The short answer
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Hot tub or spa | $322 |
| Hot tub or spa, 6 to 8 person | $390 |
| Cold plunge tub | $271 |
| Sauna, 1 to 2 person, barrel or infrared | $293 |
| Above-ground pool, frame and liner | $145 |
Those are flat prices. They include the breakdown, the carry, and the disposal. They do not change because the tub is behind the garage, on a raised deck off the back porch, or wedged into a yard you cannot get a machine into. There is no stair charge and no access fee.
What is not included is the electrical disconnect. A hot tub is hard-wired to a breaker, and the wiring should be killed and disconnected by an electrician before removal day.
Why a Chicago yard makes this a cutting job
In a city with wide side yards, a hot tub sometimes gets tipped on edge, put on rollers and walked out whole. That almost never happens here.
Chicago lots are narrow and the houses sit close to the line. The gangway between a two-flat and the building next door is frequently just wide enough for one person and a garbage cart, and it often has a gate, a meter, a downspout and an AC condenser in it. A seven-foot acrylic shell is not going through that. The same is true of a bungalow in Portage Park with a fence on both sides, and of a Pilsen yard where the garage takes up the back third of the lot.
So the standard Chicago hot tub removal is a cut-down. The shell gets cut into manageable panels, the frame and skirt come apart, and it goes out in pieces. That is inside the $322. It is not an add-on and it is not a reason to re-quote you on the day.
The alley is the reason the price works
Where Chicago gives it back is out the rear. Most residential blocks have an alley, and most backyards open onto it through a gate or a garage. That means the pieces travel from the yard to the truck in fifty feet rather than around the front of the house and down the length of the lot.
Two things make the day faster. Unlock or unhang the rear gate ahead of time, and if a car is parked in the alley pad behind the garage, move it to the street. If your block has no alley, which is the case in parts of Hyde Park, Beverly and plenty of the suburbs, the pieces go out the front instead. The price is unchanged.
Decks, raised platforms and the back porch
A lot of Chicago tubs are not sitting on a slab. They are on a raised deck built off the rear wooden porch of a two-flat or three-flat, sometimes a full floor above the yard.
That is a normal job. The shell is cut down on the deck and the pieces come down the back staircase, which is exactly the route every sofa in this city travels. There is no stair charge for it and no charge for the fact that the tub is ten feet off the ground.
What is worth saying when you book is how the deck is built, because a tub sunk into a framed well in the decking has to come out of the well before it can be cut, and that is a different amount of time than one sitting proud on the surface.
Winter is why a lot of these get removed
Chicago winters are the reason hot tubs die here. A tub that stops being used in October and does not get properly winterised is a tub with water in the plumbing lines in January. Lines split, the pump goes, and by spring the owner is looking at a repair bill on a fifteen-year-old shell.
The other Chicago version: a tub that has been full and frozen. Do not book a removal on a solid block of ice. Water weighs what it weighs, and a frozen tub cannot be cut safely or lifted. If it is going to come out between December and March, drain it first on a day above freezing, and check that the drain line is clear so the water actually leaves rather than pooling under the skirt and refreezing.
If yours is frozen solid now, the honest advice is to book it for a thaw rather than fight it.
What to do before removal day
- Drain it. A hot tub holds a serious amount of water and it should be gone before the crew arrives. Send it somewhere that will not flood the gangway or the neighbor's foundation.
- Kill the power. Breaker off, and ideally an electrician disconnects at the tub.
- Open the back. Unlock the rear gate, move any car off the alley pad, and clear the path between the tub and the gate.
- Say what else is going. The cover, the cover lifter, the steps, the chemical caddy. They come with it.
- Check the deck route. If the pieces have to come down a back staircase, a quick look for a low-hanging gutter or a loose tread saves time.
What goes with the tub
Backyard removals rarely stop at the tub, because the day the tub goes is the day the whole yard gets reconsidered. Common companions and what they cost:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Patio table | $89 |
| Patio chair, each | $30 |
| Outdoor lounge chair | $61 |
| Patio umbrella and base | $53 |
| Fire pit | $56 |
| Propane grill | $71 |
| Storage shed, small, disassembled | $186 |
| Above-ground pool, frame and liner | $145 |
A yard reset in an Avondale two-flat: hot tub at $322, patio table at $89, fire pit at $56 comes to $322 + $89 + $56 = $467.
A Beverly backyard clearing the tub and the pool together: $322 + $145 = $467.
Saunas and cold plunges
The last few years have put a lot of barrel saunas and cold plunge tubs in Chicago backyards and basements, and some of them are now being removed by the second owner.
A sauna at 1 to 2 person size, barrel or infrared, is $293. A cold plunge tub is $271. Both are usually easier than a hot tub because a barrel sauna comes apart along its bands and an infrared cabin is panelised by design. Basement infrared cabins are the one to flag when you book: they were assembled down there, which means they come apart down there and go up the narrow stairs in panels.
Frequently asked questions
How much does hot tub removal cost in Chicago?
$322 flat for a standard hot tub or spa, and $390 for a 6 to 8 person tub. Cutting the shell down, carrying the pieces out, and disposal are all inside that price.
Do you have to cut it up?
In Chicago, almost always. Gangways between buildings here are narrow and frequently have a gate, a meter and a condenser in them, so the shell comes out in panels. That is included, not extra.
Does the price change if the tub is on a raised deck off the back porch?
No. There is no stair charge and no elevation charge. Pieces come down the back staircase the same way furniture does.
Do I need to drain it and disconnect the power first?
Yes. Drain it before the day, and have the circuit killed at the breaker, ideally with an electrician disconnecting at the tub. A hot tub still full of water cannot be removed.
My tub is frozen solid. Can it still be removed?
Not safely. Wait for a day above freezing, drain it, make sure the water actually clears rather than refreezing under the skirt, and book after that.
What about a sauna or a cold plunge?
A 1 to 2 person barrel or infrared sauna is $293 and a cold plunge tub is $271. If it is an infrared cabin in a basement, mention it when you book so the crew plans for panelling it out up narrow stairs.