Can I Put a Hot Tub on My Deck

After edifice my deck and enjoying information technology for a while, I began to wonder how I could become almost making it fifty-fifty better. Since my deck has plenty of space, I naturally thought near a hot tub. It would be a great fashion to unwind after a long day, and it meant I could utilize my deck even when it got cold. But I wondered how can you lot put a hot tub on a deck?

A hot tub on a deck is entirely possible, and information technology is possible your deck is already equipped to handle i. A deck designed to hold at least 100 pounds per foursquare foot will support nearly whatever type of hot tub. Nevertheless, many decks are designed for only 50 pounds of weight per foursquare pes – this will not back up some hot tubs and you'll take to modify the supports below your deck.

If you lot are planning a new deck build, and then you'll outset desire to calculate the load-begetting chapters of your planned deck. This will depend on myriad factors such every bit joist spacing, joist overhang, footing size, soil type, and more. Then make up one's mind the overall weight of your desired hot tub at full capacity – humans included.

Already accept a deck? No problem, because it is entirely possible to modify your deck supports to account for a new hot tub. Beneath nosotros'll go into item about how to plan for a hot tub on a new deck and modify an existing deck to hold a hot tub.

Quick Navigation

Types Of Hot Tubs for Decks
- Portable
Exercise You Need a Permit for a Hot Tub?
How Much Does a Hot Tub Weigh?
How Much Weight Can a Deck Hold
How to Determine if Your Deck Can Support a Hot Tub
How to Reinforce a Deck for a Hot Tub
- Add A Beam
- Add together a Mail service
Designing a Deck to Hold a Hot Tub
Composite and Cedar Decks and Hot Tubs
Decision

Types Of Hot Tubs for Decks

There are a broad variety of hot tubs, and even this is an understatement. You may have heard of portable hot tubs, vinyl, and even inflatable hot tubs.

We'll also only be using the term "hot tub", and non "jacuzzi" or "spa" because Jacuzzi is an bodily brand and a spa oft references a more than advanced type of in-ground hot tub with more features.

Below we'll clear upwardly what is what when it comes to hot tubs and then you know exactly what y'all need to buy – or not.

Portable

Portable hot tubs include everything from inflatable hot tubs to very hot tubs that can exist moved as an individual unit. Many "portable" hot tubs are non really very portable due to size and weight. However, they accept that designation because all of the equipment required to operate the tub is independent inside the hot tub unit.

Below is information about the various types of portable hot tubs.

Inflatable

Inflatable hot tubs are just that – they come up in a (large) box and need to be inflated. Often they come with proprietary pumps, such as the Coleman inflatable line of hot tubs.

These hot tubs are anywhere from 60 – 100 pounds when deflated, making them a truly "portable" hot tub. Typically these are fabricated from a multi-ply vinyl – a.k.a PVC. Imagine a giant, really, really sturdy inner tube – that'south an inflatable hot tub.

Inflatable hot tubs, of class, don't come with a pump, filtration, or whatever other equipment within. There is a standalone unit that comes with inflatable hot tubs that connects to the tub, functioning as the pump, filter – if there is 1 – and other plumbing required for the inflatable hot tub to role.

Since the weight of these tubs is far less than the other tubs, you can put 1 on a deck. For instance, a 4-person inflatable hot tub holds around 220 gallons of water. That's around 1700 pounds without people. Add 4 medium-sized people, and you are looking at nearly 2500 pounds.

If you lot take 2500 pounds of hot tub and person on your deck, and your hot tub's diameter is close to 7', so you are looking at roughly 75 pounds per foursquare human foot on your deck. Most decks must be built to withstand at to the lowest degree 50 pounds per square foot. So in that location is a 25 pound per square foot discrepancy.

Yet, with some modifications to your deck frame and foundation, your deck tin can safely agree a fully inflated and occupied inflatable hot tub.

Acrylic

An acrylic hot tub has an inner crush fabricated out of acrylic, with an outer shell fabricated of some other type of material that covers the insides of the hot tub. One of the most common types of "portable" hot tubs, these are popular considering they come in copious amounts of different styles since the exterior shell tin can be customized for a wide diversity of looks.

The acrylic shells are often made with either fiberglass layers or ABS layers beneath for added reinforcement. Top of the line models has sparse sheets of steel in areas of the tub that need extra-reinforcement.

Acrylic hot tubs tin be heavy. It is non unusual for an empty hot tub to counterbalance close to 1000 pounds. A 7 or 8 person hot tub filled and occupied tin can achieve upward of 6000 pounds – that is no piece of cake weight for a deck to concur.

Tin a deck hold an acrylic hot tub? Absolutely. However, special considerations must exist taken when framing and installing footings. The deck structure will demand to be reinforced significantly before you plop a larger acrylic behemoth on your deck.

Molded

Likewise known as polyethylene, these types of hot tubs are all i unit of molded plastic. There is a mold filled with plastic pulverisation, then the mold is turned as the exterior of the mold is heated. The powder melts and is evenly distributed throughout the mold.

In many aspects, a molded – or "roto-molded" – hot tub is similar to a giant plastic bin with jets. It is far more than lightweight than an acrylic hot tub – anywhere from just under 200 pounds to over 400.

The portability of these tubs, combined with their toughness, makes a good option to place on a deck. Since these hot tubs are a fairly elementary design, they are also inexpensive. While not quite every bit cheap equally inflatable tubs, they can still check in at around $2000. Higher priced models are bigger and offer more features, merely still don't compare to the hefty toll tag of an acrylic.

A roto-molded tub runs on a regular household, xv-volt outlet. That means they are not huge drains on your electrical beak. The downside is that information technology takes a long time to heat them because the pump and heater are designed to work on the said outlet. Also, they lose heat speedily due to their all-plastic body.

Practise Y'all Need a Let for a Hot Tub?

Sometimes. A let is fast condign a requirement for many municipalities beyond Northward America. Check with your local edifice services department to find out if it is required where you live.

For instance, you do not need a permit for a hot tub if you alive in Houston. In Tampa, you don't demand a permit if the hot tub is not hooked upward to plumbing or hard-wired to your electrical system. Yet, you do need one if you alive in Toronto or Los Angeles then you do need a permit for a hot tub.

Remember, you do non need to erect a contend around your hot tub if you take a cover that locks. This will ensure your hot tub passes lawmaking.

A deck with a railing over vi ft. from the basis, with locking gates at all entry points, will besides suffice for a hot tub on a deck without a locking comprehend.

Lastly, some jurisdictions merely require permits for hot tubs that have an 8 foot or longer stretch of open water. Smaller hot tubs in those places do not require permits.

How Much Does a Hot Tub Weigh?

Luckily, determining the weight of your hot tub empty, filled, and fully occupied past a group of people is fairly simple. Since we know that water weighs about 8.iii pounds per gallon, we can accurately summate hot tub loads.

Therefore, nosotros'll simply be taking the manufacturer'south specs for the dry out weight of hot tubs and the average weight of the North American adult – 178 pounds. Combine those two factors with our weight of water per gallon, and we can hands discern if your deck can handle whatsoever type of hot tub.

Below we'll take a look at the weights of several different types of the hot tub. All weights are in pounds (lb.)

Blazon	Dry out Weight (Empty)	Weight with Water	Full Weight (Water+People) at full capacity
2-Person Acrylic	600	1685	2035
v-Person Molded	445	2410	3765
7-Person Acylic	800	4340	5586
eight-Person Acrylic	589	4500	5924
Inflatable, two-4 Person	70	1540	2250
Inflatable, vi-Person	56	2240	3308

How Much Weight Tin a Deck Hold

A deck's load-begetting capacity tin get confusing, so nosotros'll try to make this as articulate as possible.

The construction of a deck is made easier with charts that outline the maximum lengths of your joists, posts, and beams. They also include variations for different joist spacing, lumber type, and ground type.

If yous build your deck to code, abiding by all the structural requirements as outlined in your local building code, then you've just built your deck to support fifty pounds per square foot. Why? This is the default – and near common – standard for deck edifice, and it won't be enough to back up most hot tubs.

Since deck load charts only include loads of fifty pounds per square foot, decks will need reinforcement to agree a larger hot tub. Luckily, there are deck load calculators bachelor online that can assist y'all adjust your joist span and sizes to accommodate a heavier load.

Unfortunately, these are just helpful for new deck builds. Plus, yous also have to know the maximum weight of your new hot tub.

Remember, a standard deck built to lawmaking is only rated for fifty pounds per square foot – that includes a 10 pound/square foot expressionless load (the weight of the bodily structure) and a 40 pound/square foot live load (annihilation on the deck surface, such as people or a hot tub).

When you lot put a 4000-pound hot tub on a deck, your live load doubles, at least. Therefore 50 pounds per square foot will non work. Too, keep in mind that the weight of a hot tub is concentrated in one area, so it is likely that you'll demand even more reinforcement in that 1 surface area considering the weight is non spread out and can skew your back up calculations.

How to Determine if Your Deck Can Support a Hot Tub

The best way to explain if an existing deck tin concord a hot tub or non is to compare an existing 10 10 x deck built to code without a hot tub on it. Standard deck beam charts show acceptable spans with diverse types of lumber and plys, that volition support a fifty pound per foursquare pes load.

As I've already explained, that calculation will not piece of work for a hot tub. Recall, it doesn't matter how high off the footing your deck is or not. If the deck is off the ground past even an inch, the same thinking applies – you'll demand to reinforce your deck.

To determine the load-bearing capacity of your deck, you'll want to know the tributary area of your deck posts. That's how much weight each post can concord. Allow'south say your x×x deck is supported by three posts plus a axle at one terminate, and a ledger board on the other with joists running perpendicular to your house.

