Building A Deck For Your Hot Tub
Many today want to install a hot tub on their existing deck, if your deck was not built will the weight consideration of a hot tub chances are your existing deck will not support a hot tub even though a hot tub may only weigh 400 to 500 lbs they may hold 300 gallons of water a 7 pounds per gallon or and additional 2100 pounds add that to the weight of the tub and add the weight of the occupants you can see the weight per square is quite high. In most cases you deck can be redesigned to hold a hot tub by adding extra support check with your local building department or a qualified person to make sure the chances will support our new tub.
Today there are many choices in deck materials from the traditional cedar and redwood, to pressure treated pin and the new man made materials. The most cost effective of these choices is the pressure treated pine there are three levels of treatment and it is measured by the amount of preservative per cubic foot f lumber the bottom of these is the above grade or ground use at .15 to .25 lbs per foot use this rating for pieces that will not be in contact with the ground. The next level is for pieces that will or might be in contact with the ground and they are rated at .40 pounds per square foot, the highest level which is for below grade is rated a .60 pounds per square foot, 4 x 4’s and 6 x 6’s are generally have a .60 rating.
Most people prefer the natural woods like Cedar and Redwood these are the most expensive and do have some drawbacks if they are used for the decking they can easily be scratched while moving furniture for example they will also turn grey unless you stain or preserve them a good pressure washing will bring back the natural look.
The new generation of deck material is man made composites these are generally made of recycled products such as wood and plastic these are a little more expensive than pressure treated pine but t will last much longer the drawbacks are it will get dirty much like vinyl siding but again a good pressure washing will bring it back to life the other common complaint about the composites is that it gets hot even with a small amount of sunshine.
No matter what type of material you use for constructing your new deck be sure to check with a professional in deck design to guarantee that your new deck will support that new hot tub.