water damage and had to remove almost one whole side of insulation. All water damage was due to leaks in skirting and not plumbing. Tub is an older Cal-Spa, in perfect working order. Got it from someone I work with and they no longer had use for it, so I don't want to invest a great deal of money into it. What would some of you who have restored old tubs recommend? Need to know what would be the most efficient and economical way to do the reinsulating. We live in Michigan and our winters can be extremely cold. What kind of insulation would be best?

I have a Cal Spa from 1997 and I noticed some leaking. What do you mean that the leaking was from the skirting? How did you get the skirting off of the tub without cutting it?

-john

My spa is octogan shaped in a square skirting. There are ceramic tiles on the top corners. The leakage was from around the tiled area of the top due to weathering. the person I got it from didn't do anything to preserve the wood or keep up the tiles, which should have been resiliconed.

I acquired a 1999 Jacuzzi tub with water damage and JUST got done a week ago rebuilding the entire frame and skirt panels. What a job! The original owner was a little old lady who didn't use the tub nor did she care for it (gift from her son).

It had a pin hole leak in a high pressue line under the frame that leaked for over two years and she just kept filling up the tub (thinking it was evaporation). Well, from the ground up to about 6" all the way around the tub was rotten.

It took me over 2 months and great pains to completely rebuild and restore the frame. I found it easier to completely rip all of the old insulation out and upgrade it to the thin construction insulation (styrofoam) in between the panels. Just used liquid nails to attach and a rotozip to cut styrofoam. No problem.

I completely rebuilt a cal spa last year. First thing, get rid of all the old spray foam. For some reason Cal spa uses an open cell foam in their hot tubs. When it gets wet, it soaks up moisture like a sponge, it will never dry. Like most other insulation, once it gets wet it is useless.

I actually had to rebuild the frame as mine was completely rotted out. I designed eight removable panels so that I have access to the plumbing. I then sprayed three inches of closed cell polyurethane foam to the inside of all the panels and the frame. I also sprayed three inches of foam to the underside of the base. Now all the mechanicals are housed inside the warm tub surround. My heater never comes on as the warmth from the pumps keeps everything warm. In 20 minutes the pumps alone will raise the temperature three degrees.

I am in Ontario, Canada. We get lots of cold snowy weather. Last winter there was no snow melt around the hot tub and an infra red scan indicated absolutely no heat loss. I am in the spray foam insulation business so I had access to the spray foam. However, based on the amount of spray foam that I used I suspect a local contractor could spray your tub for about $1000. This will be a great investment in your hot tub.