Tiered Decks For Hot Tubs
There are no rules about how you design your backyard deck. Creating tiers gives your deck visual interest and design. It also helps create naturally divided zones or living spaces. If your property isnt perfectly level, tiers are an easy way to address the changing landscape.
You should always have a flat area that leads out of your homes door. From there, you can have a step down or a step up to a tiered dining level. You could build your deck in another direction that has a separate tier for your hot tub. Then you could have another area that has casual seating and a fire pit.
Creating successful tiers will have a limited number of steps up or down. This eliminates having a traditional staircase to get from one level to the next.
Hot Tub On Deck Vs Hot Tub Sunken In The Deck
Theres no question about it, a hot tub will help you relax after a tiring day of work. Not to mention, it does feel luxurious to have one at your disposal. Installing a hot tub on your outdoor deck requires a lot of consideration. You need to make sure you know what youre getting into.
Which is ideal? A hot tub on a deck or a hot tub sunken in the deck? Lets consider all the angles of both options to help you make a sound decision.
Do I Need A Fence Around My Hot Tub As I Do For My Pool
You should always check your local laws because jurisdictions can vary. But most states require that if your pool or hot tub is deeper than 300mm , you need a fence. You can accomplish this by including a fence on your hot tub platform. But most people choose to build a fence around their entire backyard.
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Hot Tub With Overhead Pergola
Ideal for larger yards, this design features a massive deck. Theres a ton of room for seating or gathering, making it an excellent entertaining space, overall.
Positioned in the corner of this ample deck, youll find a hot tub that offers seating for at least four. Overhead is a nice pergola, ensuring the area can get some shade during different parts of the day.
For easy entry, a step of stairs was built next to the jacuzzi. The planters on each side add some color and refinement to the steps.
Give Your Hot Tub A Garden
Install your hot tub in a serene backyard landscape with waterfalls and a pondless reservoir. When installing a manmade stream with waterfalls, some of our clients prefer the pondless feature where the water seeps into the gravel and acts as a more green maintenance-free source. Tip provided by Bill Renter, Long Island Hot Tub, New York
Photo via Landscaping Network
Construct a zen garden by incorporating more of mother nature into your hot tub deck design. Design your space for a more organic, feng shui feel that will boost inner peace and allow you to meditate after a hectic day.
Key insights:
- Enhance your zen by finding inspiration in Japanese gardening traditions. A rock garden or dry landscape garden is a fun way to reconnect with nature.
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Sunken Hot Tub: Chic Small Deck
For you have a backyard with narrow dimensions, this idea can be good reference to copy. The deck with leveling design is built with a hot tub as its main focal point. To chill your body after soaking it in the hot tub, a wood bench decorates the deck. The white finish of the hot tub complements the exterior walls of the house in a very admirable way.
Connect Your Hot Tub With Your Pool
Photo via Gib San Pools
What is impressive about this kind of design is that you can create a spillway between the hot tub and pool. If you live in a cooler climate and will be unable to use your pool during the winter months, keeping your hot tub seperate from your pool is probably your best option.
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Looking For The Perfect Sunken Hot Tub For Your Deck Patio Or Terrace Look No Further
Take your outdoor deck, patio or terrace to another level by installing a sunken hot tub. The addition of a sunken hot tub to your garden will create the perfect gathering place for family and friends. We spend so much time indoors take this opportunity to move bonding time and interesting conversations from indoors to the outside so everyone can enjoy some fresh air! Read on to find out which built-in hot tub from our range would suit your garden the best.
Be Creative With Fountains And Water Features
A hot tub deck is a great place to incorporate water features and fountains that create a relaxing atmosphere. You can turn a waterfall into a centerpiece that your guests will enjoy. If you want to add something more creative, like a fountain or a small stream, then surround the hot tub with plants for an organic look. You can also use lighting to create interesting effects in and around the water features. Adding water features throughout the deck is an easy way to convey this concept and make it distinct from other hot tub decks when playing with infinity pools.
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Include A Healthy Green Roof
A green roof is a great way to include some sustainability and make your deck more environmentally friendly. Having a green roof will help retain the heat for your hot tub in the winter and will also help reduce interior air conditioning costs when you use it indoors. You could even consider planting plants on the roof to give your deck a more natural look while adding some greenery.
