Hot Tub Deck - Project 1

A hot tub deck built close to grade and detached from the house.

Before

Layout This house was a single story rancher/bungalow so whatever deck was build would have to be low to the ground.

Before I arrived there was a lonely hot tub by itself away from the house. The hot tub was completely disconnected from the home. Not very inviting. Something was missing to bring the hot tub and home together.

The Site

Top view of deck and tub This backyard was an ideal location for a hot tub deck because it was a mature neighborhood and the surrounding cedar shrubs were tall, offering great privacy - and intimacy for the hot tub bathers.

But the site was perfectly flat and the soil was very soft - two issues that would have to be worked into the final deck design. A hot tub decks with water and people are very heavy and can cause settling on soft soil unless percautions are taken. A concrete pad was the only solution here.

Also the footings for the piers would have to be fairly broad as the weight of a large deck would surely cause settling otherwise.

There were no underground services to be concerned about during excavation here. But there would have to be an electrical hook up from the hot tub to the house.

The proper solution would have to be a hole through the foundation directly to the box and an underground conduit from the house to the tub. This could easily be installed before the cement was poured.

The Clients

This client was a self described swingin' bachelor and he wanted a deck that would make his hot tub as enticing as possible. He also wanted a place to entertain groups of people. So he wanted to know what I could do to make this happen.

These were the two most important issues which had to be brought into balance with the physical constraints of the property itself.

The deck design we would create would have to take into account that the deck could not be very high because the house was only one story and it would look odd to have it very high. The surrounding shrubs were about 8' high and perfect for privacy when you stood at ground level. But if the deck were to be built too high, privacy could be reduced.

Also, this deck was not supposed to be attached to the house because the size of structure he wanted would have dwarfed the backyard and reduced the utility of the remaining yard space if it were placed in the middle. The other reason it couldn't attach to the house was that the patio sliding doors were only 6" above grade making it impossible to build a wood deck.

This client definitely wanted a wood deck with the hot tub off to the corner that was its own entertainment center.

The Layout

Layout of backyard deck with hot tub The layout of this deck design included a nook for the hot tub deck area which backed in towards the rear wall of the attached garage.

A 4' walking and storage space was left between the end of the deck and the garage wall. A concrete pad was built for the deck to sit on as the soil was soft.

I dug down 18" and laid drain pipe around the periphery and then connected it to the main drain pipe near the house foundation. A 2" electrical conduit pipe was laid into position to link the electrical wiring from the house to the tub. The conduit protruded just above the finished grade of concrete.

Twelve inches of granular stone was placed over top the soild and then 4" of smaller stone was placed over top this. This was soaked with water to allow it to settle and compress before some 1/4" rebar was set into position.

The cement was poured to a depth of about 4". This was definitely going to be able to hold the hot tub with water and people.

The deck extended beyond the hot tub about 16' to create a an eating area and sunbathing area. The elevation was about 16" so only one step was needed.

Wrapped stairs The stairs were are closed and wrapped around a 45 degree corner facing the patio sliding door. This created easy access from the main foot traffic area and gave it a very inviting look.

Railing around the deck There was a railing around the hot tub deck area consisting of 2x6 top rail, 2x4 bottom rail and 2x2 balusters secured by 1x2. The edges of the top rail were routered for a smooth look.

Rounded corners of deck To soften the impact of the size of this deck two corners were cut away at 45 degrees. One corner became the opening for the stairs and the other corners were protected with built-in deck benches and planters.

For ease of maintenance a small pressure treated retaining wall was installed under the deck periphery to hold in the gravel and allow for a grass clipper to cut right up close.

After

The cedar deck boards were stained with an opaque oil stain in a soft creme color to subtlely enhance the color of the house stucco siding. And to prevent visual boredom the top rails of the deck railing and the deck planters were stained in a darker taupe. It was a very classy finishing touch.

Side view of stairs Around the hot tub opening in the deck were 2x6s, mitered at 45 degrees with outside edges routered. This 2x6 trim closed the gap between the tub and deck. They were screwed in place for easy removal when and if the hot tub ever had to be pulled out.

In the end the client got a hot tub deck and much more. Now the hot tub had a home and belonged as part of the backyard.

In addition the overall usefulness of the backyard was enhanced because of the extra deck space for entertaining and relaxing. And because the deck was still fairly low, the cedar shrubs still provided great privacy.

Top of Hot Tub Deck