Hi Hot Tub Pros! I have a question in regards to measuring the flap that goes around my hot tub cover. I am trying to measure the skirt on my hot tub cover and I am not sure if I should start at the top of the foam and include that in the measurement or measure just the flap part?
Also, would it help if I get the flap longer to keep the heat in?
Thanks,
Jake in Tallahassee, Florida
Hi Jake,
Great Question for the pros! The purpose of that flap, or what is also called the skirt of the cover, is to protect the outer acrylic lip of the hot tub from weather damage. The skirt works as a protective flap helping to prevent UV damage from the sun to the acrylic outer lip of the tub. It also helps to keep wind from getting under the cover and blowing it off, and helps to keep dirt from blowing into the hot tub.
The Pros recommend always measuring the skirt from the bottom of the foam down to the bottom of the flap, if you are measuring the cover. You should not include the foam in this measurement. If you are measuring the actual hot tub instead, the Pros recommend measuring the outer lip of the acrylic from the top down to the bottom of the acrylic and then rounding up about a half inch. Be sure to confirm the store you purchase from measures the skirt the same way – without including the cover thickness.
This picture will help illustrate several important points. The skirt on this cover is 2 1/2 inches long measured from the bottom of the cover down. As this picture clearly shows, the skirt needed to be at least another inch longer, as the speckled acrylic can be seen below the skirt. For spas like this, with a cabinet that extends out from the acrylic lip of the tub, the skirt should hang straight down to just touch the cabinet top. A different approach would be to have the cover made larger to match the size of the cabinet and then have the skirt hang down further to enclose the top of the cabinet. This approach would have helped this particular cabinet to resist the weathering that is shown. This approach has the risk of someone carelessly sitting on the edge of the cover and breaking the foam inside, as the foam extends beyond the support of the acrylic lip below.
As far as ordering a longer skirt for more insulation, that may seem like it would work. In practice however, that is not the case. The insulation seal is made by the weight of the cover sitting on the top of the hot tub lip. Since the skirt is outside this seal, it plays no role in insulating.
Keep in mind that skirts can get caught under the cover when closing it, breaking the seal of insulation. This will cause heat loss until the skirt is pulled out. To avoid this, The Pros recommend ordering a cover with split corner skirts to allow for easier closing and to help keep the skirt from folding under the cover. We also recommend a skirt at least a half inch longer than the acrylic lip to insure it protects the acrylic sufficiently.
Happy Tubbing!
Ethel Elliott
