Can My Deck Handle a Hot Tub?

When customers are thinking of where they may potentially want to put their hot tub, decks are a common preference! Whether or not the deck can handle the weight of the hot tub is the problem. To be sure, you should always get the approval of your hot tub company. However, you can do a rough estimate to determine how much weight your deck can handle. The first step is to find out the weight of your spa per square foot. Let’s do some math:

Elements:

Weight of Empty Hot Tub = Varies (See Specs on our website– click on your hot tub collection and then model)
1 Gallon of Water = 8.34 lbs
Average Weight of Person = 175 lbs
Width x Length of Hot Tub = 52.56 Square Feet

Formula:

[Weight of Spa + (Number of Gallons of Water x 8.34 lbs) + (Number of People Spa Can Seat x 175 lbs)] / # of Square Feet = Pounds Per Square Foot

Example:

Let’s say you have an Aria NXT. This spa is 695 pounds (when empty). It holds 325 gallons of water and seats 5 people. Also, it is 7.25 feet wide as well as 7.25 feet long.

[695 lbs + (325 Gallons x 8.34lbs) + (5 x 175)] / 52.56 = 81.44 Pounds Per Square Foot

Figuring Out How Much Your Deck Handle

As a general rule of thumb, if you have a deck that’s raised only a couple feet or less, it can support about 100 pounds per square foot. So, if the spa is less than 100 pounds per square foot you likely have nothing to worry about. However, a professional contractor or qualified representative should always inspect your deck to determine if your deck can handle the hot tub. If it can’t, there are often options to correct this, such as adding additional support beams underneath the deck.

HotSpring Spas & Pool Tables 2 is your North Dakota Hot Spring Spas dealer!