Help with wood deck foundation for new Bullfrog

[pclark]

Hi, thanks to reading a lot of helpful posts here, we ended up buying a Bullfrog A7, which we get in 2 weeks.  My wife and I are new to world of hot tubs.  Also with help of forum I built a wood platform and just got done topping it with ground contact PT 5/4 deck boards.  My question is that I am worried about very slight height differences between deck boards like 1/16" and worried about voids under hot tub.  I had thought of using composite boards which are more consistent and no worries on cupping or shrinking.  Am I being completely ridiculous?  Will the weight of hot tub allow boards to dry out consistently?  I was thinking of just putting a 7'x7' of 3/4" PT plywood on top of deckboards.  There is probably same issue if a person put hot tub on pavers.  That is there will be random bricks that are slightly different heights.  You can't see it with eye but if you put a something straight across there will be very small voids underneath for random pavers.   

TMAN122 member gave me idea for foundation.  We live in Iowa and we made a gravel pad 4 feet from an existing deck that is 16" high.  We went 9" deep and machine compacted every inch with road base.  Then I made a 8'x8' platform of ground contact 2x10's and with 10" OC joists and just built laying on the gravel and topped with deck boards.  So with hot tub sitting on platform it is one step below existing deck and next summer I will built deck around hot tub base to meet up with existing deck.   

[pclark]

Also, just to let others know what jetpacks we got after wet testing.  We completely forgot to try out the rainshower one though so we might try it and buy separately if we really liked it.  The dealer said it was the only one he has had people return, so love or hate.  I do love our rainshower head in bathroom though.  We also got Bullfrog with Bluewater salt system.  I say we are new to hot tubs, I meant real ones.  We had an inflatable one in our basement so I am not unfamiliar with the in and outs of chemicals, etc.   

We got:
Oscillator
Pulsator
Deep Relief - Worried about this one because my skin tends to itch from strong jets
Versa
Neck Massuese

[bud16415]

You wont have any problems with the slight differences in height.

Mine sits on a 5/4 PT deck and I think that is ideal as the cracks allow for air flow below the tub. 

Enjoy your tub and don’t worry about the base.

[Tman122]

Hi, thanks to reading a lot of helpful posts here, we ended up buying a Bullfrog A7, which we get in 2 weeks.  My wife and I are new to world of hot tubs.  Also with help of forum I built a wood platform and just got done topping it with ground contact PT 5/4 deck boards.  My question is that I am worried about very slight height differences between deck boards like 1/16" and worried about voids under hot tub.  I had thought of using composite boards which are more consistent and no worries on cupping or shrinking.  Am I being completely ridiculous?  Will the weight of hot tub allow boards to dry out consistently?  I was thinking of just putting a 7'x7' of 3/4" PT plywood on top of deckboards.  There is probably same issue if a person put hot tub on pavers.  That is there will be random bricks that are slightly different heights.  You can't see it with eye but if you put a something straight across there will be very small voids underneath for random pavers.   

TMAN122 member gave me idea for foundation.  We live in Iowa and we made a gravel pad 4 feet from an existing deck that is 16" high.  We went 9" deep and machine compacted every inch with road base.  Then I made a 8'x8' platform of ground contact 2x10's and with 10" OC joists and just built laying on the gravel and topped with deck boards.  So with hot tub sitting on platform it is one step below existing deck and next summer I will built deck around hot tub base to meet up with existing deck.   

This sounds solid to me. I wouldn't worry about the slight differences in deck boards. And as mentioned the gaps between the boards is a good thing for air movement.

Welcome to the hot tub soaking world.

[Andocrx]

You wont have any problems with the slight differences in height.

Mine sits on a 5/4 PT deck and I think that is ideal as the cracks allow for air flow below the tub. 

Enjoy your tub and don’t worry about the base.

