bdubya200 Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 Hi everyone. One of the components to our deision to buy or not buy a hot tub inludes total cost of owenrship. That means that site prep and eletrial matter. Can anybody point me in the direction of information regarding reinforcing an exisiting deck in order to be certain that it can support the 5k + lbs a water and human filled hot tub will weigh? I have taken measurements , drawn up sketches, and taken pictures of the existing deck. Several dealers, as well as my realtor, have given me some leads on contractors, but based on my current decking, I feel somewaht confident, well...confident enough to check into what it would take to do it on my own, to take this project on my shoulders, at a minimum, to price out my time, materials, ad know how...then compare it to any quotes I may get and decide from there. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFC5 Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 Have you thought of just pouring a concrete slab or wood deck on crushed stone up against the side of the deck? That is what I decided to do and I am happy I did. I built a 2x6 pressure treated deck with 4x6 PT joists sitting on top of 4" of crushed stone that has my spa top edge sitting about 20" above the deck floor which allows for the easiest access in and out of the tub with the deckl about teven with the seating inside the tub. I just cut out the railing for the section where I have the spa. I plan on wrapping an additional deck around one side this summer coming as well. Then you have no worries about crawling under the existing deck and working in tough positions trying to reinforce the existing deck and do not lose any deck floor space either. I added 3' extra decking that the tub sits on on the side opposite the regular deck so I could add steps to access it from the yard or add a bar with stools instead. Just a thought to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 Thanks for the response. We did consider doing something like that, but the deck sits about 7 feet off of the ground. Working under the deck isnt a big deal ( well, once the snow is gone, access will be easier). We considered building a small flaoting deck down on the ground and then building stairs down to the lower tiered hot tub deck, but that would require us to move a large galvanized outdoor fireplace and the 4x4 concrete slab it sits on, as well as adding in railings to match the current hand turned log railings. I.E....too rich for my blood. Add in the fact that it would mean a lot more snow excavation each storm to get to the tub ( we get tons of snow...8k feet above sea level in Utah), and we decided that using the existing deck was the most convenient and cost effective solution. Hopefully a few hundred vs a few thousand. I will miss the deck space somewhat, but the deck wraps all the way around the cabin, so luckily there is some space to spare. By the way, your setup sounds very nice. Thanks for the suggestion. Can anyone suggest a DIY forum or decking forum that I could possibly post a few drawings and pictures to and ask for some creative feedback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djousma Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 7' off the ground, your considerations are not just supporting the weight, but also side-to-side stability. If that deck is not securely anchored, and you get any lateral movement in the tub, it could spell disaster. Without pictures, it is hard to make suggestions, but you could add additional supports below the hottub location. If it were me, I would bury some 6x6 supports 4-5' into the ground with concrete. given your location in utah, that may not be possible. you may get away with additional vertical supports, tied together with diagonal cross-members to provide stability. I built a 12x12' floater deck that is about 5' off the ground, 2 steps lower than my current deck. I used 9 6x6 legs 4' into the ground with concrete tied together with 2x12 supports, but it was built from scratch. Whole thing is topped off with 2x8 joists on 12" center I'm sure it is overkill, but I didnt want to take any chances, and it was cheaper to just add more lumber than to have a engineer or builder come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 7' off the ground, your considerations are not just supporting the weight, but also side-to-side stability. If that deck is not securely anchored, and you get any lateral movement in the tub, it could spell disaster. Without pictures, it is hard to make suggestions, but you could add additional supports below the hottub location. If it were me, I would bury some 6x6 supports 4-5' into the ground with concrete. given your location in utah, that may not be possible. you may get away with additional vertical supports, tied together with diagonal cross-members to provide stability. I built a 12x12' floater deck that is about 5' off the ground, 2 steps lower than my current deck. I used 9 6x6 legs 4' into the ground with concrete tied together with 2x12 supports, but it was built from scratch. Whole thing is topped off with 2x8 joists on 12" center I'm sure it is overkill, but I didnt want to take any chances, and it was cheaper to just add more lumber than to have a engineer or builder come out. Thanks. i wish i could post these pics and sketches to a hosted site so I could insert them. I may do that when I get home. I like the sound of your approach...its what I had