Concrete or fiberglass, the shell decides the dig
A spa or hot tub is a small body of water with a big job: it has to hold heat, hold its shape and sit level for years. Poolside, Inc. installs both concrete and fiberglass spas, and the choice between them is the first conversation, because the shell you pick decides everything that happens in the ground.
A fiberglass spa arrives as a finished shell and is set into an excavation sized for it. A concrete spa is built in place, to the shape and depth you and the crew agree on. Neither is the better answer for every yard. It depends on the slope, the soil, how close the house or deck sits, and how you picture using it in a Traverse City January.
That conversation is free. Poolside offers a no-cost consultation, so you can talk through the options before anything is dug. Call (231) 943-7061 or ask for a call back, and a representative reaches out the next business day.
Excavation and preparation before the spa is ever set
Poolside's own words are that it handles all the excavation and preparation services before providing reliable installation services. That order matters. A spa set into ground that was shaped by someone else, or not shaped at all, is a spa that can settle or shift out of level.
Because the same company runs the machine and sets the shell, the hole is cut for the spa that is actually arriving. The base is prepared, the shell goes in, and the work around it is finished by people who saw the ground before it was covered. The installation is done quickly and with what Poolside describes as meticulous attention to detail.
The same crew also does the larger digs: pool installs, pool removal, septic tanks and lot clearing. The spa work leans on that experience, and you can read more on our excavation page.
A spa with a warranty, and a company that stays reachable
On its own site, Poolside promises your hot tub or spa comes with a warranty. The terms are specific to the unit you choose, so ask for them when you call rather than assume. We would rather you hear them from a person than read a promise here that we cannot back with a document.
After the install, the spa still needs looking after. Poolside carries specialty hot tub and spa maintenance items on its supplies shelves, and QCA Spas is one of the brands the company lists. Customers also describe the service side: one reviewer wrote that Curtis and Pool Side have always gone above and beyond to service all their pool and spa needs.
That is the part a spa buyer in the Traverse City area tends to underrate on day one. The installer's phone number is one you will use again, and Poolside has been in business in the Traverse City area since 2000.
