Every week I get a call from someone wanting to know if we can build a custom spa cover. The answer is always, unequivocally, yes. Now, maybe not ever spa can be covered. If you happen to be building a custom spa, you will be wise to take into consideration how to cover it. Since once it’s built, if it’s hard to get a cover on or off, in and out, it might be a bad investment.
Spa manufacturers are building all sorts of shapes and sizes these days that can be purchased and delivered to your home and covered easily. However, if you have a special size spa that requires a unique cover, the cost might skyrocket. Unfortunately far to often it is after the spa is complete and the owner gets their first heating bill that they think about a cover.
These spas are often featured in spa magazines and truly look amazing. I mean, who doesn’t want something like that? It’s like having a waterpark attraction in your home. They often feature natural looking rock walls and water falls, spill ways and infinite edges so that while you sit on the spa you can see the landscape beyond. All very impressive and expensive. Unfortunately heating and keeping debris out of such a work of art can also be an expensive proposition.
Inquire with the designer of a high-end spa about how they intend to cover it, and they will probably say that they don’t want it covered. That may not seem so bad if the spa is in southern California or some tropical island. However even these places need to keep rain water and blowing debris out of the spa. In snow country it becomes even more important to cover the spa when not in use.
If you’re looking to build a custom spa, have the designer take into account how to insulate it. Just having a safety cover anchored over the spa is not going to keep heat in or debris out. To insulate the water when the spa has different heights around the edge such as a spillway, the spa cover should actually rest on the water. If it can rest directly on the water, that will prevent evaporation and heat loss.
In order for the cover to be easy to attach and remove you also need to consider access around the spa. If one side is easier to do this from, then position it so.
There are solutions available to cover almost any spa if the cover is built into the initial design. It will most likely be a costly spa cover and pricey to replace however not as expensive as leaving the spa uncovered. The reason for the cost is that each time it is built is basically a one off production. So the answer is, “Yes, we can build you a great replacement hot tub cover today.”