This DIY Hot Tub Is The Eco-Friendly Way To Upgrade Your Yard
Hot tubs are a great luxury whether you're in the country, suburbs, or a small yard. Now you can build your very own wood-fired hot tub for less than $300, thanks to a designer over at HomeMade Modern.
Updated May 23 2019, 10:23 a.m. ET
Let’s be honest—the main reason those of us without hot tubs don’t have them is the cost. Sure, you can buy an inflatable Coleman hot tub for $300, but those don’t have the sleek form or sturdy structure of a solid hot tub. For a permanent heated bath, you’re looking at between $3,500 and $8,000 on average. For a lot of us, that price tag puts our hot tub goals just out of reach.
Or, it did. Then I discovered HomeMade Modern’s unbelievably simple DIY tutorial for building your wood-fired hot tub with little more than some concrete mix, gravel, some copper tubing, and a stock tank you’d see used as a water trough for livestock. Best part? Your investment is less than one of those inexpensive plastic inflatables at Walmart.
A simple, space-saving hot tub fits anywhere (and every wallet).
Whether you’re living deep in the suburbs, have a small backyard off of your apartment, or enjoy secluded acreage somewhere in the country, these stock tank hot tubs are pretty universal. They’re small enough to fit just about anywhere, but big enough for two people to fit in without a problem.
Ben Uyeda, the designer who came up with the genius plans for HomeMade Modern’s stock tank hot tub, is also a visiting lecturer at Northeastern University and co-founder and design director of FreeGreen. The guy knows what he’s talking about—and he’s also got his fingers on the pulse of the design world.
Uyeda knows that stock tanks have been trending for the last couple of years, finding placement as planters, swimming pools and bathtubs. So why not fire that puppy up with some wood heat and get to soaking? Uyeda pulled this build off last fall in less than two hours and for less than $300, assuming you’ve got all the tools at your disposal.
A stock tank hot tub is easier to build than you think.
I know what you’re thinking—wood fired? Heated copper coils? Seems confusing. Thankfully, it’s not. The supplies list for the stock tank hot tub is startlingly short, and the instructions are really easy to grasp. Here’s the basic supplies list:
If you’ve got a moderate level of handiness, you shouldn’t have any problem putting one of these hot tubs together. If you’re not terribly DIY-proficient, the fact that this should be a two-hour project makes it an inexpensive job to hire out, and not unreasonable to ask some capable friends to come over and help you with.
For full directions with photos, head over to HomeMade Modern and bask in Uyeda’s thankfully simple, straightforward tutorial. Or check out the video below:
