Deck Supporting Hot Tub Question

[thenewguy]

Hi Everyone; I built my deck specifically for a hot tub and received county approval for being structurally sound. That's the good news. The bad news is that the supported area is only 8'x7'. I did not take into consideration the space I would need for a cover lifter. I need to find out if I can extend my hot tub an additional 1 - 2 feet over my "normal" deck with sound joists 12" cc, but the span is an additonal 2 feet to the next beam. Does anyone out there have deck construction experience who could offer advice? Thanks.

[polyvue]

Hi Everyone; I built my deck specifically for a hot tub and received county approval for being structurally sound. That's the good news. The bad news is that the supported area is only 8'x7'. I did not take into consideration the space I would need for a cover lifter. I need to find out if I can extend my hot tub an additional 1 - 2 feet over my "normal" deck with sound joists 12" cc, but the span is an additonal 2 feet to the next beam. Does anyone out there have deck construction experience who could offer advice? Thanks.

I'm not in the trades but some years ago engineered a 14x20 redwood deck, a portion of which was used for a portable hot tub. I suppose one option is to not worry about it.... but I'd certainly calculate the anticipated load for those 2 feet outside your core area. The weight of water, equipment and people add up, so even if you weren't concerned with catastrophic failure, I'm sure it would prove a disappointment should the load slowly destroy your deck system, forcing major repairs or reconstruction. Is it unthinkable at this stage to dismantle that section of deck to make it right? It may be tempting to throw a couple of cinder blocks under there but it you have a significant load you'll want the extra piers or other supports that meet code.