How To Move a Hot Tub In 10 Easy Steps – Ultimate Guide

Whether you’re getting ready to move or simply have backyard renovations on your mind to revive your space to its original glory, you’ve got a lot of planning to do!

If you happen to have a hot tub, the thought of moving it during your renovations or bringing it to your new home may have crossed your mind. This isn’t an impossible feat, but it sure is a daunting one for many.

If you’re not sure how to move a hot tub on your own and have been searching for the perfect guide to help you out, you’ve come to the right place.

Our team of professionals has been in the industry since the late 90s, and we’ve been called many times to help our customers relocate their spas over the years.

To make this as stress-free as possible, we’ve created a comprehensive guide on how to move a hot tub so you can relocate your spa with as little stress as possible!

How To Move a Hot Tub In 10 Easy Steps

Whether you’re moving homes or renovating your backyard, relocating your hot tub will take plenty of planning, and many of these steps will remain the same for both.

However, if you plan to move a hot tub to a new house, there are a few extra things you’ll need to do. These will be labeled accordingly to make this guide easy to follow, no matter the type of relocation!

Let’s get started.

1. Decide Your New Location

Whether you’re moving your hot tub within your existing yard or are bringing it to your new home, the first thing you need to do is decide on where it’s going to be placed.

Choosing its new location is important. You won’t want to move your hot tub again, so ensure it’s a spot you’re confident in.

Choose a location where the ground is level, ensuring your hot tub is stable and well-supported, avoiding the potential of structural damage occurring in the future.

Additionally, avoid choosing an area directly under any trees in your yard. This will help minimize any debris that could end up falling into your water during use.

2. Install Your New Hot Tub Foundation

Once you’ve chosen your location, you’ll need to install a foundation for your hot tub.

Foundations are an essential part of your hot tub installation. They protect your hot tub from sinking into the soft ground, and they keep your hot tub level when installed properly.

This keeps the weight of your spa even across the entire base. If your weight distribution is off, your cabinet and shell can suffer irreversible damage over time!

If you’re not using an existing patio or deck as your new foundation, you’ll need to decide how you would like to support your hot tub.

One of the most popular foundations people use is concrete because it’s inexpensive and has a long life span.

Some other foundations include:

• Crushed gravel
• Paving stones
• Spa pads

3. Gather Supplies (And Friends!)

When moving something as big and heavy as a hot tub, you’ll need some heavy-duty supplies to make it an easy task.

If you’re simply moving your hot tub to another area in your yard, you’ll only need a few strong friends, two carts or dollies with high load tolerances, and a piece of thick plywood or a large pallet.

Because you’ll need the hot tub lifted off the ground to get it onto the carts, you’ll need at least four helpers, one for each corner of the spa.

If you’re relocating your hot tub to a new house, you’ll need some extra supplies to protect your spa during transport. These include:

• A large moving truck
• Thick moving straps
• Cleaning supplies
• Protective wrapping

4. Drain Your Hot Tub

Now that you have your foundation ready and have gathered the necessary supplies, you’re ready to start getting your hot tub ready for the move.

The first thing you need to do is disconnect your hot tub from its power source and safely store the cords for later.

Then, fully drain your hot tub. Even if you’re just moving it across your yard, this is a must. Hot tubs are manageable when they’re empty, but once there’s water in them, they can weigh over 5000 lbs!

Don’t attempt the impossible. Drain your hot tub before a move of any kind. If you don’t want to stand around waiting for it to drain, you can use a submersible pump. They can drain a hot tub in as little as 15 minutes!

If you’re moving it to a new home, give it a quick clean before moving on to the next step. This will help get rid of any small debris that is left on the surface, keeping it from drying out and scratching your shell.

5. Lift Your Spa onto The Dollies

Once your hot tub is drained, have your friends gently lift up the edge of your hot tub, and slide the plywood or pallet underneath.

When it’s in place, carefully roll the dollys underneath and raise them up to steadily support your spa. This will need to be done both in the front and the back of the hot tub to keep it even as you move it.

(if you’re relocating in your existing yard, skip to step 8)

6. Load Your Hot Tub onto The Moving Truck

Once your hot tub is on the dollies, wrap it in your protective plastic. This will help keep the hot tub stable on its base, as well as protect it from any damage during your move.

Using the moving straps, strap the hot tub to the dollies to ensure it doesn’t tip over during transport.

Now you’re ready to start moving it to the truck. If you have a narrow pathway, such as a backyard gate, you’ll need to have your friends carefully tip the hot tub over on its side to make it possible to get past the tight space.

After you’ve gotten past the smaller spaces of your route, you can lower the hot tub back on its bottom and pull it the rest of the way to the truck.

During the move, ensure you have one of your friends pushing from the dolly in the back to lighten the load and have friends on both sides to keep it steady as you move.

At the truck, have your friends push the hot tub up the loading ramp, supporting it from all sides as you guide it from the front. Once inside, secure your hot tub to the sides of the truck to make sure it doesn’t move during transport.

For added protection, cover it in moving blankets once it’s secured in the moving truck.

Important tip: Keep the dollies under the hot tub once it’s in the truck so you can easily get your spa off the truck after you arrive at your new house.

7. Unload Your Spa From The Truck

Once you arrive at your new home, you’ll want to unload your hot tub very similarly to how you loaded it.

Remove the ties securing the hot tub to the truck and take off any of the moving blankets you may have used to protect it during the move.

Then, have your friends ready to support it from all sides as you slowly move it down the ramp. You must all work together to keep it from rolling down too fast or tipping over as you lower it to the ground. Keep it as balanced as possible.

8. Place Your Spa on Its New Foundation

Now you can begin moving it over to the new location!

Having a friend on either side of the hot tub and another controlling the dolly from the back, begin pulling the hot tub towards its foundation. Lift it on its side if needed should there be a narrow section during this transport.

Once you reach your new foundation, lower your hot tub onto it and remove the moving straps and dollies. Then, have your friends support the hot tub as you pull the plywood or pallets out from below it.

Note: if you wrapped it in protective plastic, unwrap it before lowering it onto the foundation.

9. Install and Refill Your Hot Tub

Complete a thorough inspection of the cabinet and shell to ensure no damage was done during the move.

Then, give your entire shell a deep clean using a high-quality shell cleaner. This will help remove any debris that may have ended up on its surface during the move.

After it’s been cleaned, connect it to your power source, and start refilling it with the garden hose. When it’s full, test your hot tub water and treat it to balance its pH and alkaline levels.

10. Enjoy!

Congratulations! You’re done with the move and can now sit back, relax, and appreciate all the hard work you put in!

Hire Professionals To Move a Hot Tub For You

While we applaud you for wanting to take this challenge on yourself, the team at Take A Break Spas and Billiards is ready to take it on for you if you change your mind!

We offer hot tub relocation services and have close partnerships with companies throughout Utah that can help, including crane services to make lifting your hot tub easy. Simply contact us, and we can help you move your hot tub stress-free!

In the market for top-quality home leisure essentials like hot tubs, swim spas, and game room furniture? We’re your one-stop shop for everything you need.

Visit one of our four locations throughout Utah, or give us a call to get started today!