Using Brains Rather than Muscles

I never dreamed this was possible, but Karlo really shocked me. He actually used his head rather than his muscles for what I was convinced was an impossible project. As you already know, we took delivery of our new 900 pound hot tub on Friday. Just getting it off the truck with the lift gate was an interesting ordeal. When it finally was resting safely on the ground the truck driver told Karlo that, "it's time to call in the moving crew" in order to move it into place. Karlo laughed and agreed, but I knew all along that there would be no way in Hell he was going to ask anybody for any help. Totally not his style. And I was, of course, panic stricken and wondering if I should call his back surgeon in advance of him doing something terribly idiotic again. But he came through with flying colors.

Our Saturday went something like this . . .

8 AM - 1PM The Screened Porch Expansion - At nearly the last minute (after we placed the order for the tub) Karlo got the brilliant idea of putting the tub on the front porch section of the deck. I know these words don't make any sense, but picture this . . . we have a wood deck suspended from the ground for the "screened in porch" section. And at the front of the house we have a terra-cotta "patio" section of the covered porch. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the tub on solid ground rather than on a suspended deck? Not only less work, but better for the cedar siding and windows that may have gotten damaged from the moisture. This means that the screened in porch section needed to be expanded by 8 feet so Karlo got busy moving the railing. We had to add new screen section to two sections which meant wooden framed needed to be built and stained and the screen needed to be installed. This was slow and tedious work and the worst part was all the bugs harassing us in what used to be our bug-free zone.

1PM - 1:15PM Glorious Lunch Break

1:15PM - 8PM Project Hot Tub Placement - You may wonder how it could take so long to move a tub approximately 25 feet, but just imagine getting a 900 lb. tub not only laid down so it's right side up, but also moved across the grass, and then up a foot tall step and slid into place (with no more than 2 inches to spare between the railings). This was quite the undertaking for two people to do . . . OK, maybe one and half people. Hmmm, now that I think about it, with my neck and shoulder condition I may have only counted for quarter of a person! But we did it.

First, we got the tub on roller dollies. Next we had to slide it across the drive way and onto the plywood that Karlo had lining the lawn. It was a long and grueling process of Karlo lifting each side of the tub with a piece of wood used for leverage as I moved piles of wood under the tub. I placed and replaced the dollies a hundred times.


We made our way, slowly but surely, down the grass until it was time to lay it down. Up until now it was standing on it's side. This was the part I dreaded the most. Karlo kept using the term "dropping it" and I feared that was exactly what would happen. How does one control movement of 900 pounds once gravity starts to take over?


Enter the Jeep. Karlo rigged this thing up and tied it to the front bumper of the Jeep so that the Jeep was used to slowly lower it in stepped increments. And guess who was driving the Jeep? No stress there. It was me behind the wheel making tiny brake adjustments to gingerly get this thing onto the ground. During the last two feet I would say we did sort of "drop it" but it appeared to be fine. We hope. (I forgot to take pictures of the Jeep in action.)


Phew, it felt like the hardest part was now behind us. But still, how the heck are we getting it UP A STEP? At least another hour or so of just trying to spin it in the right orientation. We only had two pieces of plywood and two dollies, and of course the ground had to be sloping slightly. I had visions of the entire tub rolling straight down the rock ledge and into our new garden.

Luckily that didn't happen and we finally got this this in the right orientation. I ran into the house to make a snack and by the time I got back Karlo had the wooden rails built that we would "slide" the tub up on. OK, still trying to figure out how we will do that . . .


Enter the ATV. Karlo had the whole plan masterfully crafted ahead of time, but he kept me guessing every step of the way. We were actually able to use the ATV to push the tub right into place. And your not going to believe this one, but guess who did the driving? ME. With virtually no experience at driving an ATV and terrible control over a throttle that you push with your thumb, I did it without busting a huge hole into the side of the tub.

So relieved and exhausted.

When that darn thing landed exactly in place, exactly how we pictures it I just had to laugh. I simply could NOT believe what we accomplished. Sure it took us 12 hours, but we did it! I'm so proud of ourselves, and so impressed that Karlo does have a brain in that head after all. He should definitely try to use it more often ;-)