Hot Tub Crane Hire

Posted by Nick Clamp in Hot Tub Installation Guides on 7th October 2019

Photo © Hot Tubs Hampshire

Below we have included a common Q&A regarding hot tub installation, hot tub crane hire and installation.

Q. I definitely can’t get a hot tub into my garden by conventional means as I have no access at all to my back garden apart from through the house and going via neighbours gardens is not an option. I will need a crane…what is involved and how much should it cost?

A. If you are considering a crane lift for installation or removal of your hot tub it is important to be aware that there are 2 main types of service available from crane companies.

1. Contract Lift:
The more expensive of the two options but the crane company will be responsible for everything:
Site Survey
Preparing Risk Assessment & Method Statement
Liaising with any relevant authorities such as Highways Agency/Police
Providing all equipment, crane operator and a banksman
All of work fully insured from start to finish

2. Crane Hire
Tempting as the price will be lower but you are literally hiring the crane and the driver for a period of time and pretty much everything else is your responsibility. The reason this is important was highlighted in the recent case where a crane toppled over during the process of lifting a hot tub over a house and the jib demolished the house. Luckily nobody was hurt or killed but the question of liability for insurance purposes then really starts to kick in. With a contract lift there is no scope for your involvement. With crane hire if such an incident happened the Health & Safety Executive will be involved and insurers will be looking for liability.

Obviously we don’t want to worry you but it is important to be aware of all of the facts before you commission a crane company to lift your new hot tub into your garden. The size of the crane required will be determined by the load (fairly insubstantial…most spas weigh less than 1 tonne) and the radius of the lift (the reach required from the bed of the crane to the point to which the hot tub will be lowered). Also the heights of buildings will need to be taken into account. The cost will be dependant upon the type of lift as above, the size of the crane required (the longer the required reach the bigger the crane) and the distance from the crane depot to site as the rate will include the travelling time of the crane. Obviously try to get several quotes from local crane companies and insist that they conduct a site survey first.

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About the author

Nick Clamp

I am the Editor-in-Chief at WhatSpa? Media Group and have been actively involved in the hot tub and swim spa industry for over 20 years. I fell in love with hot tubbing in 2002 and since then have dedicated my career to helping millions of hot tub buyers to make more informed choices when navigating their buying journey.

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