Hot Tub Deck - Project 3
Hot Tub on A Sloped Site Attached to Corner Upper Deck
Hot tub decks can be incorporated into unique site locations such as this steep corner site.
Before
This home was only one storey from the front yard view but the back yard sloped steeply downwards and was only about 25' deep. The basement of the house was level with the backyard grade. There was not a lot of room to work with.
When I arrived there was an existing 6'x 12' porch in the back yard at the main floor elevation coming off the kitchen patio door. The decking material was a fairly typical 2x6 arrangement so water could drip through onto the area below.
The neighborhood was mature so there were a lot of beautiful trees. The elevation of the main floor offered a great view but because of the trees there was still a good degree of privacy. But overall, this deck had to go. It was too small, rickety and an eyesore.
The Site
The backyard was only about 25' maximum from the house to the property line and sloped sharply downwards. It had great potential for some beautiful landscaping with flower beds and rock stairs but it wasn't an area for kids to play.
The best location for activity and exposure to sunshine was at the higher elevation of the existing deck and around the corner of the house. The area around the corner had a more gentle slope and received midday and early evening sunshine.
This site had some potential for something but it just wasn't clear what would really make it come alive at this stage.
The Clients
The clients were tired of the small and ugly looking porch tacked on to the side of their house. They never went out on it any more because it didn't feel attractive. Sound familiar?
They had just purchased a large 8 person hot tub and wanted it installed somehow with a deck. By asking the clients some basic questions it became clear what kind of deck they were looking for.
They wanted a larger existing upper level deck with enough room to eat and take in the beautiful view. They didn't want the view obstructed by 2x2 balusters.
They also wanted a hot tub deck to be part of the structure and they wanted the two areas to feel like they were connected so that they would use both areas.
The Layout
For the upper deck we pushed it out from 6' to 9'. This meant that the existing beam had to be moved further out from the house so that the cantilever was a maximum of 18".
The existing deck railing had to be removed and a combination of beautiful cedar surface mounted deck railng posts with aluminum rails and glass panels
As a special touch I built double sided louvred removable panels with low voltage lighting underneath the top rail. The louvres diffuse the light ever so subtlely.
The old 2x6 deck boards were replaced with 5/8" tongue and groove sheating, glued and screwed to the joists. A 40 mil vinyl flooring material was installed to completely water proof the deck. No more water dripping down to the area below and no more annual maintenance.
The hot tub deck design called for the hot tub to go around the corner of the house which wasn't quite as steep. There was lots of room to create a great gathering area with built-in benches around the hot tub deck and an added touch was a wide open wrap around stair case with closed risers to block the view under the deck.
The hot tub was set upon a concrete pad that was cut into the slope. To ensure drainage, drain tile was placed around the pad and covered with granular stone before the cement was poured.
Another nice touch you might consider for your own deck was setting the deck boards for the hot tub deck at 45 degrees rather than perpendicular to the house.
The design idea here was to create all kinds of subtle hints of connectivity between the upper deck and the lower deck. The angle of the deck boards seems to carry the eye from either level to the next.
And to carry that theme of connectivity, we built 6' wide stairs to link the decks and closed the risers. The effect is one of openness and no visual breaks or distractions because you can't see between the stair treads. In the end this deck design served to unite the two decks which otherwise could have ended up being completely separate.
The open end of the hot tub deck where the stairs were located was cut at 45 degrees to make room for a bit of foot traffic around the deck and to reduce the size of the deck. A 1x8 skirt was installed underneath the hot tub deck to hide the remaining view under the deck where the hot tub was located.
The benches double as a place to sit and gather around the hot tub and as a railing to protect people from falling. The building code did not call for a mandatory guard rail because it was less than 24" but its still a good idea to combine the bench railing concept.
After
There was no comparison from start to finish. The clients loved the final result. Before they had what seemed an unsuitable site for anything but perhaps a slightly larger upper level deck.
But I tried to make excellent use of the open area just around the corner and tied it all in with a wide set of closed riser stairs, and opened it up with wrap around stairs from the hot tub deck to the ground.
They also now had a completely maintenance vinyl flooring surface for the upper deck and glass railing. The top and bottom rails were aluminum and the posts were surface mounted and never in contact with the wet deck surface. Forget about rotting forever!
These were happy clients which meant I was happy too!