Edit ArticleHow to Build a Hot Tub Platform Building a hot tub platform is the first step to installing a jacuzzi system in your backyard. Although this requires quite a bit of effort, it is much less expensive than outsourcing the job to a professional company. You can also pick your own materials to ensure the high quality of the job. Decide where you want to place the platform. If you plan to place the hot tub in a location that was previously lawn, you have two ways to do this. The first is to take an 8 foot (2.4 meters) by 8 foot (2.4 meters) section of lawn out and dig down past the sod to undisturbed soil. Then fill the excavation with gravel and level. The second is to build a deck strong enough to support the weight of a hot tub filled with water and people enjoying themselves. You can use the plan below to construct a hot tub deck in one afternoon. Lay out a perfect 8 foot square at the location you plan to build the deck. Wrap a string around the corner stakes and make two diagonal strings to locate the center.

Pound stakes at the center of each side (4' from the corner stake). Now find the last four stakes by measuring 32" from two of your last four stakes as shown in the photo to the right. Dig a 15" by 15" square hole at each of the inside nine stakes. Fill the bottom 2 to 3 inches (5.1 to 7.6 cm) of the hole with sand. Flatten the sand with a square end shovel or a piece of plywood. Place the footing on top of the sand with the straps aligned with the direction of the beams. Wiggle the block until it is level in both directions. Repeat this process with each hole and footing, making sure that the rows are aligned. Tamp excavated soil into the holes around the footings compacting the ground so the footing can't move. You should now have 9 footings in a 64" square in the middle of an 8' staked off square.create (3) 4"x6" beams by nailing two 2"x6" 8' boards together. Set the center post first. Place the "Post to Beam" ties on top of each post and nail through the holes provided.

Do the same with the other outside beam. Recruit others to fill in the nail pattern for each beam holder and footing straps with galvanized 8d nails. Toenail a 2" x 6" joist to each end of the beams. Check the diagonal to be sure it is square. Nail a rim joist to the ends of the joists and nail blocking down the center. Mark the outside joists every 6.25" from each side. Hot tubs weigh about 700 to 800 pounds dry and about 3700 pounds when filled. Placement of the hot tub should be planned well ahead of delivery. The location should be accessible to the 50 amp service most require. Other than that requirement, it should be located where it pleases you. If it will be located on a patio slab you will not need this article. If you live where the Earth freezes in winter, be sure to think about deeper footings! A cutoff saw works best for posts and blocking. Always check with your local building department before you start construction. Permits and inspections may be needed for your project.

Failure to obtain permits may result in a delay/cancel of the sale of your home in the future. Have all your materials at the job site. Make sure your measurements are precise when completing this project. If the pieces don't line up because of measurement errors, then the sturdiness of your platform will be seriously compromised. If you have an existing deck, cut the beam and joist spans in half to provide the additional support.Resume For Tire Sales Be careful handling heavy equipment and materials during the construction process. Appliance Repair LeadsYou could seriously injure yourself.Pet Grooming Tubs For Sale Don't use any ordinary deck plans for a hot tub. They are designed to support 40 pound live load. These plans should support an 80 pound live load plus a 20 pound dead load per square feet.

Successful Hot Tub Planning View All 12 Photos > Adding a hot tub to a deck project requires creativity and close attention to structural details. Even when clients already have a specific tub in mind, they usually have only a vague idea of where it should go and how it should be integrated with the rest of the deck. And most haven't thought at all about the special framing needed or the impact that it can have on a deck's design. This is where we—the deck designers and builders—come in. Hot tubs must be placed on a flat, level surface, such as a concrete slab or a deck, without any shims. Beyond that, many structural and design decisions depend on the particular hot tub chosen, so clients need to select their tub early in the process. Only when you know the tub's dimensions, dry weight, water capacity, and suggested occupancy can you figure out how much weight the slab or framing will need to support. For a ground-level tub, we generally pour a 3 1/2-inch concrete slab, but large tubs may require a thicker one.

If a hot tub is going to be elevated, the framing will have to support it. Because the loads from the tub, the water, and the occupants can exceed 100 pounds per square foot—and most decks are designed to support combined live and dead loads of only 50 pounds per square foot—additional structural support is usually needed.A typical 7 1/2-foot by 7 1/2-foot hot tub, for example, with a dry weight of 855 pounds can hold 420 gallons of water and six to seven people. That much water weighs about 3,500 pounds (1 gallon weighs around 8.3 pounds, depending on its temperature), while seven people with an average weight of 185 pounds have a combined weight of 1,295 pounds. The 56-square-foot tub filled with water and people would therefore have a total weight of 5,655 pounds, so the framing must be able to support a design load of at least 101 pounds per square foot (5,655 ÷ 56 = 100.98). If you're installing a used hot tub, look inside the pump compartment for the specs. Otherwise, you can estimate its volume (in cubic feet) by multiplying the tub's length by its width and depth.