To find the tributary load of a mail service, multiply one-half the length of the joist – including whatsoever distance the joist cantilevers over the beam – by half the distance of the beam on both sides of the post. If our axle is at the stop of the deck, with no cantilever, and so one-half the distance of the joist is v' and half the beam length on either side adds upwards to 5', also.

And then, if nosotros multiply the two together, the tributary area of the middle postal service on our 10×10 deck beam is 25 square feet. At present, multiply that by fifty pounds/square foot and you go 1,250 pounds. If you were to place a 7-person hot tub in that tributary area, with a full weight exceeding four,000 pounds, then you could risk structural failure and injury – or worse.

If you expect at this tributary load chart, information technology will show that if you keep your tributary area depression – pregnant y'all include more beams and/or posts – then the maximum length of a post of any size will be quite high – 14 feet. This ways that the most effective way to reinforce your deck is to add together more posts and beams.

And and so there is snow load to consider. Yet, if you've deemed for the total weight of your hot tub and reinforced your deck accordingly, then snowfall shouldn't exist an issue simply considering a deck built to lawmaking volition accept into account snow load based on typical winter weather for that specific geographic area.

Lastly, remember that the top of your deck isn't as of import as how far autonomously your posts are spaced and the size of your posts. If you have a deck close to the basis, yous could still see problems if you don't have enough posts.

How to Reinforce a Deck for a Hot Tub

Modifying an existing deck will require more posts, and perhaps another beam. Merely how do you achieve this without tearing upwardly your deck and starting fresh? In that location are several ways you tin go nigh altering your deck without starting over – here are a few methods below:

Add together A Beam

Adding a beam to fit between 2 existing beams – or a beam and a ledger board – is possible, and potentially easier than simply adding a mail service to an existing beam.

To add a beam, y'all'll need to remove deck boards. Once removed, you'll have to operate between your joists. If they are xvi" apart or more, this is possible.

If you are installing patio stones with deck blocks on top, then your job is fairly piece of cake. You lot tin can also install screw piles, working around the joists.

What you lot cannot do is dig a footing beneath an existing deck unless your deck is loftier enough off the basis for you to fit under. If you can, then earthworks is probably your best option to back up a post.

Add a Mail

Calculation a post beneath an existing beam is tricky, simply because if your deck is within five' of the ground, and then getting underneath the beam and earthworks isn't an selection. At all-time, digging in those circumstances is extraordinarily uncomfortable. Therefore, yous demand to find another way to support the axle.

One way is to level the earth beneath the existing beam for a patio slab, deck block, and adjustable post holder or post.

This does not give the same amount of added capacity that a new beam would, but adding several to a beam can reduce the tributary load tremendously and increase the deck's load begetting capacity at the same fourth dimension.

Designing a Deck to Hold a Hot Tub

Keep in heed that when designing a new deck with a hot tub on top, you lot'll only need to add extra reinforcement to the surface area right below the hot tub. So instead of overbuilding the entire deck to account for the added weight of the hot tub, you build a deck to standard code and reinforce the area beneath the hot tub.

On the other hand, information technology may exist easier to add another beam to your new deck, fifty-fifty if it spans beyond the footprint of the hot tub, just for peace of mind and consistency in design.

Whichever method yous choose, you'll need to consult with the calculators linked above from the AWC, as well as the bridge tables, to see how far autonomously your joists need to be, how many posts you'll demand, and how to size your deck axle.

Overall, the best way to hold a hot tub is a concrete pad. A pad with a deck built around the hot tub volition let you residue easy at dark because this is by far the all-time way to support a hot tub, specially a larger ane that gets experience loads beyond 5,000 pounds.

Composite and Cedar Decks and Hot Tubs

If you are building a deck with Trex blended lumber, then you'll have to proceed in mind that a standard 12' Trex deck board is almost double the weight of a standard treated deck board. Exist sure to reference a Trex-specific beam span nautical chart when planning a deck and hot tub using Trex lumber.

Cedar framing will have considerably less weight-bearing capacity compared to SYP structural lumber and somewhat less than SPF – reference this load begetting chart. This will have to be considered when adding a hot tub to a deck fabricated completely from cedar lumber.

Conclusion

Sizing a new deck or adapting an existing deck for a hot tub can go complicated and involve lots of math. Above I've shown yous some tools and resources you can use to help you lot figure out how to safely install a hot tub on your deck.

If at any fourth dimension you are unsure about whether your deck can handle a hot tub, then call a certified structural engineer instead. Accidents involving decks and heavy loads are more than mutual than you'd think, then having a professional person postage stamp of blessing is always worthwhile.

Thanks again for taking the fourth dimension to read this mail service. If yous accept any questions or concerns then feel free to drop me a line – I'd dearest to hear about your next deck and hot tub project!

Eugene has been a DIY enthusiast for nearly of his life and loves being artistic while inspiring creativity in others. He is passionately interested in home comeback, renovation and woodworking.

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