Highwood SPAKIT-FL-CGE Hot Tub Cabinet Spa Replacement Kit, Coastal Gray

This product works great! The outside of our hot tub just rotted away. Before we installed this product, we used ply wood around the whole perimeter of the hot tub. Attaching the panels was not very difficult. Best if you had two people, but one person can do it just fine. There will be a little bit of cutting, but the product is easy to cut. it is not the sturdiest of materials, but does the job perfectly! We saved thousands of dollars by using this material, rather than going to the dealer for pieces of the original siding. We were hesitant to purchase this because of some of the negative reviews. I think if they would’ve attached plywood first, they wouldn’t have all of the problems that they did. Worked great for us! Very happy with the final look!! Would purchase again!

Easy to install using standard tools. You will need a hand saw and a spade drill bit if you have some tricky electrical supply cuts to make (see pictures). The instructions come in the hardware kit. Put corners on first then sides. Cut all using a standard circular saw. Hardware kit comes with a specialized drill bit for the color matched screws. I ended up having extra hardware but I suppose that if you had a spa larger than a 6‘ x 6‘ then you would probably be just fine. It took me about two hours to do everything - start to finish. Very pleased with the result.These panels will need something to which they can fasten so you may need to replace any damaged wood framing with some pressure treated 2x4s. Tip: Rebuild and enhance the underlying frame first.Update: after almost a year still looks great. Be sure to anchor the provided mini joint cover strips in the center and over both sides of joints to be covered. One bowed out because it needed to be repositioned. So save the hardware kit in case you need to reposition or secure any panels or strips.

As a professional contractor, jack of all trades, there are few projects that I don't take on. I bought a used Jacuzzi hot tub. Nice but needed some freshening up. The skirting was pretty hammered, so I researched and found few products to redo it. Finding this, I read the reviews, acknowledged that the product has some issues, but hey, I am a pro. Thought I could deal with it. So I ordered it. The kit arrived promptly, well packaged.The first thing I noticed was some of the pieces came out of the box with scratches already on them. Not too bad, but disappointing. I made my measurements, cut it to fit, and installed per the instructions. Firstly, I noted that the supplied screws have a shank on the underside of the head that keep it from seating down flush. If you tighten it properly, the foam backing compresses, make the ends tuck in. In addition, if you follow their screwing instructions the pieces are literally flapping in the breeze.So, off to Home Depot, find proper screws, and I drilled and installed screws at each faux tongue and groove panel. The install went pretty quick, was looking good, but then I finished up the shady side and came around to the sunny side and notice the panels are bulging out wherever the sun is hitting. Hmmm, it's 70 degrees. But this is Arizona. Come summer it's gonna be 120 degrees. So I remove the panels, drilled the holes oversize, thinking I'll give them a little room to grow. Reinstall, barely tightening the screws. Nope, nothing changes. Anywhere the sun hits, these things grow. To the point that in areas they pop loose from the foam backing and are literally floating.I contacted the manufacturer and the nice lady apologized and sent out more panels, saying it has to be a fluke. Installed them. Lots of time invested at this point! Few days later they are doing the same exact thing. Bulging out, bulging in, pulling off the foam backing. I had to walk away to deal with some other projects, revisited it a few weeks later. The whole spa looks like a joke. The skirting looks like the ocean, just waving all over the place. So today, I picked up some 7/16 osb plywood and have started stripping the pieces off the foam and attaching to the plywood with Liquid Nails, giving them a rigid, solid backing. We'll see how this holds up, hoping doesn't fade and go to heck.These guys should be ashamed to make such a garbage product. Unless you are ready to totally remake their junk, stay away. Zero stars.

Excellent product. I have an older (2004) Leisure Bay Niagara Hot Tub, that has seen its share of wear and tear. My wife and I replaced this last night in a couple of hours. It looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our hot tub has new life.The box must have been dropped in shipment, because every corner was dinged. Some worse than others. The seam strips covered the dings, so it was not a major issue.The kit comes with stainless hardware. I wish it came with 8 more sets of screws and washer cups to use in the middle of the longer panels top and bottom.Conclusion: EXCELLENT PURCHASE!!!!!!!! Very Happy. Thanks HighwoodEasy to install. Clear concise instructions. One thing to make sure of, is to use and panel saw blade when cutting the panels.

It comes in 8 main insulated panels, 4 flex corner panels, 12 seam covers and a bunch of screws. My tub has 8 - 45 degree corners so I had to cut the flex panels in half to accommodate which made my main panel cuts a bit off from being symmetrical but it still looks ok. It made for more seams needing a cover piece (and you only get 12 in the kit) so I had to cut one of the large panels down to make a few more seem covers. I peeled the insulation off of the back of those new covers I made. The screw heads strip easily so be careful. Overall, it turned out decent but the kit is spendy considering you are skirting an old hot tub. I was lucky and got my kit for $500 instead of the new $850 price because one of the interior insulation panels had gouge in it. No biggy for a $350 savings. I don't think I would have paid $850 for the kit had I not found the defective deal. My tub is 17 years old and just trying to get another 4-5 years out of it after spending $1,200 on a new cover and pumps. So with this new skirting I am into it for $1,700. Not bad if it goes another 5 years but who knows....