Hot tubs are fantastic for relaxing, entertaining guests, and making your yard more inviting. If you want to extend your outdoor space, consider adding a hot tub to your composite decking.
Composite decking is ideal for installing a hot tub since it is durable, water-resistant, slip-resistant, and does not swell or rot like wooden decking. It is also a low-maintenance option for homeowners with busy schedules.
If you plan on installing a hot tub on your composite deck, here are a few hot tub decking ideas that consider the weight and design.
Hot Tub Composite Decking Ideas
There are many hot tubs available to suit just about anyone’s personal preference. Whether you are looking for a hot tub to complement an existing composite deck or you plan on installing both, here are a few hot tub composite decking ideas worth exploring.
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Consider a Sunken Hot Tub
Composite decking works well with a sunken or half-sunken hot tub. Consider adding levels to your composite decking and placing your hot tub in the corner of your deck. This will make it easier for you to lift the access panel for any repairs or maintenance needed for your hot tub.
A sunken hot tub is more functional and far more comfortable to get out of. If your hot tub needs to be drained, a sunken hot tub makes the job a little easier.
For added visual appeal, build a bench around the sunken tub with matching composite boards for a place to sit and soak your feet.
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Consider a Covered Deck
Imagine having endless relaxation sessions in your hot tub come rain or shine. Impossible? Not at all; consider installing a roofed enclosure like a pergola, canopy, or gazebo positioned over the hot tub. A covered roof structure provides additional protection from the weather and prevents debris from surrounding trees and plants from polluting the hot tub.
Think about the sun’s path and your hot tub’s location, which will give you an idea of how to position your roofed structure if you are considering a freestanding design like a pergola. When designing your composite deck with a roofed enclosure, consider a structure that creates a cool, shaded area allowing air to circulate freely.
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Curved Spa Decking
Use your hot tub and the design of your composite decking as an opportunity to add some extra style and flair to your outdoor living space! No hard and fast rule exists, stating composite decking has to be rectangular. Why not add curved lines?
Adding curved lines around your hot tub’s area softens your backyard landscaping. The curve design also functions as a frame for a garden bed or a lawn. Add a few plant pots around the edge of the curved line, and the result is a simple but relaxing design, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking for some solitude.
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Put Your Hot Tub on a Raised Deck
Creating a multi-level deck makes your composite deck look inviting and welcoming but allows you to separate it organically into zones. Adding tiers to your composite deck design is the ideal solution for a backyard that is not level.
Tiered levels can be separated into zones, one with outdoor furniture and a fire pit, and another could lead to your hot tub. You can separate a multi-level deck into a dining area, a seating area with a fire pit, and a separate tier to install your hot tub.
Multi-level composite decking eliminates the need for stairs, leaving you with room to step on or down each level successfully and making your outdoor living area look much bigger than it is.
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Combine Material for a Minimalist Look
Planning a minimalistic design with a sunken hot tub has certain benefits, and they have a contemporary and neater look and naturally blend into their surroundings. Whether your backyard is large or small, minimalistic composite decks with a hot tub leave room to play with landscaping.
Skip the balustrades around the hot tub or deck, and keep lighting to a minimum. Let the hot tub on your composite decking become the focal point of your outdoor space!
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Add Several Plant Containers to Your Hot Tub’s Decking
Spruce up your outdoor space with the perfect mix of plants and greenery. Your backyard can become an oasis with a mixture of seasonal flowers, tropical trees, and hanging plant baskets.
You could also add potted plants close to the hot tub, like ornamental grasses and arborvitae in pots. They look visually attractive and serve as a privacy screen when placed closer to the hot tub.
If your garden is small and your hot tub is located close to a wall, consider growing climbing vines and adding solar lights facing upward to light up the wall at night.
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Combine Elegant Steps With Subtle Lighting
Most hot tubs come with internal lighting, but that doesn’t limit you to adding additional lights to your outdoor space. Consider adding soft lights to your deck if you want a big visual impact.
Moonlighting is designed to imitate the moon’s natural glow. If you have a covered deck, consider hanging them from the ceiling.
