Thread: Project Hot Tub

The cypress the us sites mention is probably "bald cypress" - a us native

I think our native cypresses move too much to be successful.

Cypress Macrocarpra is nice and stable with minimal movement and might be ok though it is not as durable as WRC or Jarra.

Thanks. I thought I'd got lucky there for a moment. Should've known that the inexpensive option was not the best one!

not real sure but hoop pine might be ok,
pick Journeyman Micks brains he's right up on northern oz timbers

If you had the budget huon would be up there. There is no shame in checking out commercial tubs to see what wood they use. The boat building mob can also give you a few ideas.

Thanks for your responses. Just for clarification, I'm not going to build a huge "party" tub. This is a smaller, wood heated version for an outdoor Japanese style bathroom. No doubt my worthy neighbours will still be scandalised, but it'll look good in a small corner between two wings of the house.

Will wander over to the boaties and ask 'em.

Thanks.

I'm no expert, but I think blue stain might become an issue with hoop pine

james

Originally Posted by orraloon

If you had the budget huon would be up there. There is no shame in checking out commercial tubs to see what wood they use. The boat building mob can also give you a few ideas.

I would have to agree that huon would be the best solution.

My train of though is that if you going to spend a few hundred hours making some beautiful, a few hundred dollars spent up front for a timber that will pretty much last forever is a good investment.

There is nothing worse than spending all that time, and in about 5 - 10 years, you find that you have to throw the tub away because of rot.

I got some suggestions from the boaties, and I'm starting to come around to the realisation that I will have to use some really good timber. After all, the whole concept of a Japanese bath is mental relaxation in addition to getting squeaky clean, and the thought that the tub might fall apart after a couple of years is not conducive to peaceful meditation.

However, will use some scrappy stuff to make some scaled down versions first - just to get the technique right, and can then use them for pot plants, decoration etc.

Almost impossible to find a cooper on the net. Has the art/trade died out?

I believe that Paulownia is another timber that is suitable. It has the same abilities as WRC and is easily stained to whatever colour you want. Do your own research. I am biased as I grow ,mill & sell it. On the good side I sell it cheaper than WRC.

Originally Posted by whitewood

I believe that Paulownia is another timber that is suitable. It has the same abilities as WRC and is easily stained to whatever colour you want. Do your own research. I am biased as I grow ,mill & sell it. On the good side I sell it cheaper than WRC.

pm sent

Originally Posted by Incoming!

Almost impossible to find a cooper on the net. Has the art/trade died out?

Have you seen how expensive copper is these days? Its probably cheaper to do it out of gold.

Originally Posted by dlim2986

Have you seen how expensive copper is these days? Its probably cheaper to do it out of gold.

Boy oh boy, one of us is going to be really embarrassed when we check the dictionary for a definition of a cooper! Hope it's not me! Time to drag out my long held philosophy of "I may be wrong, but I am always confident!"

You do mean 'cooper', not copper, right?

In most wine-growing districts there are still some very capable cooperages operating. The ones around here are pretty versatile and produce everything from cheese-platters to furniture out of vintage; I reckon you could find one that would help you out, even just with advice.

Failing that, we've just picked up a couple of nicely-toasted American oak hogsheads. They've only had shiraz in them for a year... you could bath in one if you kind of crouched down....!
Love your idea of a Japanese-style bath. You could construct a nice watering system to distribute the water to your garden after use.

Thanks Shedgirl - I looked at the possibility of using an old wine cask but as in most things - size does matter! Yep - I do plan to distribute the water over the garden, after a couple of day's use. The idea is grossing out The Bloke, who can't comprehend the idea of a hot tub without a filtering system and is refusing to get involved in the project, but I'd like to keep this concept as traditional as possible.