considered anyway. Ree: the poured footer/sunken supports...is it crazy to think that I could use some of those preformed concrete 'footers' that you can actually move around...but sink those into the ground. I also concur on the lateral support with it being that high up. Its a fairly beefy deck to begin with, but id love to beef it up under the proposed footprint of the tub both vertically and laterally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFC5 Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I would not feel comfortable with that bolt holding all the weight on them, since I imagine that bolt could also bend with any lateral movement of the deck over time and once it starts to bend it will likely bend more and easier. Think of what happens when banging a nail in and it starts to bend just a little before it is banged all the way in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah. thats a bad example picture. In doing dome research on these things, you can put a 4X4 post in that slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah. thats a bad example picture. In doing dome research on these things, you can put a 4X4 post in that slot. The decking? 2x6? The joists 2x6,8,10? The rim joist? How it's attached? The header? Overhang? Post's? Footings? All these things need to be answered. A good 2x10 at 16" OC with no more than 4 feet of span in any direction on 4x4 posts with the proper footings for your area and 2X decking on top connected properly to the house. Your golden. Email photos and I can overkill it for you. Send PM. But count on overkill as it's better than living on the edge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 LINK TO SKETCHES Hopefully, someone can make heads or tails of all of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Now trying to figure out how to post the PDF image of my sketches...the most useful info is there. OK good. But I need to know the size of those joists. I can allready see the spans between posts and rim is to far so you'll need more posts. Maybe only 2 and another header under the tub. Will you be next to the house or over on your header? Positioning will be important so there are 2 headers under the tub and 4 of those very cool log posts. Are the log post's supportive or decrotive? How are those post's footed? Cement footings below frost or sitting on concrete blocks? You may be fine with a 8-10' header between log post's and 4x4 posts and a couple post's under that new header. To clarify, RIM is up against the house. HEADER is on top of the POSTS. JOISTS are being held up by headers. DECKING tops it all off. How the rim is attached to the house is also important. Deflection as mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Added LINK TO SKETCHES at top after you repied. Has the sketch with fairly detailed measurements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Roger, I emailed the above to you as well. Thanks a ton man! Ideally, right by the house. I realise that header is too far out to do any good and expect to have to add several posts and a header at minimum. I would love to be able t use the preformed dek blocks for this project if at all possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Roger, I emailed the above to you as well. Thanks a ton man! Ideally, right by the house. I realise that header is too far out to do any good and expect to have to add several posts and a header at minimum. I would love to be able t use the preformed dek blocks for this project if at all possible. As mentioned in the PM preformed dek blocks are fine to sit on top of a poured below frost footings. I can see by the photos that your ground moves (piles of snow) Sitting on grade those blocks will sink every year when the ground is not frozen. And besides I bet they are not code. They aren't here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for taking a look at that for me. Your suggestion actually seems quite simple, which is great. If adding in 2 8 foot headers running paralell to the house under the proposed footprint of the hot tub, with each braced by 2 4x4s or 6x6s in concrete works, then Im all for that. I was likely overthinking what needed to happen, but your suggestion seems like a solid one. I appreciate the free advice. it was free...right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks for taking a look at that for me. Your suggestion actually seems quite simple, which is great. If adding in 2 8 foot headers running paralell to the house under the proposed footprint of the hot tub, with each braced by 2 4x4s or 6x6s in concrete works, then Im all for that. I was likely overthinking what needed to happen, but your suggestion seems like a solid one. I appreciate the free advice. it was free...right ? Yep absolutly free and denied if there's a failure!!!.....LOLOL Just kidding you'll be fine you will have 3 headers whithin about a 10 foot span hell you could put 2 tubs on that!! Bring the posts in about 18" from each end of the headers so there's like 4 feet between them. Bring the headers in about the same from the footprint of the tub. Because it's 7 foot high the 6x6 posts would overkil it slightly more. Those log posts would be cool also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdubya200 Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks Roger. Its info and help like that that makes this place awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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