You can add solar lighting to your garden to highlight plants, trees, or garden space. Add low-voltage LED twinkling lights to your canopy to mimic the night sky, or turn your garden into a magical outdoor area by stringing them around trees and plants.
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Use a Privacy Screen Around Your Hot Tub
Imagine you are decompressing and relaxing in your hot tub after a long day. You look up and catch your neighbour staring at you from their bedroom window. Let’s face it, it is an awkward and uncomfortable situation.
Consider installing a privacy screen around a hot tub. Privacy screens will block out your nosy neighbour and can add visual appeal to your composite decking. To block out views, you can use plants or composite fencing that matches your deck.
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Maximise Space With a Sliding Deck Cover
If you plan on investing in a sunken hot tub and want to maximise your composite decking area, creating a sturdy sliding or retractable deck cover is a great way to do so. Your hot tub will be hidden, and the sturdy deck cover will become usable decking space.
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Add Composite Glass Balustrades Around Your Deck
Consider adding glass or wire balustrades to your hot tub deck design. It zones off your composite deck, your hot tub, and landscaping without blocking your views. Balustrades or railings not only add visual appeal to your composite deck design but also acts as a safety feature.
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Add Ambiance with a Custom Fireplace
A stylish feature to consider is adding a fireplace or fire pit near your hot tub if you love entertaining guests and your backyard parties run into the evenings. Although hot tubs generate enough warmth, a natural gas fireplace can serve as a secondary heat source.
It also serves as a focal point of your backyard garden and is a fantastic option for entertaining guests. Don’t forget to protect your composite decking if you opt for a fire pit.
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Add a Mini Bar
The addition of a wet bar is a great way to elevate and make the most out of your outdoor space. The area around your hot tub will look and feel more luxurious with a wrap-around bar built in to match the composite wood materials. Add bar stools for additional seating and soft lighting to add ambience at night.
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Rooftop Hot Tub Composite Deck
If you have the option, consider adding your hot tub and composite deck to your rooftop and adding glass balustrades to enjoy panoramic views of the city or countryside.
Make sure you are allowed to add a rooftop composite deck and that your building is up to standards to add a hot tub on the roof. Make sure that the roof is structurally sound to accommodate a hot tub.
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Composite Deck Walkout
Unlike a traditional deck, consider a walkout composite decking design. Walkouts are one deck divided into zones with landscaping features in between.
Instead of having grass or paving in your backyard, walkouts create paths leading to a seating area, dining area, and a space to host your hot tub under a pergola or covered deck. You could add multi-layers to visual interest by adding a pond or zen garden in defined areas between a walkout deck.
Walkout composite decking is perfect for narrow gardens, small backyards, and larger outdoor spaces.
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Pool, Hot Tub Integration
If you have an existing pool in your backyard, consider integrating your hot tub into your composite decking design. Composite decking boards are ideal for pool and hot tubs because of their waterproof and non-slip features.
Integrating your pool and hot tub allows you to make the most of your outdoor space, where you can go from a relaxing swim during the day to a warm bubbly hangout spot in the evenings.
Some great hot tub deck ideas would be to add customised composite decking stairs leading to your hot tub to add visual interest and a touch of convenience. The very same stairs can be detached and grant easy access to the hot tub’s electrical components.
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Include a Hangout Space
If you are having trouble coming up with hot tub decking ideas to inject some fun into the overall design, consider adding a hangout spot. Add circular seating to your hot tub decking for guests who choose not to enjoy the hot tub but can still be a part of the conversation.
Factors To Consider When Installing a Hot Tub Deck
Installing a hot tub with composite decking requires careful planning, including structural support, the location of your hot tub, and safety issues. Here are a few factors you need to take into consideration before installation.
Below-deck Strength
Before rushing out to buy a hot tub, make sure that the composite materials can support the hot tub’s weight when filled with water. Although composite decking is sturdy and durable and can hold a fair amount of weight, the size of the hot tub and how heavy it will be when filled with water and people should be taken into consideration.
Even if a frame is built to support your hot tub and composite deck, check with the installer about what your options are before buying a hot tub.
Location of the Hot Tub
The first choice homeowners need to make when planning composite decking to accommodate a hot tub is whether you want a tiered deck with your hot tub on top or a sunken hot tub with composite decking around it. This helps you decide which composite decking materials you will need.
