The best place to set your Hot Tub

[ZzTop]

I am sharing these thoughts for the benefit of new purchasers who may not have given deep thought as to the best place to install a new Hot Tub.

After owning and using our hot tub for over a year and a half I have reviewed the reasons the tub is not used as often as I would like.

Sometimes it is just too far to go to.

As we usually hot tub nude, the convienience of having it located right outside our sliding patio door on our main floor, would be ideal.

The Tub is presently placed approximately ten feet from our basement door on a brick paver patio in a Gazebo.

I am considering moving the Hot Tub onto our elevated Deck which is off of the main floor family room.  The deck is 41 feet long by 14 feet wide and faces south with a great view of the Fraser River.

I would like the Spa to be about 16 inches above the floor level to make it really easy to get into and for safety reasons.

My observations of ourselves and our friends who own hot tubs for not using their Hot Tubs as often as they thought they would has everything to do with placement.

As a Spa is a big investment and has huge health and relaxation benefits  it is a shame if it is not used frequently.

We love our spa and have not had any problems with it to date.

Regards,
Zz

[r100rs]

Taken literally - "The best place to set YOUR hot tub - would be in MY backyard.    


If only I had known you were that willilng

r100rs

[Vinny]

ZZ,

Think about the lip being about 23" above the deck - it's the perfect height to sit on the edge and swing your legs IF for some reason you can't step into or out of the tub.

[tony]

Mine is set about 18" above the deck just outside our patio door on the main floor overlooking a marina on a river.

[Payton3485]

Ours is 22" above including the lip of the spa and it is perfect!! We love the look and the height is great for getting in and out the spa without using steps. Here is a picture taken while our deck was being completed.

[Backpains]

Ours is 8 feet from our porch, it's great being very close. My back has gotten so bad..it's good he put it where he did, because I have a hard time walking to it. Hubby plans to finish the stairs going down the otherside of the porch so that I do not have to walk all the way around the porch to get to the tub.

[drewstar]

I placed my hot tub about 5 feet from the door in the backyard. Easy in and Easy out in the Winter was critical.  I openthe door and take possibley 4-5 steps to the tub.

Shoveling a patch to the tub after a snow storm is a snap (I keep a small folding snow shovel in the Changing room closet.  I'd hate to shovel 20 feet after each snow storm.

Proximiety to the house was paramount!

[Drewski]

My spacing was limited by size, but I put it about 12' from the door. Gives some room and also area for the kids to splash without hitting the house!

Drewski

[ZzTop]

Can anyone suggest the best method of raising the tub approximately 5 feet from the ground level.  Size of concrete footings and size and spacing of floor joists.
Post size 6"?, Floor Joist 2 x 10 ? to hold a maximum of 6500 lbs
Regards Zz

[ZzTop]

My spacing was limited by size, but I put it about 12' from the door. Give's some room and also area for the kids to splash without hitting the house!

Drewski

I like the idea of having the tub on the same level as your living space.  Nice installation!

[Drewski]

Can anyone suggest the best method of raising the tub approximately 5 feet from the ground level.  Size of concrete footings and size and spacing of floor joists.
Post size 6"?, Floor Joist 2 x 10 ? to hold a maximum of 6500 lbs
Regards Zz

Would it be "deck" style with a ledger board attached to house or free standing? Are you in a hurricane or other high wind storm area?

Drewski

[ZzTop]

Would it be "deck" style with a ledger board attached to house or free standing? Are you in a hurricane or other high wind storm area?

Drewski

It would be a deck style where the hot tub deck would be  5' high, and 16" lower than the surrounding deck and free standing to support the Hot tub and also isolate for vibration.  It would be 8' x 10'.  The surrounding deck would be built off a ledger board off of the existing deck on two sides. I am in the Vancouver Canada area where snow and storms are not a big issue.
Thanks Drewski
Regards Zz

[nicker]

good points, this is our first tub and luckly we really put allot of thought into all aspects of it.  Our tub is about 3 ft from our back patio doors.   It sits on a lower deck beside our main deck so you can either walk down to the lower deck to get in or as vinny said sit on the edge and swing over and get in.  Our tub sits about 19 inches above our main deck.  I tell you location is the key...especially if you get winters and like to go tubbing in your birthday suits.

[Vinny]

ZZ,

I built a 8 x 8 deck like you said only it's close to the ground.

I used 6 - 12" footings and 6 x 6 posts. I have 2 x 10 beams running between the posts. I also used 2 x10's across the 3 beams front and back to stabilize the structure, used 2 x 10 for joists and then used 2 x 6 for decking.

I used a bunch of hardware to fasten it all together - carriage bolts, lag bolts and galvanized brackets from Simpson Strong Ties.

If you do a search here for me, I posted links to pictures of the construction on Yahoo - there are pictures of what I'm talking about.

Good Luck and I hope this helps!

Vinny

[Perk1]

My tub sits about 12" inches from my house.  It was just enough room to install the spa bar between the house and the spa.  My family room and garage are built on a slab that they extended off the back of the family room when pouring.  I can literally take one step out my door and the next is on my spa step.  It is out the door to the left with still plenty of room to the right.  It is real nice having it close in the winter months.  I have been out in single digit temps and appreciated having it close.