Use 3d Design Tools For A Better Idea On The Finished Project
Hot tubs come in all shapes and sizes. Because of that, take some time to consider where you want your hot tub, both in terms of aesthetics and function, and how you can integrate the hot tub into your landscape design.
To gain some ideas of other hot tub landscape design ideas, check out this 3D landscape design feature.
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Spa Design With A Purpose
This oceanfront spa was built tall to create the illusion that the tubs infinity edge blends seamlessly with the Pacific Ocean beyond. The herringbone patio and tiled tub can be seen from every room in the house, including the front door, making the outdoor space a crucial design element in this luxury home.
Hot Tub Decks: Key Considerations And How To Build One
Is it hard building a deck for a hot tub? It depends on a number of factors, but its definitely worth it if youre a homeowner who loves to enjoy their deck all year long.
Adding a hot tub or spa can dramatically transform your deck, but youll need to plan the job carefully. Its important to ask yourself questions like:
- Is my deck strong enough to support a hot tub filled with water and people?
- Should I try to build it or hire a builder?
- Where should it be located?
- What electrical upgrades are needed?
Keep reading to find out all the answers to your hot tub deck questions.
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Set Your Hot Tub Off To The Side To Maximize Your Space
Photo via Archadeck
Have some fun with your outdoor design by connecting two octagon-spaced decks together. Make one a little higher and incorporate greenery around the space to pull them in more. Include a gazebo to create some additional privacy along with a BBQ, patio furniture, and other items to entertain guests.
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Sink Your Spa On A Lower Level
Pale decking brightens this outdoor living area
Pale decking, either in a soft gray or natural timber hue, is useful for brightening a space and adding to a contemporary vibe. It looks wonderful in this small patio area, and complements the exterior of the home, too.
Decking is great for adding levels, which is particularly useful for sloping plots. Here, the spa has been placed on a lower level, meaning the view of the garden from the outdoor seating isnt interrupted.
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Relax In Your Spa All Year Round With A Covered Deck
Shelter from the elements
Adding a structure overhead is always a good idea for any outdoor living space hot tubs included. Whether you go for a pergola, gazebo, awning, or an impressive hot tub shelter like this, it’ll provide valuable respite from searing sunshine or showers, allowing you to enjoy the zone for longer in the year.
We love how the wooden-cladded roof in this setup mirrors the warm-hued decking below , tying the overall look together harmoniously. Recessed spotlights mean the zone can be used for nighttime bathing, too.
Sunken Hot Tub: 25+ Mesmerizing Ideas For Ultimate Relaxing Time
The water feature is always a good addition that you can consider to improve your outdoor living space. Basically, there are two types of water features, the ones which only work as a decorative element and the other ones can become an entertaining feature.
Some popular options like a fountain, waterfall, aquarium are water features that you can choose when you just want to give an aesthetic appeal to the overall look of your home. But if you want to have a more entertaining spot for everyone, swimming pool, hot tub, or even pond should be on your bucket list.
Lets say you choose a hot tub, as you may have known, the hot tub is a water feature which mainly works to relax your body with its hydrotherapy benefit. The ones which are manufactured comes not only with the heating water technology but also with some jets which can massage your body and bubbly wave to make your relaxing time feel more fun. That is why even the price of a hot tub can be quite pricey, its still becomes adored by many homeowners up until today.
For some people, they also create their own hot tub with the customized design which suits your needs. You can either create it by yourself or hire a contractor.
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Create A Zen Space Or Backyard Oasis With Plants
Photo via Landscaping Network
Construct a zen garden by incorporating more of mother nature into your hot tub deck design. Design your space for a more organic, feng shui feel that will boost inner peace and allow you to meditate after a hectic day.
Key insights:
- Enhance your zen by finding inspiration in Japanese gardening traditions. A rock garden or dry landscape garden is a fun way to reconnect with nature.
Should I Sink My Hot Tub Or Swim Spa Into The Ground
Look how good it looks. Hot tubs and swim spas with decking or stone around them can look amazing. So its no wonder people love the idea of it. Especially if the hot tub or swim spa is being installed as part of a new build or garden refurbishment. Why not go the whole she-bang and build the hot tub into the garden?
But there are a few things that you definitely need to consider before you make the decision to do this.
