Hot tub removal cost in Minneapolis

The short answer

A hot tub or spa is $322. That covers cutting it down, carrying the pieces out, loading and disposal.

A cold plunge tub is $271. An above-ground pool with the frame and liner is $145.

Common additions on the same visit, since the deck rarely only has the tub on it: a patio table is $89, patio chairs are $30 each, a propane grill is $71, a charcoal grill is $59, a chaise lounge is $93.

There is no stair charge, no long-carry fee and no disposal fee added afterward. The minimum for a visit is $75, which a hot tub clears many times over.

Why hot tubs die in Minneapolis

They rarely fail gradually here. They fail in one winter.

A spa in this climate has to run continuously through five months of sub-freezing weather just to protect its own plumbing. That means a heater working against outdoor air that spends weeks below zero, and a pump cycling round the clock from November to April. The energy cost is real and people notice it on the bill.

Then something goes: a heater element, a pump seal, a control board. The owner looks at the repair quote against the running cost, decides to shut it down for the season, and does not fully winterize it. Water left in the lines freezes and splits them. Now it is not a repairable spa, it is a 900-pound fiberglass shell on the deck.

That is the standard Minneapolis hot tub story and it is why most of these calls come in during the spring thaw.

The deck problem

Very few hot tubs in this city sit on an open patio. The common arrangement is a tub set into a raised wood deck off the back of the house, with decking built up around the shell so only the lip shows.

That has consequences for removal. The tub cannot be slid out; the surrounding decking has to come up or the shell has to be cut apart in place and carried out in sections. Both are normal and neither changes the $322.

The other consequence is access. Minneapolis lots are narrow and deep, and the back deck usually faces the alley across a yard with a gate, a garden bed and frequently a detached garage in the way. The pieces get carried out through a side yard that may be four feet wide between the house and the neighbor's fence.

None of that is charged extra. But tell us about it when you book, so the right crew size shows up.

Drain it first, and do it properly

This is the one piece of prep that matters, and in this climate it has a seasonal wrinkle.

• Drain fully. A full spa holds hundreds of gallons. Nobody is moving it with water in it, and a partly drained tub is heavier than it looks.
• Blow out the lines if you can. Residual water in the plumbing is fine in July. In February it is a block of ice adding weight and making the shell brittle.
• Kill the power at the breaker. Spas run on a dedicated circuit. Shut it off and, if you can, have an electrician disconnect it. The circuit itself stays; the tub goes.
• Drain somewhere sensible. Not into a storm drain — spa water is chemically treated. Onto the lawn away from garden beds, or into a sanitary connection if you have one.

In winter, drain onto a surface where a large volume of water freezing is not going to be a problem, which is not the path the crew is about to carry a tub across.

Frozen ground, and the case for waiting

We do this year round and the price does not change. But if you have a choice of month, there is a real argument for waiting for the thaw.

From December through March the ground is frozen hard, the yard has snow cover, the deck has ice on it, and the gate to the alley is often frozen into a drift. Carrying cut fiberglass sections across an iced-over yard is slower and more careful work than doing it over grass.

Spring has its own issue — April in a Minneapolis back yard and alley is soft, and a heavy carry across thawing ground leaves ruts. Early summer is genuinely the easiest window.

If the tub is dead and you are not looking at it every day, book it for May. If it is a hazard, or the house is being sold, book it whenever — $322 is $322 in January.

What else usually goes on the same visit

Hot tub removal is almost always part of clearing the back deck or the yard. The arithmetic, using published rates:

• Tub plus the patio set. Hot tub $322 + patio table $89 + four patio chairs at $30 each ($120) = $531.
• Tub plus the grill and a lounger. Hot tub $322 + propane grill $71 + chaise lounge $93 = $486.
• Tub plus the above-ground pool. Hot tub $322 + above-ground pool frame and liner $145 = $467.
• Whole back yard clear. Hot tub $322 + patio table $89 + two patio chairs at $30 each ($60) + charcoal grill $59 = $530.

Plain addition of published rates. Remember the propane tank comes off the grill and goes to an exchange point rather than in the truck.

What is not included

Electrical disconnection. The spa circuit should be shut off at the breaker, and ideally disconnected by an electrician. We remove the tub, not the wiring.

Deck repair. If the decking has to come up to get the shell out, you are left with the opening. Rebuilding that surface is a carpentry job.

Concrete pads. If the tub sat on a poured pad, breaking it up is separate — concrete and masonry debris prices at $219 per quarter truck.

Landscaping. Whatever was growing around the tub and under the deck is going to look rough. That is a spring project, and in this city it is a genuinely short spring.

Frequently asked questions