Home improvement splurge - would you rather?

[twinmomma]

We are debating between two home improvement splurges for our house. Both would be paid fully in cash thanks to my annual bonus. I've always used the bonus to pay down debt or for other adult responsibilities. This is the first year we'd be able to treat ourselves a bit. The cost of these would only be about half my bonus, so we'd still get to bank some for our rainy day fund too. 

The two options we are going between are: 

A) Swapping our electric hot water heater for a gas tankless system so we don't run out of hot water for showers. We would have to install a gas tank and line since we don't have that currently. 
B) Installing a hot tub on our deck or on a small patio off the deck. Would need to reinforce the current deck structure or lay down some patio block. 

Up front price point is basically the same for each. Both come with ongoing maintenance costs - gas for the hot water, chemicals and electricity for the hot tub. But that won't really be enough either way to sway us. 

So, what would you choose? Any major pros/cons to either of our options? Anyone have experience with either they want to share? 

[dancingirl21]

One thing to consider with the hot tub is that you might have to upgrade your electrical panel if you are close to being full on it. It takes more electricity than you might think. We finished our basement and our electrician asked if we might ever do a hot tub. We said no and left it as it was. Joke’s on us. 2 years later we did a full kitchen remodel and added a double oven. That required us to upgrade our panel anyway. It uses 240V electricity, similar to a hot tub.

The fun one is obviously the hot tub. Do you run out of hot water frequently? I would do the tank if you do. While not fun, it would be more useful if you do that.

[Susie]

I would rather have all the hot water I need on a day to day basis, including for baths when I want them.

But then, I ripped out a hot tub that came with our current house, so I clearly have a bias.  

[momin2013]

Unless you are really sure you’d get a lot of use out of the hot tub, I’d go with the hot water tank. Of everyone I know who has a hot tub, only one uses it enough that they don’t regret putting it in.

[hbomdiggity]

I’m not a hot tub person, so that would rarely get my vote.

How old is the current water heater? Is an electric tankless an option?

[treedimensional]

Option A. Hot tubs went out with Burt Reynolds.

[mrsukyankee]

A. because hot tubs use huge amounts of water and that might become an issue in the not too distant future

[pierogigirl]

A. I would never, ever use a hot tub.

[lolalolalola]

I will be the odd man out. We just bought a hot tub. Love it. We had one in our old house and used it all the time.


We have a tankless hot water heater and it’s not the best. There’s only enough hot water for one “thing” at a time. So we can’t run a. Load of laundry using hot water at the same time we have a shower, for example. I also feel like we waste a lot of water waiting for the water to get hot when we turn on a tap.

Strangely enough here, hot water tanks are gas and tankless are all electric.

[Pilsy]

Nov 21, 2023 11:59:07 GMT -5 twinmomma said:

We are debating between two home improvement splurges for our house. Both would be paid fully in cash thanks to my annual bonus. I've always used the bonus to pay down debt or for other adult responsibilities. This is the first year we'd be able to treat ourselves a bit. The cost of these would only be about half my bonus, so we'd still get to bank some for our rainy day fund too. 

Ooh, fun! I'm in a similar boat: I always put my bonus in the bank, but this year, I'm putting it toward our basement reno.

I don't think you're dealing with apples-to-apples choices. I'm not really a hot tub person, so I wouldn't go that route, but if you want one and are looking to treat yourself, I think that's the winner. 

Addressing an ongoing hot-water-shortage issue seems like home maintenance (i.e., adult responsibility) to me. That's not to say you shouldn't do it, but if you do, I hope you can do something truly fun with next year's bonus.

[SusanBAnthony]

Hot tub!!!

I also wouldn't add a gas appliance at this point. I'd come up with a different hot water solution like a regular tank + an electric tankless near the bathrooms or something.

[penguingrrl]

Have you talked to a trusted plumber about getting a tankless? I talked to mine about it a few years ago and he doesn’t recommend them. I think he said in cold snaps in winter in my area (NJ) they can’t keep up, though, so it may be great wherever you live. The people I know who have them haven’t been as happy with them as they expected.

[pierogigirl]

I live in the northeast and have a tankless hot water heater. We love it - we can run multiple hot water sources at once with no issue, and I don't think it takes any longer to get hot water than waiting for the hot water from a tank to push out all the cold water (we never had instant hot water with a tank).

[Roc A Bee]

Are you routinely running out of hot water?

We have a tankless. I love it and would recommend it.

[brooke77]

A would be my immediate priority. I love HOT showers.

I would do B next year.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 25, 2023 20:46:22 GMT -5 pierogigirl said:

I live in the northeast and have a tankless hot water heater. We love it - we can run multiple hot water sources at once with no issue, and I don't think it takes any longer to get hot water than waiting for the hot water from a tank to push out all the cold water (we never had instant hot water with a tank).

Same.  Interested to hear some people have problems.  Ours was installed in 2019 with no issues, and I take baths in a huge tub at least once per day including when the washing machine is running, etc.  BUT, we still have a regular hot water heater in the old part of the house so maybe the strain is not so pronounced.

[twinmomma]

This is all super helpful! I hadn't heard that about the cold weather impacting the tankless. We're in NH, so it definitely gets cold! But we know people that have them and I don't think they've run into any issues.

We sometimes run out of hot water if all five of us try to shower back to back and we have two showers running simultaneously. But otherwise, it isn't really an issue. Half the time we don't have our three kids with us, so then it's really not a problem. I think it's more to help future me as we head into teenage years and the kids take longer and longer showers.

After all this back and forth and research, we've decided to hold off on both right now because we're lame and want to keep our options open. LOL Adding a whole new gas appliance feels like a major undertaking that we're just not ready to deal with right now. And while we saw some really great options for hot tubs over Black Friday weekend, we weren't quite ready to pull the trigger on it so we're going to hold off for now.

[ellipses84]

Even though it’s not as exciting I’d pick the hot water heater. I think it’s best to always do the upgrade that will impact your life on a daily basis first. I think a lot of people don’t use their hottub as much as they think they will. My parents spend more time on maintenance than they do sitting in theirs, and even though I’d love one at my house, I don’t use it much when I visit them.

[sandandsea]

Nov 23, 2023 21:29:04 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

I will be the odd man out. We just bought a hot tub. Love it. We had one in our old house and used it all the time.


We have a tankless hot water heater and it’s not the best. There’s only enough hot water for one “thing” at a time. So we can’t run a. Load of laundry using hot water at the same time we have a shower, for example. I also feel like we waste a lot of water waiting for the water to get hot when we turn on a tap.

Strangely enough here, hot water tanks are gas and tankless are all electric.

I’m with you. We put in a hot tub with our landscape Reno and love it and use it often. It helps me sleep better and decompress after stressful busy days and is relatively low maintenance.

However hot water for you house is more of a need and hot tub is a want so if you need the water heater do that.

[scm1011]

Nov 25, 2023 17:45:57 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Hot tub!!!

I also wouldn't add a gas appliance at this point. I'd come up with a different hot water solution like a regular tank + an electric tankless near the bathrooms or something.

I'm not a hot tub person, but thats def a personal preference so if that makes you happy - awesome!

But, I agree with the bolded.

[silvercrayon]

I would do the hot water. I am not a hot tub person.

[rubytue]

Nov 25, 2023 17:45:57 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Hot tub!!!

I also wouldn't add a gas appliance at this point. I'd come up with a different hot water solution like a regular tank + an electric tankless near the bathrooms or something.

I’m in the same boat. In fact, about to switch our gas hot water heater to electric. We looked into a tankless gas, but it got complicated with venting, even with our current gas heater.