Solid composite decking boards are the best option for a hot tub on top of your composite decking. It is much firmer than hollow composite boards and can support hot tubs with the correct structural beams and joists.
A sunken tub requires the correct base before composite decking is built around the tub, with access to the tub built with stairs. A levelled concrete base is often the first choice. Remember that a sunken concealed hot tub needs access panels built into the decking should your tub require any repairs or maintenance.
When planning on the location for your hot tubs, consider the following:
- You need sufficient room to lift the lid of the hot tub safely.
- The location of trees.
- The amount of privacy.
- A well-lit path to and from the hot tub.
- How close to the home it will be built.
Choose the Right Composite Decking Boards
Composite decking boards are better suited for a hot tub and pool. They are water-proof, slip-resistant, and do not rot like traditional wood decking. Not to mention they are durable and long-lasting too.
When planning your hot tub composite decking, choosing the right board is essential. Consider installing capped composite boards since they are engineered with an outer protective layer.
This layer of protection ensures that capped composite decking boards last longer and are more durable than their uncapped counterpart. Capped decking boards do not retain moisture, can withstand weather elements, and are far more durable, making them ideal for hot tubs.
Although composite decking is slip-resistant compared to timber decking, it still poses a risk when the area is wet. When planning the design of your hot tub, consider composite decking boards that are grooved. Narrow grooved composite decking boards are anti-slip, increase traction and have a firmer grip than wider groove decking boards.
Consider the Subframe
Water will naturally collect around the foundation and joists. Moisture and wet conditions can affect your subframe, which is why choosing the correct composite materials suitable for wet conditions are crucial.
Use plastic or aluminium joists to safeguard your hot tub and your composite decking’s structural integrity. If you have wooden joists on an existing deck, consider wrapping them in decking tape to prevent moisture and dampness issues.
Consult an Electrician
When it comes to electricity and water, precautions and safety need to be your top priority. Always ensure:
- Use a certified electrician to do the wiring and take care of any electrical components regarding your hot tub and lighting around your composite deck.
- Make sure that a ground-fault circuit interrupter is installed that will turn off the system should there ever be a power surge.
- The emergency shut-off meets building codes.
Servicing Your Hot Tub
When planning your hot tub composite decking, take into account the service and maintenance of your hot tub. You will need access to the hot tub’s electrical components, so your deck design should accommodate an effortless way to access it.
Installing a deck hatch that leads to the space below is vital. Another solution is to build your deck with access panels that you can easily remove to gain access below the deck. Detachable stairs work best for hot tubs placed on top of your composite deck.
Children and Hot Tub Safety
Always supervise children when playing outside if you have a hot tub. Hot tub covers can be flimsy, and a child can easily trip and fall into the water. Kids can remove the cover and accidentally slip and fall into the water. Consider adding a sturdy cover that can lock or have a cover built matching composite decking so they cannot access the hot tub.
FAQS
How much weight can composite deck boards hold?
Composite decking can hold approximately 100 pounds per square foot, enough to support a hot tub with water and people.
Do I need to reinforce my deck for a hot tub?
For a composite deck to support a hot tub, additional structural support to reinforce the decking area where your hot tub will be is advised. Ensure your composite deck is built to code and install extra support underneath the hot tub.
How heavy is an empty hot tub?
When empty, a smaller hot tub’s dry weight can weigh 500 pounds, and a large hot tub weighs about 1000 pounds.
Is it OK to put a hot tub on pavers?
Pavers can be used as a base for hot tubs as long as they are made of high-density materials and are incredibly durable. Ensure that the pavers are smooth with absolutely no ridges and that you protect your composite decking with a rubber mat. You must place the hot tub on a level base.
A concrete base or concrete pad is the best option for a hot tub. This provides a very solid base and allows you to deck up to the hot tub instead of laying the deck underneath.
Final Thoughts
Integrating a hot tub with your composite decking brings the best of both worlds together. The right deck design to accommodate your hot tub can simplify getting in and out and has easy access to the electrical components to repair and service your hot tub. Adding a covered enclosure can also shade you from the hot sun and nosy neighbours.
