Getting a Hot Tub Out of a Redding Backyard

Shut off the breaker and pull the disconnect before anything else touches a hot tub, because a live 240 volt line behind the cabinet is the one hazard on this job. Junk pickup of a spa in Redding follows a fixed order, and redding junk pickup myphr sets that order deliberately: power off, water out, cover and jets stripped, then the shell moved. Most tubs in Shasta County sit on a pad behind a side gate, and the gate width decides the method.

How is a hot tub drained and disconnected?

A licensed electrician or a confident owner removes the wiring from the disconnect box and caps the conductors. The tub then drains through the bottom spigot or with a submersible pump. Spa water carries chlorine or bromine, so it runs onto gravel or a lawn that can take it, away from storm drains. A full six person tub holds around four hundred gallons, and that is more than three thousand pounds of water.

How wide does the gate have to be?

A standard spa is seven to eight feet on a side, and a typical Redding side gate is three feet wide. A tub does not turn that corner whole. Two choices remain: lift the tub over a low fence with a crew of four or more, or cut it apart where it sits. Cutting is the usual answer on a yard with a fence on three sides.

What does cutting a tub apart involve?

The cover, the skirt panels and the control pack come off first. The acrylic shell is cut with a reciprocating saw, in sections no larger than a person can carry, and the foam and plumbing under it are pulled by hand. Dust and fiberglass strands are common, so long sleeves, gloves and a mask go on before the saw does. The pieces stack on a box truck or a dump trailer in a single load.

What is left behind on the pad?

A tub sits on a concrete slab or a bed of compacted gravel. The slab stays unless the owner asks for it to be broken out. Treated lumber from a surrounding deck, the electrical conduit and the steps are separate pieces, and each one goes to the landfill or the transfer station depending on its material.

When is the best time of day?

Summer in Redding passes one hundred degrees by noon, and a black acrylic shell in direct sun gets hot enough to blister bare skin. The work starts at seven, finishes the cutting before the sun clears the roofline, and loads in the shade where possible. The weight ticket at the transfer station is lighter when the tub is drained and the foam is bagged separately.