Then, multiply the volume by 62 pounds per cubic foot to find the weight of the water that the tub can hold.Prescriptive beam and joist sizing tables for 100-psf loads can't be found in the IRC or in DCA6, so I refer to a custom Excel spreadsheet designed by my engineer. ), but these are more conservative than an engineered design and typically result in an overbuilt structure. ), a relatively inexpensive beam-design software package that is particularly well-suited for deck builders. Most municipalities we work in require an engineered design for an elevated deck—a good idea even if it isn't required. Nonengineered decks tend to be over-designed and overbuilt, and even then, have problems with safety. Hire a good engineer; you will have to pay his fee, but you'll probably spend less on materials and experience less anxiety.Hot-tub deliveries are usually handled by the manufacturer's crew. Most companies want at least one responsible party (usually the homeowner) to be present so they don't need to come back to explain start-up procedures, controls, and the like.

When access is tight, it may be necessary to rent a crane to lift the hot tub into place. Boom-crane rental and setup can be costly, so carefully evaluate access to the backyard when estimating installation costs. Even when the owners have an idea of where they want the tub to be located, we always review this decision carefully with them. On smaller decks, we've placed tubs as close as 12 inches from a house wall, which allows for the cover lift to function and provides air circulation. On a larger deck, locating a tub 17 inches from a wall leaves room for a table made up of three 5 1/2-inch-wide deck boards. If traffic needs to circulate between the tub and the wall, we place the tub at least 4 feet from the wall.The climate in the Pacific Northwest is relatively mild, so locating the tub close to an exterior door isn't as important as it might be in a colder climate; however, the closer a spa is to a door into the house and a dressing area, the more likely it will be used.

If the master bedroom is located on the second floor, an upper-level deck with stairs might solve the problem of a client having to walk through the home dripping wet. If the spa is some distance away from the house, discreet lighting along the pathway between the two will offer nighttime safety and set the mood. Your clients will need to think about how they will be accessing the tub, and whether the tub will impede the flow of traffic when it's not being used. Ask them why they want a spa. Will it be used primarily to entertain family friends, or for family fun with the kids? Or will it be used for unwinding and meditating? Whatever the answer is, the location and design should reflect it.As we develop the design, we survey the views into and out of the yard. It may be necessary to include privacy screens, enclosures, porticoes, covers, or pergolas to block prying eyes. Sometimes a design needs to be tweaked to take advantage of attractive landscaping or views of mountains or a lake, but make sure that the tub doesn't block those views from inside the house.

Placing a hot tub close to a corner of a house tends to accentuate wind. Always consider prevailing winds, orientation of the sun, and shade, so that your clients will be able to use their spa comfortably throughout the year.A hot tub can be installed on top of a deck, flush with a deck's surface, or somewhere in between. We don't recommend dropping the tub so that it's flush with the deck, though a couple of clients have opted for this. Because stepping down into a slippery spa is unstable at best, a handrail should be installed. Having the edge 2 feet or more above the deck is safer, as small children (or unobservant adults) will have a harder time accidentally falling in (for more on security barriers for hot tubs and spas, see Question & Answer,Jan/Feb 2008 and Nov 2012). Depending on the tub's brand, the first accessible area inside is about 13 inches down from the top, typically a step formed by the compartment containing the pump, heater, and controls. If the deck is also about 13 inches below the top of the tub, a person climbing in or out won't be changing elevation, making it easier to balance.

And since that also puts the height of the tub close to the average height of a bench, a person could also sit on the edge and swing around into the water safely. If the tub is installed on top of a deck, a step is usually required. When framing the step, we make it removable to provide access to the pump motor. We also protect the framing and fasteners around the perimeter of hot tubs from the corrosive effects of the chlorine or bromine used to sanitize the water in them. ), a great multi-purpose caulk that's readily available in the roofing section of most big-box home-improvement centers. The worst corrosion seems to occur within 2 feet of the tub, so that's where we use the sealant. Some hot tubs can be plugged into a GFCI-protected 110v/20-amp outlet, but most require a 220v/50-amp electrical connection to heat the water and run the jets simultaneously. On our projects, the client is usually responsible for hiring a licensed electrical contractor to obtain the electrical permit, tie into the existing power, run the wiring in conduit, provide the emergency quick-disconnection box, and do the hook-up to the power panel inside the tub's control box.

By code, the emergency shut-off switch needs to be in sight of and between 5 and 15 feet from the tub. If the tub will be supported by a concrete slab, the wiring will need to be run in conduit, which should be placed before pouring the concrete. Also keep in mind that hot tubs can't be placed directly under or within 12 feet of overhead power or telephone cables. Good-quality hot tubs have a life expectancy of 15 years. To make it easier to repair leaks and other problems, manufacturers usually specify a minimum amount of access to the tub's pumps, plumbing, and other accessories. When the tub is installed on top of the deck, it's usually not difficult to design hinged or removable access panels for all four sides. For a partially recessed tub, we try to leave at least one side of the spa open for easy removal. One way to do this is with a spa table that's the same height as the spa. When the hot tub is recessed into the deck, we frame to accommodate an access hatch the size of the spa access panel—typically 4 feet by 3 feet—that leads to the electrical hookup, pump, and controls.