Hot tubs and barrel saunas

We offer only wooden hot tubs and barrel saunas made in the UK from premium western red cedar (Thuja Plicata):

• Western red cedar is famed for its extraordinary durability and resistance to decay. It is the first choice of wood in areas with severe winters and hot summers. Frankly, a hot tub or barrel sauna made from Western red cedar will serve you many years and will remain beautiful and trouble free
• Western red cedar has a very low coefficient of expansion. So, unlike other soft woods such larch or spruce, it does not shrink, swell or warp excessively, even when subjected to changing degrees of temperature and moisture
• Western red cedar has prime insulating qualities, which makes our hot tubs and barrel saunas very economical to heat
• Its pleasing odour is repellent to moths, insects and vermin
• And of course it is very beautiful to look at. So if you are looking for the best material possible, western red cedar is the answer.

What is western red cedar:

Native Americans call Western red cedar the "long life maker". It was used for a variety of ailments and it is still held in highest regard by all northwest coast peoples for its healing and spiritual powers. No surprisingly, its Latin Genus name is Arborvitae - "Tree of life".

The superior qualities of Western Red Cedar are summed up in this extract from the grading rules published by the Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau:

" The largest and finest of the cedars produced anywhere in the world, the Western Red Cedar is famed for its extraordinary durability and resistance to decay.
Western Red Cedar is a distinct species, possesing all the desirable qualities of the other cedars, and additional advantages besides:

It can be finished to a smooth, silky finish, it is free from pitch, it takes and holds stains and paints exellently and has superior glueing properties.
Its colour is extremely attractive, varying from almost pure white of the narrow sapwood to the light straw shade of dark redish-brown of the heartwood.

The wood of Western Red Cedar has a very low coeffitient of expansion, so that it does not shrink, swell or warp excessively, even when subjected to changing degrees of temperature and moisture.

It has prime insulating qualities and its pleasing odour is repellent to moths, insects and vermin.The wood is saturated to every fibre with a natural preservative oil which renders it virualy immune to decay and gives it extreme durability without artificial preservative treatment. It is not necessary to pain cedar to preserve its surface, as it does not deteriorate appreciably even under severe climatic changes."

 The Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau is a private, non-profit lumber quality control inspection agency. Visit the website here.