Kiwitub DIY wood surround
This is an early Kiwitub tub in our courtyard in Dunedin
We do now make a macrocarpa wood surround for the Kiwitub. We've shifted to macro from the earlier cedar surrounds we used to make. They looked lovely, but since Covid-19 and disruptions to shipping the cedar from Canada has become incredibly expensive and very hard to get at all.
I was also bothered by the ship miles involved, so we've shifted to New Zealand grown macrocarpa - a variety of cypress also known as "poor man's kauri". It does look stunning; however it still costs $1,200 incl GST.
If you're at all handy with wood, though, or know someone who is, you can make your own. It's not difficult, and you get the lovely wood look of a traditional hot tub, but with the advantages of the smooth shaped curves, MUCH better foam insulation and easy mobility of our polyethylene plastic tub.
There are DIY instructions in the Kiwitub manual on how to make your own wood surround for the tub. We've had owners use macrocarpa, old kauri, cedar, oak, kwila, and one lot of weathered Australian hardwood fence posts which cut down and sanded beautifully.
Because the wood staves don't have to hold back the water pressure as in a traditional hot tub, we just use very tough 38mm bronze / sandy coloured webbing straps and Cactus Climbing Company buckles (from Christchurch; they're the best) to lock and hold the staves on around the tub. We have the made-up straps and buckles for $85 for a pair.
The photo shows some macrocarpa off-cuts we just strapped onto the tub in our courtyard in Dunedin. The burner is an earlier prototype.
We do now make a macrocarpa wood surround for the Kiwitub. We've shifted to macro from the earlier cedar surrounds we used to make. They looked lovely, but since Covid-19 and disruptions to shipping the cedar from Canada has become incredibly expensive and very hard to get at all.
I was also bothered by the ship miles involved, so we've shifted to New Zealand grown macrocarpa - a variety of cypress also known as "poor man's kauri". It does look stunning; however it still costs $1,200 incl GST.
If you're at all handy with wood, though, or know someone who is, you can make your own. It's not difficult, and you get the lovely wood look of a traditional hot tub, but with the advantages of the smooth shaped curves, MUCH better foam insulation and easy mobility of our polyethylene plastic tub.
There are DIY instructions in the Kiwitub manual on how to make your own wood surround for the tub. We've had owners use macrocarpa, old kauri, cedar, oak, kwila, and one lot of weathered Australian hardwood fence posts which cut down and sanded beautifully.
Because the wood staves don't have to hold back the water pressure as in a traditional hot tub, we just use very tough 38mm bronze / sandy coloured webbing straps and Cactus Climbing Company buckles (from Christchurch; they're the best) to lock and hold the staves on around the tub. We have the made-up straps and buckles for $85 for a pair.
The photo shows some macrocarpa off-cuts we just strapped onto the tub in our courtyard in Dunedin. The burner is an earlier prototype.