Hi,

We are also interested in the Bullfrog A7 would you mind letting me know if your in canada or usa and how much you ended up paying for the tub and what was all included in the deal.
thanks trying to see what people out there have paid to see if it will be in line of what my dealer will be asking.

[pclark]

I am in Iowa.  I paid $11,500 and that included delivery, steps, and cover.  I did not get the ozone or extra circulation pump.  The saltwater unit I already had and they included installation.  I knew the sales tax would be about $800 so what I did was make an offer of $11,500 and said I have a cashiers check already made out for $12300 so lets close on the sale.  The dealer is 2 hours away from me which was the nearest one. 

[Thisismyname]

I got an A8 last fall and love it.

Mostly the same jet packs as you got.....I have the rainshower and never use it.  It is a nice/different feeling but just don't go to it. 

Also have the neck masseuse or neck blaster, I forget which, but never use that one either.  If you arent seated up against the neck jets firmly it sprays water all over the place out of the tub.

Price you got sound like it's ok for some areas. Im in the Detroit area and got my A8 way cheaper though and others have done the same here.

[Andocrx]

I got an A8 last fall and love it.

Mostly the same jet packs as you got.....I have the rainshower and never use it.  It is a nice/different feeling but just don't go to it. 

Also have the neck masseuse or neck blaster, I forget which, but never use that one either.  If you arent seated up against the neck jets firmly it sprays water all over the place out of the tub.

Price you got sound like it's ok for some areas. Im in the Detroit area and got my A8 way cheaper though and others have done the same here.

Hi there,
Just wondering because we are interested in bullfrog did you add the circulation pump to your tub?   How many pumps do you have in all ?   Do you find equal amount of pressure coming from all jets? 
Any issues with it all since you have had it?   
Thanks in advance.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

I got an A8 last fall and love it.

Mostly the same jet packs as you got.....I have the rainshower and never use it.  It is a nice/different feeling but just don't go to it. 

Also have the neck masseuse or neck blaster, I forget which, but never use that one either. If you arent seated up against the neck jets firmly it sprays water all over the place out of the tub.

Price you got sound like it's ok for some areas. Im in the Detroit area and got my A8 way cheaper though and others have done the same here.

If you top off the spa with an extra inch or two of water allowing for displacement to raise the water level when you are using it you won't get water spraying everywhere

[Thisismyname]

I got an A8 last fall and love it.

Mostly the same jet packs as you got.....I have the rainshower and never use it.  It is a nice/different feeling but just don't go to it. 

Also have the neck masseuse or neck blaster, I forget which, but never use that one either. If you arent seated up against the neck jets firmly it sprays water all over the place out of the tub.

Price you got sound like it's ok for some areas. Im in the Detroit area and got my A8 way cheaper though and others have done the same here.

If you top off the spa with an extra inch or two of water allowing for displacement to raise the water level when you are using it you won't get water spraying everywhere

Tried that...and it's fine when it's just me or me and the wife.  but with 4 people in there it overflows.

[Thisismyname]

I got an A8 last fall and love it.

Mostly the same jet packs as you got.....I have the rainshower and never use it.  It is a nice/different feeling but just don't go to it. 

Also have the neck masseuse or neck blaster, I forget which, but never use that one either.  If you arent seated up against the neck jets firmly it sprays water all over the place out of the tub.

Price you got sound like it's ok for some areas. Im in the Detroit area and got my A8 way cheaper though and others have done the same here.

Hi there,
Just wondering because we are interested in bullfrog did you add the circulation pump to your tub?   How many pumps do you have in all ?   Do you find equal amount of pressure coming from all jets? 
Any issues with it all since you have had it?   
Thanks in advance.

Yes I have the circ pump and ozonator installed.  I believe there are 2 main pumps plus the circ pump. 

In the A8 there are 6 jet packs, 3 are controlled by pump 1 and 3 controlled by pump 2.  Pressure all depends on how many jet packs are open/closed and which packs they are.  Some allow more flow than others. 

No issues, it's a year old as of this month now.