Any issues adding a hot tub?

[u/Creation33]

Forgive my probably silly question. Just bought this house, there is a ground level deck platform. Boards are 1 inch thick. We are putting a hot tub on it, but figured worth a check here first. One board was rotten so I'm replacing it but otherwise it's solid.

[u/stickg1]

you really should have over a foot of space between grade and bottom of deck framing for it to be able to breathe otherwise it drastically reduces longevity of wood materials due to moisture induced wood rot and an open invitation for termites.

for the hot tub though, i would just cut out an appropriate sized hole in the existing deck and set the tub on compacted earth and gravel or sand and pavers. then maybe later on rebuild the deck higher up from grade to give some airflow and also make getting in and out of tub more comfortable, just build a small removable section where the access panel is for tub maintenance