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Choosing a Hot Tub Enclosure

Ok, you've bought a hot tub (or you're in the process of buying one), but maybe you didn't think about an enclosure for it at the time. If you want to use your hot tub year around (and you will... trust me, I've been a spa owner for years, and I'm out there soothing my aching muscles almost every day!), an enclosure can really help. You may be thinking you can rough it (hot tub enclosures? We don't need no stinking hot tub enclosures...), but it's not very fun sitting out there in the rain. Again, trust me: I live in the Pacific Northwest. Putting a roof over our hot tub was one of the first priorities. And if you live somewhere it snows... well sitting in the hot tub in the snow is actually kind of fun. But rain... rain is a definite fun squelcher. So, what are your options?

Do-It-Yourself Enclosures

We actually built ours ourselves (it's kind of a cross between a pergola and a gazebo; it's got a roof, four poles at the corners, a couple of cross-bars--aka the place to set drinks and magazines--and some lattice work to give us privacy from the neighbors), but my dad did most of the work. He's from that older generation (you know, the one that is handy and actually knows how to use everything in the tool box). So we bought all the wood, cut it, attached it to cement blocks for support, and put a roof on top. We did it without a kit or instructions or anything. Amazingly, our enclosure is still standing after a couple of winters. :)

If you're less of a do-it-yourself type but still willing to get your hands dirty, you might want to get a hot tub enclosure kit.

Hot Tub Enclosure/Gazebo Kits

With kits, basically the wood, plastic, or whatever you choose for the material comes already cut and has instructions on how to assemble it. Depending on the time of year you're shopping, you might be able to find such a kit at your local home improvement store. I'd actually recommend browsing on the web though. There's so much more variety out there, and the shipping isn't as bad as you'd think. (Because many online stores don't have a brick-and-mortar building, they can cut the costs a lot and you can get a good price on a gazebo/enclosure kit).

Hiring Someone to Build It for You

Never underestimate the sheer pleasure of hiring someone to handle all the work for you. If you have the money to spare, you can hire someone to build your hot tub enclosure. This can be a good idea, in particular, if you're planning to do a whole revamping of your landscape, deck, etc. It's more cost effective to have it all done at once. Look in your local phone book (or better yet, ask around the neighborhood for recommendations) for landscape designers and see if they will do hot tub enclosures as part of the deal.

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