How We Built a 12x12 Paver Hot Tub Pad in Langley
A hot tub pad has to be dead level under the tub and still drain. Here's how we built a 144 sq ft paver pad in Langley, and why we talked the homeowner out of slabs.
This summer we built a 12 by 12 foot paver pad for a hot tub in a Langley backyard. It's a small job on paper, but a hot tub pad has a problem most patios don't: it needs to be level and drain at the same time.
Level where the tub sits, sloped everywhere else
A patio should fall gently away from the house so water runs off. A hot tub needs to sit dead level. On this pad we set the pavers under the tub footprint level and sloped the rest of the field away at about 1.5 percent. Getting both into one 144 square foot pad is the hard part of the job. The paving is the easy part.
The pad also met an existing patio on one side, and that set our finished height. We worked up from that edge so the two surfaces would line up.
What's underneath
A filled hot tub can weigh around 5,000 pounds, so the base matters. We excavated about nine and a half inches, then built up:
6 inches of crushed gravel, compacted in layers
1 inch of bedding
60 mm interlocking pavers
Edge restraint on the open sides holds the field together over time.
Why we talked the homeowner out of big slabs
The original idea was large 2 by 2 foot slabs under the tub, on the assumption that they'd be cheaper. They weren't. Large-format slabs usually cost more per square foot than standard pavers, and they're slower to place, because each one is heavy and has to be bedded level on its own.
Pavers are also the better build under a tub. A thin slab sitting over a small low spot in the bedding can crack under that much weight. Interlocking pavers share the load with the ones around them. And since the tub covers that area anyway, nobody sees the difference.
We used Belgard Holland Stone in Gray, with a Charcoal soldier course around all four sides.
Book your electrician early
A hot tub needs power, and the electrical is separate from the pad. Book your electrician at the same time you book the pad, so you don't end up with a finished pad and a cold tub sitting on it.
Thinking about a hot tub?
Tell us the tub's dimensions and where you'd like it, and we'll come take a look. If the access is tight or the yard slopes, it's better to know that before you order the tub.
