Hot Tub Deck - Project 2
Two Level Stained Pressure Treated Hot Tub Deck and Living Area
A pressure treated hot tub deck design that has a private hot tub deck area and expansive low level entertaining area.
Before
This home was brand new at the time and had an empty north facing backyard. This was a perfect empty artist's canvas upon which to create a unique deck design.
The Site
The exterior siding was a taupe vinyl cladding. The grade was flat. The soil was soft and there was no sod at the time of construction. The yard extended only about 25 feet to the property line.
Because the yard faced north, exposure to the sun was going to be greatest in the morning hours and less from midday to dusk. And fortunately there were no underground services in this yard to worry about.
The interior elevation of the first floor was only 16" so the clearance for a deck was getting very tight. Any design for this site would have to stay low rather than rise up and away from the house. But the clients had a couple of specific demands in mind that would challenge this traditional wisdom.
The Clients
These clients loved the water - all year long. And since this site was located in the mild west coast numerous possibilites existed. They didn't want a full size pool because the yard was a bit small for their liking but a hot tub deck of some sort seemed to really appeal to them.
They also wanted a large area for entertaining and sunning. So they wanted a hot tub in the deck - but that meant it would have to sit somewhat higher than the main deck surface because of the high water table. And they wanted lots of sun on their deck which faced north. Not much to ask for.
Once we defined these two primary requirements we explained that to get
more sunshine the lower deck would have to extend at least 12' out from
the house.
And we also explained that a high water table in this area meant
it would not be possible to set this tub into the ground. To do so would
be flirting with disaster.
So we would have to have a higher level for the hot tub deck. The higher the hot tub deck level, the more exposure above the fence and less privacy. So we had to think of options.
The Layout
Before finalizing the layout we suggested the hot tub be installed at grade on compacted gravel and concrete slab with piers and footings. The soil here was soft and fertile and moist most of the year.
We decided to have only 2 steps up from the lower level to the hot tub level to minimize the elevation change as much as possible.
But to maintain privacy we installed a built-in bench around the back half of the hot tub area and then created a privacy screen that was 5'6" high with 2x2 spaced about 1" apart.
You would have to look directly forward to really see anything and even then the distance was far enough to obscure any detail. So we got over the privacy and height issues.
The lower deck was set just below the interior floor of the house and a continuous wrap around step was built around the perimeter of the deck to allow access from any point in the yard.
The northwest corner of the deck was also cut at 45 degrees to soften to size and appearance of the larger structure.
Leaving a large deck like this with sharp corners and angles only serves to further establish is presence and dominance in a backyard. So consider this when you are creating your deck design.
A hole was cut into the foundation so a wire could be run from the electrical box in the basement to the hot tub. A 2" conduit pipe ran from the foundation wall and then just below grade to the hot tub area. A wire could easily be fished through the conduit for final hookup to the hot tub motor.
After
Voila! A hot tub spa retreat in their backyard! The clients loved the final result. It felt like two distinct areas and with the benches and privacy screen, the hot tub deck had a real intimate feel to it, summer or winter. They also got an area big enough for soaking up sun despite the northern exposure.