captchaos Posted July 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 I am probably making my decision this weekend! The hotsprings dealer is running some specials.....I have an older deck and am a little worried about the weight of the vista/grandee...arctic says that isn't a problem with their tub b/c of the forever floor! If I have to pur a cement slab I am going with arctic! Any input out there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 I am probably making my decision this weekend! The hotsprings dealer is running some specials.....I have an older deck and am a little worried about the weight of the vista/grandee...arctic says that isn't a problem with their tub b/c of the forever floor! If I have to pur a cement slab I am going with arctic! Any input out there?? Go with a good solid base or slab no matter what brand you buy. No one wants a sunk in lopsided tub sitting in there yard after it settles. No one wants dirt and/or grass tracked into there tub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerimiahR Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 I am probably making my decision this weekend! The hotsprings dealer is running some specials.....I have an older deck and am a little worried about the weight of the vista/grandee...arctic says that isn't a problem with their tub b/c of the forever floor! If I have to pur a cement slab I am going with arctic! Any input out there?? I'm not sure how the base of any hot tub is going to make it safe for a deck if the deck is old or not built to handle the weight. Unfortunately, I think the salesman is overstepping his/her bounds a bit. I would never tell anyone their deck is safe to handle the hot tub until I've had someone inspect it. Regardless of what brand of spa you purchase, someone with the appropriate skills should take a look at your deck to make sure it'll handle the weight.. period. The bottom of the hot tub really has no bearing on whether the deck can support the total weight that'll be sitting on top of it. It's all about the structure under the deck. The Vista/Grandee each weigh approximately 6,000 lbs when filled with water and average sized adults (175lbs). Keep in mind, water weighs something like 8lbs per gallon. The Arctic Summit holds 390 gallons of water according to their website. So that's 3,120lbs of water. Plus however much the hot tub itself weighs, plus people. To be fair, we'll just use the same 175lbs per person. There are six seats in the Summit, so that's 1,050 lbs of people. Grandee = 6,233 with water & people (from HotSpring.com) Summit = 4,170lbs plus spa weight. A spa the size of the summit, likely weighs 800 to 1,000 lbs. So it's safe to imagine the Summit likely weighs about 5,000lbs when filled with water and people. There's a 1,200 lb difference between the Grandee and Summit. But, if your deck isn't in very good shape, or wasn't built to hold that much weight.... the difference between 6,233lbs and 5,000lbs probably isn't going to mean a darn thing. The deck may not be able to hold even 5,000lbs. Again, a qualified person needs to inspect your deck. I actually use a licensed, independent carpenter to inspect decks, and often he ends up adding better supports to the current deck structure. Sometimes he doesn't though. But I'd much rather have someone who builds decks and other carpentry items make the decision, than someone who's trained to sell things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuBaDuB Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 A spa the size of the summit, likely weighs 800 to 1,000 lbs. So it's safe to imagine the Summit likely weighs about 5,000lbs when filled with water and people. There's a 1,200 lb difference between the Grandee and Summit. But, if your deck isn't in very good shape, or wasn't built to hold that much weight.... the difference between 6,233lbs and 5,000lbs probably isn't going to mean a darn thing. The deck may not be able to hold even 5,000lbs. Again, a qualified person needs to inspect your deck. I actually use a licensed, independent carpenter to inspect decks, and often he ends up adding better supports to the current deck structure. Sometimes he doesn't though. But I'd much rather have someone who builds decks and other carpentry items make the decision, than someone who's trained to sell things. I'm a structural engineer and thought I would just chime in a bit. Most decks are designed to support a live load (ie. the load over and beyond the weight of the deck itself) of 40 psf. A typical spa load is in the range of 100-125 psf when filled with water and people, so obviously most decks are not suitable to support a spa without extra framing reinforcing, and perhaps more foundation area. Particularly decks that are just thrown together by homeowners without a proper design to building code by a professional. Other questionable construction methods for decks to watch for are the use of "deck block" foundations and decks bolted to the face of brick veneer walls. If you have any question, have a local structural engineer come out to your house and take a look. Might cost $200-$400 but it's the safest option...carpenters can be ok but they are generally just "eyeballing" based on their "experience", whereas a structural engineer will do the necessary calculations to ensure everything is safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captchaos Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 A spa the size of the summit, likely weighs 800 to 1,000 lbs. So it's safe to imagine the Summit likely weighs about 5,000lbs when filled with water and people. There's a 1,200 lb difference between the Grandee and Summit. But, if your deck isn't in very good shape, or wasn't built to hold that much weight.... the difference between 6,233lbs and 5,000lbs probably isn't going to mean a darn thing. The deck may not be able to hold even 5,000lbs. Again, a qualified person needs to inspect your deck. I actually use a licensed, independent carpenter to inspect decks, and often he ends up adding better supports to the current deck structure. Sometimes he doesn't though. But I'd much rather have someone who builds decks and other carpentry items make the decision, than someone who's trained to sell things. I'm a structural engineer and thought I would just chime in a bit. Most decks are designed to support a live load (ie. the load over and beyond the weight of the deck itself) of 40 psf. A typical spa load is in the range of 100-125 psf when filled with water and people, so obviously most decks are not suitable to support a spa without extra framing reinforcing, and perhaps more foundation area. Particularly decks that are just thrown together by homeowners without a proper design to building code by a professional. Other questionable construction methods for decks to watch for are the use of "deck block" foundations and decks bolted to the face of brick veneer walls. If you have any question, have a local structural engineer come out to your house and take a look. Might cost $200-$400 but it's the safest option...carpenters can be ok but they are generally just "eyeballing" based on their "experience", whereas a structural engineer will do the necessary calculations to ensure everything is safe. I had my friend who is a contractor come over and take a look at the deck! He was actually the person who did the install! The deck is ground level and has cement supports under the deck! He said that the deck wouldn't have a problem handling the load! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottubdan Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Energy test referred to was comparing apples to oranges. They made the Hot Spring operate in a way it is not designed to. No need to ever turn jet pumps on when not in use. Regarding leaks on foam filled vs. non foamed spas. Foam filling supports the plumbing. Therefore less likely to leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuBaDuB Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 I'm a structural engineer and thought I would just chime in a bit. Most decks are designed to support a live load (ie. the load over and beyond the weight of the deck itself) of 40 psf. A typical spa load is in the range of 100-125 psf when filled with water and people, so obviously most decks are not suitable to support a spa without extra framing reinforcing, and perhaps more foundation area. Particularly decks that are just thrown together by homeowners without a proper design to building code by a professional. Other questionable construction methods for decks to watch for are the use of "deck block" foundations and decks bolted to the face of brick veneer walls. If you have any question, have a local structural engineer come out to your house and take a look. Might cost $200-$400 but it's the safest option...carpenters can be ok but they are generally just "eyeballing" based on their "experience", whereas a structural engineer will do the necessary calculations to ensure everything is safe. I had my friend who is a contractor come over and take a look at the deck! He was actually the person who did the install! The deck is ground level and has cement supports under the deck! He said that the deck wouldn't have a problem handling the load! ok, but don't get me started on 'contractors'...I don't think there's any other profession on the planet that has such a HUGE range in competence/skill/trustworthiness. Some are great, some are walking turnips. Not insulting your friend, just be careful. I've seen decks collapsed under hot tubs. It's always best to get the proper expert....generally, trust contractors to build, not analyze/design. Sounds like you are low to the ground anyway so even a collapse wouldn't be a big issue...however, I've seen hot tubs placed on flimsy little decks 10' off the ground, with kids play areas below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.