Trials and Tribulations

[Tman122]

I'm no engineer but if you take 5000 lbs and put it in a 6x6 square you have to have more support than 5000 lbs in a 7x7 square. Hmmmmm who's the engineer on this forum? And even if they only supported a 6x6 square that means 6 inches is going to overhang? Seems kind of irrelevant.

[Quickbeam]

Hi Tman,

I'm no engineer either, and I get what you're saying, but I can also see that the further out you get from your strongest point, the weaker it is going to get. He wants us tucked right into the corner of the roof deck and not extending out past 6' either way. Hope this makes sense?

[Tman122]

It actually does make sense because of the corner. Assuming there's a support or 2 someplace out there. What's underneath, shower? 

[Mudheadsports]

Guys, where is that pic of the hot tub that fell off the deck?  Can you repost?

[meriflower]

Guys, where is that pic of the hot tub that fell off the deck?  Can you repost?

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,17214.0.html

[Quickbeam]

Hi Tman,

It's our bedroom that's underneath with no upright support until we hit the far wall - it's a run of about 13 feet.

[Tman122]

I was trying to be funny with the shower comment. Must be some hefty 13' beams holding up the roof.

[Quickbeam]

Sorry Tman,

Went right over my head! But now that you mention it, a shower from above, through my bedroom ceiling, is exactly what I'm trying to avoid!!!

[Pers Onal]

I've kicked a couple of things around in my head on this, and there are just so many possible configurations, types of ceiling, roof, etc. keep coming up blank.

Assuming that this is some form of conventional ceiling and roof, I would think there would be a way to spread enough more load to get the 7 by 7 tub in a safe manner.

I vote for asking the engineer to come up with a practical and relatively inexpensive solution to getting a tub you want up there safely.

Weight differences with of tub and water, and filled with water may also be calculated to include weight of people in the tub. In other words, you're not only looking at tub and water - but with 5 people you're looking at another 750 lbs or so.

[Quickbeam]

Thanks so much for thinking about me. I spoke with the engineer again today about my situation. I had originally told him I wanted to leave 12" between the side of the tub and the deck siding, but have now decided I will just squeeze the tub in as close as I can to the deck walls. I think this will give me some extra allowance. We are going up to the cabin this weekend and I'm going to measure just exactly how close to the walls I can get. Once I have this information I'll pass it on to the engineer and then he will do the calculations and let me know how much weight I can have for a filled, 7' x 7' tub. I would really like to have at least that size, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

[meriflower]

Keeping fingers & toes crossed!

[Mudheadsports]

Don't end up like the picture!!!!!

[Quickbeam]

I'm reviving this thread because I finally heard back from the engineer on the maximum weight we are allowed for a 7' x 7' tub on our roof deck. It has taken this long for him to get me an answer. The good news though, is that I can have a 7' x 7' tub weighing a maximum of 4,800 pounds. This is the weight of the tub plus the water - weight of people is on top of that.

We were dealing with a Jacuzzi / Sundance dealer and we will be going back to see him tomorrow. He is going to order in a J-335 for us. We don't have to buy it - he is just going to bring it in so we can do a wet test. He wants to make sure however that if we do want the tub, he brings in the colour we want, etc. So we will order in the tub, wet test, and then make the decision as to whether or not we want to buy it.

This process has not gone at all like we had planned. I know the advice is to wet test a lot of tubs and we had originally planned to do just that, until all the complications arose. So now, because we are limited in both size (maximum of 7' x 7') and weight (although with a 7' x 7' tub I don't think 4,800 pounds is much of a restriction) we are not going to be doing much wet testing. In fact, if we like the J-335 we will end up getting it.

We will keep you posted on how we make out.

[Tman122]

Get your engineer to give you a signed document. Piece of mind. You paid him enough!

[Quickbeam]

Good advice Tman, and already done. Wanting to have documentation is what started all of this. The weight restriction I was always told we had was 5,000 pounds. We were looking at all kinds of different tubs with this in mind, when I decided I would like to get the paperwork so I had the documentation on the 5,000 pounds. Well, when I got the paperwork, it was clear that the maximum weight I could have was 5,000 pounds. What I didn't know however, was that I was also restricted to a 6' x 6' tub. That's what started all this. So now I have, in writing, that I am allowed a 7' x 7' tub with a weight restriction of 4,800 pounds. If I hadn't decided I wanted to have the original paperwork, I would never have known about the 6' x 6' size restriction and if anything would have happened, I would most likely have been responsible. So a good lesson to everyone - get the paperwork and read the small print!