I'm married to a self-proclaimed "collector of hobbies." RC planes, drones, rebuilding VW Beetles and woodworking projects...the list goes on!
The latest project has been a cedar hot tub! 18+ years ago, we had built an addition on to our home: dining room and deck, including a seven-person jacuzzi. But time, use and then a 40 degree below zero stretch froze one of the lines and it was irreparable! We had enjoyed the hot tub, but wondered, now that our children have all moved away from home, if we would make use of one again.
Walter did some research and found a company near Winnipeg that made cedar hot tub kits. When the kit arrived at our doorstep, I was not at home! No, I wasn't avoiding work; but I was surprised when Walter had wheeled everything to our back yard and was already assembling the cedar pieces. We would fit a round tub in a square space in our deck! No problem. Walter had already figured to fill in the area with more pressure-treated decking. Over the span of a few days, we had put together the round tub, which took both of us holding the pieces, applying silicon and then tying string around to keep the pieces in place until they dried. Walter wrestled the three metal bands around and tightened them with a ratcheting tool. It looked like we had a whiskey barrel in our deck!
Once the tub was positioned on the gravel pad that we had under our previous jacuzzi, we applied stain on the outside of the barrel. The inside would become seasoned with the water inside, but the outer surfaces would turn gray from weathering if we didn't finish it with some protective product. While I stained, Walter began assembling the spa kit. With a few twists and adhesive, the pump, filter and ozonator were hooked up. Then we filled it with water. According to the instructions, the first filling would become quite discoloured as the cedar would leech oils. The expectation was that there would be some leakage. After the first 24-hours, there was only a slight bit of moisture on the gravel around the tub. We congratulated ourselves on a great job of applying the silicon!
We decided to try out the tub. Outside, the temperature was just above 0 degrees Celsius. The water inside, according to the the digital temperature read-out was 101 degrees Fahrenheit. (Truly Canadian citizens educated in the 1970's switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit all the time!) We stepped onto the low seat that encircled the inside of the tub, then sunk into the deliciously warm water. It looked like we were floating in a big vat of tea! But the smell of cedar rose up and gave us that wonderful spa experience.
Once we determined that it had stopped leaking, we drained the tub and cleaned out any junk on the bottom. Then we refilled it and added the necessary chemicals to keep it clean and clear. But that's only part of the project. Walter designed and built counters/storage around the tub and a cover over the spa kit and mechanical stuff. The lattice we had to provide some privacy and wind protection is now a cedar wall with black trim. We stained the decking as well, to match.
I'm so blessed to be part of my husband's creative designs. And it's so rewarding to relax and enjoy the fruit of our labours.
