Facts about our cedar hot tubs

Design, Material and Construction details

Material - The finest wood

Our beautiful cedar hot tubs are typically made from premium quality Western Red Cedar. Red Cedar's qualities of beauty, workability, strength, natural rot resistant oils, and sweet aroma, make it the perfect material for a natural wooden tub. We start with clear (no knots), straight-grained, all heartwood lumber direct from expert local sawyers. In our shop we mill the cedar with care to obtain a precise fit. The result is a durable tub that is a full 1.75 inches thick (thicker than most other tub builders.) This thickness gives our tubs added strength and insulation that most don't have.

All our tub material comes from sustainably harvested trees.  We work with each of our suppliers to insure that they follow Forest Stewardship practices.

On a custom basis we make tubs using other woods such as Hinoki or Teak.  Please call us for pricing on these options.

Design - Innovative and beautiful

 

Our tubs are built to last using the time-tested coopering techniques of the wine cask industry and updated with modern woodworking techniques. The sides (staves) and the floor of the tub are of thick 1.75 inch clear grained select cedar for strength and durability. With expertise and modern machinery we shape the staves and floors precisely to build a tub that holds water. Our staves are actually curved inside and out. The joints between staves are an innovative "cove and bead". This gives a truly curved tub that is especially beautiful and reliable. See the closeup photos above.  The tub floors are built in one, two or three panels (depending on the size of the tub) which are pinned and splined together at assembly time. The edge is carefully beveled to receive the vertical staves that are precisely machined to a tight fit. The tub is held together with attractive flat stainless steel compression bands that apply the necessary pressure to keep things water-tight. The stainless steel hardware is rust and stain-proof and will last a lifetime.

Function

Our tubs hold water because of tight joinery and the fact that dry wood expands when it absorbs water.  When a tub gets wet, the wood cells soak up moisture and staves (tub sides) expand. This causes the tub joinery to get very tight and seal. This is the same principle that makes classic wooden boats seaworthy.

Top 10 Benefits of our wooden hot tubs:

  1. First and foremost: the beauty of natural wood.  Relax in harmony with nature surrounded by the sweet aroma of the cedar tree.
  2. Deep soaking: Our tubs are designed to be deep - with the water coming right up to your shoulders - giving you complete immersion and a feeling of buoyancy.
  3. Health: Deep soaking in steaming water has long been proven to stimulate circulation, reduce stress, relax sore muscles, help with insomnia, and aid with common joint pain such as arthritis. 
  4. Simplicity: Your own quiet refuge in your backyard.
  5. A fun family activity:  Socialize and relax with your family in the outdoors - soaking in a cedar hot tub is good clean fun!
  6. Reduce stress:  Melt away the troubles of your day as you do something soothing for yourself.
  7. Can be assembled on site:  This allows your tub to be placed just about anywhere, so no problems getting them situated into difficult sites.
  8. A hand-made product:  Our tubs are made one at a time by skilled craftsmen - not mass produced out of plastic.
  9. Outdoor activity:  You will find yourself seeing and hearing more of the sights and sounds of nature - from the comfort of your warm and quiet outdoor tub.
  10. Rustic and traditional:  Our customers appreciate the beauty of the wood and the simple tub design. Tubs like this have been used for many hundreds of years - especially in Japan.

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Hot tub Cover information

All our tubs come with a premium quality locking cover - with insulation value of R-17.  Our covers are UL listed with the ASTM safety rating.

To save on heating costs, a good cover is very important.  Our covers are 5 inches thick and have an insulation rating of R-17.  They are approved safety covers with the ASTM 1346 certification.

Water Quality

Our SmarTouch systems include a three step approach to keeping the water clean and safe. 

  • Filtration - we include a washable cartridge style filter.
  • Ionizer - a device that adds copper/silver ions to the water to kill microscopic bacteria and reduces the need for other chemicals
  • Specialized Chlorine - Granulated chlorine is the best approach for wooden tubs - at a reduced level when used with the ionizer.

We provide all of this with each of our hot tubs ordered with Electric or Gas heated systems.