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Hot tubs, planters, and firewood on decks
A listed deck board does not finish the stuff on the deck. IBHS Base treats an attached deck as part of the building footprint. Planter boxes and climbing vines come off the walking surface. Hot tubs sit at least 10 feet from exterior walls, with a noncombustible pad if they sit on combustible boards. Wood piles sit 30 feet from the home unless they are inside an accessory structure. Fire-retardant tarps are not permitted. Oregon R327 does not print that inventory.
You are on the deck. A cedar planter, a tub, and a winter wood stack share the boards. That is fuel next to the wall.
No g3-passed exhibit exists for deck contents. Height bands live on the 12-foot rule. The ledger joint lives on deck ledger.
Why it matters
Embers ignite furniture, planters, and stacked wood, then the boards, then the wall. The walking-surface menu does not inventory contents. IBHS does.
How the items split
| Item | IBHS Base | R327 |
|---|---|---|
| Planter boxes, vines | Off the walking surface. Limited noncombustible pots excepted | Not named |
| Hot tub on combustible deck | ≥ 10 ft from walls. Noncombustible under and 2 ft around. Not under a combustible overhead | Not named |
| Hot tub on noncombustible patio | Own 0–5 foot noncombustible zone | Not named |
| Wood pile | ≥ 30 ft, or inside an accessory structure. No fire-retardant tarp | Not named |
| Under-deck storage | Nothing stored underneath, with a living-area exception that still meets the walking-surface rules | Underfloor is enclose or protect |
The paths
1. Clear the walking surface. Debris, planter boxes, climbing vines. Move the allowed small combustibles on Red Flag days.
2. Place the tub. Ten feet from walls. Pad if the deck is combustible. Not under a pergola of combustible slats.
3. Move the wood. Thirty feet, or into a structure that itself meets IBHS accessory rules. A tarp is not that structure.
4. Oregon construction. Still pick an R327.3.5 path or the 200 square foot 2-inch exception. Contents are extra.
What people mix up
- Treating the lumber exception as a firewood pass.
- A hot tub against the slider.
- Storing wood under the deck.
- Calling a coated tarp a 30-foot equivalent.
How to check
- Walk the deck empty of planters and vines.
- Tape 10 feet from the wall to the tub.
- Tape 30 feet to the wood pile, or find the accessory structure.
- Look under the deck. No storage. Vertical mesh if you screen. See the under-deck mesh finding.
Limits
This page does not spec a spa listing. FireApproved is not the AHJ. IBHS is a designation. R327, where adopted, is a new-construction code.
Related records
Questions
Can I keep a hot tub on a wood deck?
IBHS Base allows it only with noncombustible material under the tub and extending 2 feet around all sides, and the tub still has to be at least 10 feet from the home’s exterior walls and not under a combustible overhead. On a noncombustible patio, the tub gets its own 0–5 foot noncombustible zone. That is designation language, not Oregon R327.3.5.
Are planter boxes allowed on the deck?
IBHS Base wants walking surfaces clear of vegetative debris, planter boxes, and climbing vines. Up to 10 noncombustible potted plants are excepted, each not exceeding 36 inches in height and width, and movable on Red Flag days.
Where does firewood go?
IBHS Base places wood piles at least 30 feet from the home unless the wood is stored in an accessory structure, and does not permit fire-retardant tarps. That is not the 200 square foot lumber exception.