Placement of spa on deck

[green1320]

I just bought a new Tiger River Caspian and want to put in on my deck. The deck has 2 x 10 floor joist on 16 in centers with 6 x 6 posts and 5/4 floor decking. The dealer told me they can't rate my deck to tell me if it is safe to hold the tub. The deck sits approx 7 ft off of the ground. One recomidation that I got from a local contractor was to put a 2 x 6 center support under the floor joist near the center of the tub with two jack poles. Can anyone tell me if this should be sufficiant. Thanks

[Tatooed_Lady]

IMHO, go with what the local contractor recommends, as s/he would know more than the dealer on what will support your tub....of course, on making your deck stronger, there's no such thing as OVERKILL.  
You're going to want the deck to hold up to the weight of the tub, water, and people in one small area for years to come. You COULD have a pro come in and reinforce the area for you, or take their advice and do it yourself, if you're handy. Just be sure that you do it right the first time, as 7' is a LONG way for a loaded tub to fall....

[ORANGEPEEL]

Am by no means a structural engineer, also not familiar
with the weight and water capacity of your tub.
But...I think a filled tub can weigh in the 4000-6000 lb. range.
Suggest you contact a certified contractor, and also check your local codes.

[Brewman]

My city provides this service, all we have to do is ask the building inspectors/engineers and they'll tell us what is required for correct spa support.
Maybe your city or county offeres that as well.
A contractor or similar will know too, but they might want some money in exchange for their services.
 

[spaman-]

I know Colorado code for hottubs of 8'x8' or smallers calls for support ability of 150lbs per square ft. Call your county have it inspected.

[jim97219]

Green,

An online forum is here:  http://www.handymanwire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php.  This forum is excellent and I've used it a bunch of times.  I highly recommend it to anyone reading this, especially the electrical forum.

Jim

[Chas]

Personally, I would put a 4x6 instead of a 2x6 on two jack poles. In fact, I would dig and put two cement footings to match the other footings around it, and match the other posts - 6"x6".

[hottub.pool_boy]

I can fax you our deck support sheet. Otherwise, lag bolt deck to through sill or through foundation( whatever it may be). Directly under spa, use a short beam(double or triple 2"x8"x8') to 6"x6" posts to concrete sonotubes to below frost line. Best to get your local building official involved.