Hot tub in garage

[johnm8284]

Hi all

Recently moved house and the existing garage had been converted into a workspace by the previous owners. In this regard it is floored, powered, lit etc. Some pictures below. Please ignore the mess. It's 5m x 2.5m so not massive.

The summer project this year is to transform the space into one suitable for a hot tub. Initially going to start with a 13a Lay-Z-Spa setup but prepartion of the space would be with a long term view of installing a fixed, hard shelled hot tub in the future.

Considerations so far:

1) Install some kind of extractor (s) for the humidity and supplement with a standalone dehumidifier, windows open during operation etc.

2) Replace the current laminate flooring with tile. Ideally wouldn't install a drain for the 'drips'/wet feet aspect if I could avoid it, but figure tiles on their own won't warp compared to laminate if the water is left standing for a short time etc. Wise to consider adding underfloor heating at this point? Previous heat source was a 2kw wall mounted electric heater.

3) Thought about 'wet wall' type material for the walls surrounding the hot tub but don't think that is suitable for 'outdoor' use. Would anti-mould paint be sufficient?

4) Ideally would not want the ceiling above the hot tub sagging/cracking from the steam, would it be worth considering a PVC ceiling similar to what you get in kitchens/bathrooms or is this unsuitable for outdoor use the same as the wet wall?

Appreciate when we go for the fixed 32a hot tub we will need electrical work carried out but happy to leave that closer to the time.

Not at all experienced in DIY so would be getting contractors in for almost all of this work - but would be good to get a holistic view of what will be required before making a start.

What else should I be thinking about?

Thanks
John

 

[foxhole]

Hot tubs are covered most of the time the condensation returned to the tub by dripping off the lid. Dehumidifier would be pointless, better to have decent extractor fan.

 

[johnm8284]

OK thanks, we intend to be quite heavy users of the hot tub so just wanted as much protection as possible but if there would be no benefit to it then I'd rather invest in the best extractor set up as you say.

 

[foxhole]

Ideally vent above tub thru roof or adjacent wall.My tubs in the open air with drain next to it, you are looking at around a bucket of water on the floor with each use as people exit and much more in the event children use the tub or someone slips in there which can flood over the sides.Tiles are going to be slippery when wet.You may need to move some sockets depending on position.

 

[johnm8284]

Thanks, I think the best place for the extractor would be on the back wall - in the images the wall with the Vax cleaner/sawhorses against it - opposite end to the tumble dryer. On the outside, that's also the 'hidden' side so cosmetically not an issue. That's the end we would locate the tub, opposite end to the doors.

I will need to have a think about the best flooring solution. I'd put mats/lattice type material over the tiles for the slip factor but ideally would contain as much water as possible instead of going around and mopping up afterwards after every time. However, if a drain was going to be disproportionately costly (does anyone have any idea as to cost?), would just need to 'suck it up' and be sure to mop up/create some kind of 'landing area' that would contain the majority of the drips.

Socket wise I hope we will be OK, there are 7 or 8 double sockets throughout and 3 at the end we are thinking of locating the tub.