Ideas for Hot tub pad, other than a cement slab?

[Tdog]

Hello everyone!

I'm getting eager for summer and I am extending my deck. Currently, my hot tub is sitting on the existing deck. I want to set the hot tub on the ground and build the new deck around it. Any ideas as to what to set the hot tub on instead of pouring a cement slab? I have heard of a couple of ideas, i.e. platform of treated lumber, pea rock, etc. I am considering the pea rock idea. Anyone have experience with pea rock/other ideas?

Thanks

 

[giulietta1]

Yes, my spa sits on pea gravel. It works. Make sure you level it properly. We did ours ourselves; $150 worth of gravel from Wal-Mart. (I think it was more weight than my truck is supposed to carry!) It's back-breaking work!

Have you seen the spa pads? Those look pretty cool, tho i don't have personal experience with them. Spa Depot has them. Cost more than the gravel, but might be considerably less trouble to set up!

A wood platform should work fine as long as it's purpose-built. It has to be properly reinforced to support the tremendous weight of the water.

 

[Tdog]

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to stick with leaving it on the deck and building a privacy fence.

 

[snapped]

Yes, my spa sits on pea gravel. It works. Make sure you level it properly. We did ours ourselves; $150 worth of gravel from Wal-Mart. (I think it was more weight than my truck is supposed to carry!) It's back-breaking work!

Have you seen the spa pads? Those look pretty cool, tho i don't have personal experience with them. Spa Depot has them. Cost more than the gravel, but might be considerably less trouble to set up!

A wood platform should work fine as long as it's purpose-built. It has to be properly reinforced to support the tremendous weight of the water.

My last house I installed directly on Pea gravel and it was a bear to keep level, for my current hot tub I used pressure treated 2X4s directly on concrete pavers and the lowes housebrand composite decking. Keep in mind the composite decking never rots but is flexible so I went with 12 inch spacing on the joists.

 

[241comp]

My last house, we built a retaining basic wall in a sloped area and leveled the ground. Then added 1/2" of sand (much easier to level than the dirt) and finally topped it with 16 of those 2'x2'x1.5" concrete pavers you can get at the home store for about $5/ea. I left a small gap between them which I filled with pea gravel to allow for expansion. It worked great, was easy to level (with an 8' 2x4) and remained level until we moved 4 years later. It looked nice then and even now without the hot tub, it makes a nice looking patio.