advice for wooden hot tub shelter project

Eric Cartman

So Im looking to make a simple shelter for my hot tub, its basically going to be a 2.4 meter x 2.4 meter square , with wooden posts holding up a slanted roof covered in transparent corrugated plastic sheet.

where my slight issue comes in. Im looking to have this sit on a gravel area in my garden , however some water does collect in the gravel when it rains heavily , and Id like to not have anything have to be fastened to the ground. I was originally just going to use some lengths of decking for the shelter floor and put a few going diagonally underneath as supports, but just wondering if anyone has better ideas or ideas of what kind of treated timber to use for the floor, needs to withstand water leaving from the tub itself and water from the ground when it rains heavily.

Lumen

SEX POND!!!!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anything with a roof needs to be fastened to the ground, or else very, very heavy.

Also, keep timber out of ground contact, particularly in a spot where you have pooling.

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

SEX POND!!!!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anything with a roof needs to be fastened to the ground, or else very, very heavy.

Also, keep timber out of ground contact, particularly in a spot where you have pooling.

Ass soup

Is it a real one or an inflatable one?

Eric Cartman

Lumen wrote: »

SEX POND!!!!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anything with a roof needs to be fastened to the ground, or else very, very heavy.

Also, keep timber out of ground contact, particularly in a spot where you have pooling.

1 tonne of water may help anchor it.

Eric Cartman

BrownFinger wrote: »

Ass soup

Is it a real one or an inflatable one?

one of the inflatable ones , but not the cheap nasty lazy-spa ones. Actually surprisingly sturdy and its stood up to many an incident over its 3 years :pac:

Lumen

Eric Cartman wrote: »

1 tonne of water may help anchor it.

Do you keep it full over the winter?

listermint

Do it right do it once. Set posts in concrete and build the roof off that. There's a recent thread which gives you alot of similarity

Eric Cartman

listermint wrote: »

Do it right do it once. Set posts in concrete and build the roof off that. There's a recent thread which gives you alot of similarity

rental house, I may be able to pour concrete into a form / buckets etc.. but it needs to be removable, although not for a few years anyway.

Eric Cartman

Lumen wrote: »

Do you keep it full over the winter?

its on 365 days a year. hot tub in the dead of winter is unreal. But that said I planned to use removable fasteners for the roof sheets and its going to be open on all sides, if I ever did need it empty, last thing I want is a gazebo flying away. just want to keep most of the rain off.

Lumen

OK, how about this....

Construct a square frame from 2.4m galvanized fence posts, line the bottom with 2” x 8G galvanized weldmesh (securely fastened to frame and sheets connected with rebar ties), stick a strong permeable liner on top (or maybe 1/4" weldmesh) and fill with chunky gravel.

Then attach the posts to the frame and deck over the frame with cutouts for the posts.

https://www.abwood.ie/shop/fence-posts/galvanised-durapost
http://steel.ie/duggan-steel-stockholding-products/galvanised-weld-mesh/

I'm sure someone has a better idea...

listermint

Lumen wrote: »

OK, how about this....

Construct a square frame from 2.4m galvanized fence posts, line the bottom with 2” x 8G galvanized weldmesh (securely fastened to frame and sheets connected with rebar ties), stick a strong permeable liner on top (or maybe 1/4" weldmesh) and fill with chunky gravel.

Then attach the posts to the frame and deck over the frame with cutouts for the posts.

https://www.abwood.ie/shop/fence-posts/galvanised-durapost
http://steel.ie/duggan-steel-stockholding-products/galvanised-weld-mesh/

I'm sure someone has a better idea...

Move house to one with a covered pergola


:P

GinSoaked

There are lots of supports/anchors you can get for posts. Plenty will keep the end of the posts out of water.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Fencemate-Galvanised-Concrete-in-U-Post-Support-For-75-100mm-3-4-Posts-/112352052335
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-Galvanised-Bolt-Down-INTERNAL-POST-SUPPORT-Fence-Foot-Base-90-140-mm-/223279339831
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CONNEX-HV4269-Post-Support-Adjustable/dp/B00J7L26KA?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2
%2FPost-show-range-image-website.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Falbat.co.uk%2Fal-lintels-home%2Flintels-products%2Fpost-shoes%2F&tbnid=ARr2L6zX8o-obM&vet=10CLoBEDMoV2oXChMIkKvD94nX6QIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0..i&docid=OY89cXxUZf8cVM&w=531&h=185&q=post%20supports&ved=0CLoBEDMoV2oXChMIkKvD94nX6QIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0

But how about just putting an awning over the top that you can put away when you are not using it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VY5N53Y/

jack of all

You could get a good quality 3m x 3m commercial quality gazebo, could be weighted at each corner or the base plates have holes that allow a more permanent fixing. We have a one from O'Meara's camping (no hot tub!) which we use on our timber deck during the summer months. We have had it up for weeks at a time with no issues- I use the cast iron weights on the base plates and also have it tied down too for peace of mind. Very sturdy and gives great cover. Not cheap though- think we paid close to €800 for everything a few years ago, but fantastic during this weather!

listermint

GinSoaked wrote: »

There are lots of supports/anchors you can get for posts. Plenty will keep the end of the posts out of water.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Fencemate-Galvanised-Concrete-in-U-Post-Support-For-75-100mm-3-4-Posts-/112352052335
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-Galvanised-Bolt-Down-INTERNAL-POST-SUPPORT-Fence-Foot-Base-90-140-mm-/223279339831
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CONNEX-HV4269-Post-Support-Adjustable/dp/B00J7L26KA?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2
%2FPost-show-range-image-website.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Falbat.co.uk%2Fal-lintels-home%2Flintels-products%2Fpost-shoes%2F&tbnid=ARr2L6zX8o-obM&vet=10CLoBEDMoV2oXChMIkKvD94nX6QIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0..i&docid=OY89cXxUZf8cVM&w=531&h=185&q=post%20supports&ved=0CLoBEDMoV2oXChMIkKvD94nX6QIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0

But how about just putting an awning over the top that you can put away when you are not using it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VY5N53Y/

Uncle of mine had a metal pergola secured into patio in what i would say was a reasonably sheltered suburban housing estate.

The winds last week or was it the week before destroyed the entire thing mangled mess and lifted.

GinSoaked

listermint wrote: »

Uncle of mine had a metal pergola secured into patio in what i would say was a reasonably sheltered suburban housing estate.

The winds last week or was it the week before destroyed the entire thing mangled mess and lifted.

You can be unlucky. We are in the teeth of the wind down by the sea, how somethings survive is just luck. I'm not naming anything here just in case thats bad luck

OP's problem is that all he wants is a roof on poles. So unless everything is very substantial there's a good chance its going to get damaged by strong winds.

listermint

GinSoaked wrote: »

You can be unlucky. We are in the teeth of the wind down by the sea, how somethings survive is just luck. I'm not naming anything here just in case thats bad luck

OP's problem is that all he wants is a roof on poles. So unless everything is very substantial there's a good chance its going to get damaged by strong winds.

I dont think its luck tbh, If you were located where you are you would build to stand up to that abuse. You wouldnt build with whatever you have and cross your fingers. That would be a short term waste of effort. And dare i say dangerous.