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Hot Tub on Ground Level Deck - best practices and materials?

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Spatech_tuo:

--- Quote from: betsbillabong on January 27, 2021, 06:51:04 pm ---Thanks, AO. This is definitely the direction I am leaning.

Do you know (or does anyone know) whether a round Nordic tub will need access to just the front panel or to the whole tub?

Thanks!

--- End quote ---

Like just about every tub out there, you only need access to the front panel except for if/when the time there is an issue elsewhere.

CanadianSpaTech:
Building the deck up to the lip of the spa... how do you get in? Do you get down on your hands and knees first and slide in or do you try and step down into the spa from a standing position?

A.O.:

--- Quote from: CanadianSpaTech on January 28, 2021, 06:08:39 pm ---Building the deck up to the lip of the spa... how do you get in? Do you get down on your hands and knees first and slide in or do you try and step down into the spa from a standing position?

--- End quote ---

Mine wasn't actually up to the lip of the tub, maybe a couple inches below the shell (need room for the cover to close after all ), and yes, just step in.

betsbillabong:
Hi all, just returning to clarify something. Am I correct in thinking that it is very important that the tub be at or above grade? The initial plan (for the hot tub sitting right on top of the deck) was to dig down 8", fill with 3-4" of crushed rock/road base, then use that as a the base for the deck framing. It seems to me that I cannot place the hot tub any lower than the base to avoid water running down on its base, correct? And so the framing would need to start at ground level rather than below? If I do that, it seems like the deck will then need to be at least 8-10" above grade, if not more, which then causes problems as stairs will eat up a lot of the deck space. Hmmm.

Pardon my ignorance -- totally new to this world!

bud16415:
I would not try and build a PT wooden deck flush or slightly above ground level. I would want all the deck material above grade except the footings. There are two ways a deck can be built, free floating or posts below frost line. My hot tub deck I built is 36” above grade and free floating. It could easily be just a single step above grade.

The home centers sell pre-cast concrete footing blocks that can be dug and set into the soil with just enough sticking out for the framing to fit into. The framing can be just PT 2x6 or 2x8 depending on what spacing you put the footing blocks at. I would suggest designing the deck such that there are 5 footing blocks under the tub one in the center and one each corner. Then the rest of the deck as large as you want for deck space. Steps take up a little space and it is at least nice for a place to stand and dry off and slip flip-flops on and off at a minimum.

Dig your holes carefully for the footings so they sit on compressed soil. Use a hand tamper if you do some back filling.

Run your conduit during the decking process.

If your deck is low there is no need for railings.   

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