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Top 5 Things To Consider:
1. Install the spa before completing the build.
It is best to leave the top portion of the deck un-built before spa installation. It is much easier building the decking boards up to the spa than trying to lower the spa into a hole on delivery.
2. Test the spa before installation
During shipping and handling some of the components may have shifted. Please ensure the spa or swim spa is tested for at least 48 hours before installing any decking around your spa. Even though all units are tested in our factory, some transport or site handling damage may occur and we suggest you make sure the swim spa has no leaks and is operating correctly before finalising your installation.
3. Choose the right foundation for the spa height.
For the base or foundation, depending on how high you want your spa to sit out of the deck, you may choose to put it onto a concrete slab or you may need to build a smaller deck to sit the spa onto to get your desired height.
If you are building a small deck to sit the spa on, please ensure you have consulted with your builder or engineer on the design before building.
Swim spa in deck measurements:
4. Leave space between the decking and the lip of the spa.
We do not recommend running the deck boards flush with the underside of the spa shell.
If your spa shell is level with the deck you will need to install these clips onto the deck and they become a toe and trip hazard, typically ending with either a broken toe or broken clip.
A Natural Scenic Area Goes A Long Way
If you want to create an oasis and make your hot tub the main attraction, build it into the natural scenery. You can use stones and boulders to create a naturalistic look or use plants and trees to frame the tub and make it seem like its part of the landscape. If you have a beautiful view, consider building your deck around the hot tub to enjoy the scenery while you soak. You can also use lighting to create a magical atmosphere in your naturalistic hot tub deck. A naturalistic theme can also be combined with a gazebo or a pergola to create an outdoor living room.
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How Do You Get Rid Of A Sunken Hot Tub
Removing a sunken hot tub can be anything from an inconvenience to a major landscaping project, depending on how its been installed.
If a home spa was sunk or half-sunk into decking with ample repair access, it could be a relatively easy case of fitting some heavy-duty straps around the tub and pulling it out.
Unfortunately, its not always that easy and sometimes the only way to get a hot tub out of decking is to take a saw to its acrylic shell and cut it into pieces.
If your hot tub has been sunk into the ground with removable panels, you should be able to strap it up and lift it out. However, it will unfortunately be a case of digging it out if it doesnt have access panels, which will come at a considerable expense and cause a real headache.
Prevent this problem down the line by making sure you plan ample repair access around your sunken home spa. Trust us youll be glad you did if it ever needs any repairs.
Sunken Hot Tubs Look Greatbut Need Access
The question we always get asked is where do I put my hot tub. There are many pictures on Google that have sunken hot tubs and they look great. The one thing that is a must is access for future service. Imagine you purchase a new car and then go ahead and weld the hood shut! Sounds crazy but that is exactly what you are doing when you buy a Spa and sink it in, unless you provide removable access panels. With todays Spas you will need to access to the front of the Spa and all the sides. The reality is you may require a plumbing or lighting repair that is only accessible from the side of the Spa, not the front. So just in case you do have a problem, you need access to all sides of the Spa. Spa manufacturers do not reimburse dealers for the cost for accessing the hot tub in the unlikely event of a service repair. So to save you any access charges, it is smart to pre-plan and build removable access panels around your Spa. Below are pictures of a sunken Spa with removable floor panels. We recommend 2 of access all around the Spa to enable our service technicians to work on your Spa, if required.
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Calculating Deck Weight Capacity
Before you calculate how much weight your deck can hold, you first need to understand how much weight per square foot it can hold. Most decks will hold more sometimes significantly more than 50 pounds per square foot. That number is simply a minimum requirement.
The average homeowner does not have the tools available to determine how much more weight your deck can hold than the code minimum of 50 pounds per square foot. However, you can determine if your deck is overbuilt, which can give you an idea of how much more weight your deck can hold.
One of the best tools in your arsenal to determine deck weight capacity are and max span calculators, widely available online. If you find that your deck joists are 2Ã10, but the deck load calculator only mandates 2Ã8 joists, then you can safely assume your deck is much stronger than 50 pounds per square foot.
Photo by Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture via Houzz
Use wood to give the space warmth and rhythm while also distracting the eye from the different window heights. Interest is created by building out off of the existing walls, which have given depth to the space through the use of light-box windows. Tip by Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture, California
