The process
What actually happens on the day.
No mystery to it, but most people have never watched one come out and are surprised by how much of the job is preparation rather than lifting.
Before the crew arrives
Drain it if you can
A full spa holds several hundred gallons. Water is weight, weight is time, and time on site is what the price is built from. A submersible pump and a garden hose started the night before will empty most tubs.
If you can't, that's fine. The crew drains it on site; it just adds an hour or two.
Clear the route
Whatever's between the tub and where a truck can park: bins, planters, bikes, the gate that's been painted shut. Moving those ahead of time speeds everything up.
Know where your breaker is
Most tubs run off a dedicated circuit. Knowing which breaker it is saves a search.
On the day
Walkthrough first
The crew looks at the tub, the route out and the gate before touching anything, and confirms the price. If the job is materially different from what was described in your request, you get the new number before work starts rather than after.
Electrical disconnection
Power off at the panel, then the hardwired connection separated at the tub end. If the wiring has been modified, spliced or run in a way that isn't clear, a careful crew stops and recommends an electrician. That happens occasionally and it's not worth guessing about.
Cutting the shell
This is the part people don't expect. A typical spa is six to eight feet square. A standard side gate is around three. The shell has to come apart, and it comes apart on your patio.
The shell is cut into sections sized for your specific route — wider pieces if there's a double gate, narrower if it's a two-foot side yard. It's loud for perhaps twenty minutes and it produces acrylic dust, which is why the surrounding area should be tarped first.
Carrying it out
Sections come out one at a time. The heaviest single component is usually the base and motor assembly rather than any piece of shell.
Loading and clearing
Everything leaves in the same visit — shell sections, frame, cover, steps, motor, pump, heater and the cabinet surround. The pad should be swept afterwards. What you're left with is a clean slab or a bare patch of yard.
Afterwards
Where the parts go
Frame, motor, pump, heater and any metal in the cabinet can go to metal recyclers. Acrylic shell and foam insulation go to the transfer station — there's no meaningful recycling stream for those, and anyone telling you otherwise is stretching it.
The pad
If the concrete slab is staying, it should be left swept. If it's going, that's priced separately by weight and usually happens as a second visit or an extended one.
The electrical
The circuit stays capped and dead. If you want the wiring pulled back to the panel or the disconnect box removed, that's an electrician's job.