Teak bathtub

[Steven Peters]

I saw a few teak bathtubs today and was very impressed. Since I am in the middle of renovating my house I thought that it might be feasable for me to make one of these:

http://www.williamgarvey.co.uk/page/pdgeo.shtml#

I was wondering if anyone had any experience making something like this and had a few pointers before I tried anything stupid.

[Robert Mickley]

Thats cool, You can bet I'm not going to let the wife see this

[Tyler Howell]

Wow!:cool:
Room for Two!!
Looks like fun.

[Reg Mitchell]

Steve...befor you start that project I would price Teak....you might wanna save a little money back first
reg

[Phil Pritchard]

Agreed on the price front. You may want to consider a lower cost alternative with similar characteristics such as iroko.

[Steven Peters]

Teak down here is around $18 a bf. With modifications to the design I should be able to keep it around $1k. This price is within our budget for the remodel.

I saw another bathtub at Expo that was designed more like a barrell with metal hoops. It was only made from 4/4 and was a little smaller than I would have liked.

http://design.hgtv.com/bath/Product_detail.aspx?id=329

I was thinking of making a rectangular shaped tub with the grain of the wood going horizontally. I would then hide aluminum in the corners as reinforcement.

What are the properties of iroko? I've never worked with it.

[Phil Pritchard]

Iroko is quite similar to teak if somewhat coarser grained. It tends to darken in coplour with age. It is a naturally oily timber (just like teak) and is used for many joinery tasks for which teak is regarded as just too expensive but where similar water-immersibility properties are required, such a canal lock gates and harbour pilings. The two major differences is that unlike teak it is not (yet) an over-exploited species and that it is generally 1/3 to 1/2 the price over here in Europe

Scrit

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Looks nice, but if you can get Hinoki, also known as Japanese Cypress or Port Orford Cedar, this is what is used here for the traditional baths. I've sat in many of them, at hot-springs, and they are truly unlike any other bathtub I've sat in.

Pic gallery of a company that makes wooden tubs......

http://www.rhtubs.com/picgal.htm

Another one........

http://www.bartokdesign.com/japan/hinoki-intro-e.php

and some info on Hinoki
http://www.rhtubs.com/hinoki.htm

Look it up, there are lots of people using this great wood for bathtubs.

They also use if for cutting boards, as the wood has a natural bacteria fighting capability.

Cheers!

[Steven Peters]

Thanks for the input. I didn't realize that the Japanese offered so many different options in wooden bathtubs. They just aren't very common in the US.

Does anyone know where I can find a sample of iroko in S Florida?

[Jeff Horton]

Never built anything like this but keep in mind the weight of water is going to put a large force on the tub walls. So the corner joints need to be strong. Your not talking huge forces but it is something you must consider. If you joints open up at all, it's going to let water in. As a home inspector the most common problem I see is water related damage.

If it were me I would build it like an inside out boat. I would coat the wood with a good marine epoxy. It will only slight change the wood color but most important it will protect the wood from the water. Since it will not stay full of water you don't want it swelling and then shrinking. That a leak waiting to happen! Boats and wood hot tubs that stay wet want the wood to swell to help seal up the joints. But a bathtub isn't going to stay full.

[Steven Peters]

I was thinking of building it with teak splines so that the splines would expand at the same rate as the rest of the wood. In the upper corners I think an aluminum angle bracket used as a spline in the corners would work well.

The epoxy sounds like a good idea, I had planned on using Gorrilla glue. I'm trying to overbuild this as much as possible, as I've been learing way to much about the effects of water damage on a house. The previous owners did a bathroom remodel without using a shower pan.

I've always been impressed with the way a good conversion varnish looks on teak, but I've heard that teak can be used without a finish other than linseed oil every few months.

[Steven Peters]

I found these guys in Miami. If the teak looks good I'm going for it at these prices.


http://www.exotichardwood.com/retail_prices.html

[Jeff Horton]

Varnished teak is beautiful for sure. And it doesn't need a finish, it will weather to a nice color on a boat, but it isn't under water either.

I like the idea of a teak spline. I can not think of a better joint for those mitered corners. There may be one, I just can't think of one.

I keep thinking about this and I really like the idea. My concern is in the joints leaking. The more I have thought about this here is what I would do, t it would insure a leak proof tub. I would line the inside of the tub with layer of lightweight fiberglass coated with epoxy. Something like a 3 oz glass. Once you coat it and work in the epoxy the glass will be invisable, you won't see it. It will seal the tub and it will in effect make the tub one big unit. Greatly decreasing the risk of ever having a leak. While this may seem intimidating and hard, it's actually very easy to do.

The other option (as I see it) is you epoxy every joint when you assemble it. Then varnish it. I am just concerend about getting a perfect seal at all the joints.

Keep us informed.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very cool idea....looks like something Mark S. would build.

[Steven Peters]

I came up with another idea. What do you guys think about using box joints reinforced by a dowel. I know that it may be difficult to find a dowel make of teak, but I have considered using a standard pine dowel or one made of aluminum.

[Jeff Horton]

Lots of surface area with a box joint. Should be strong enough without the dowel I would think. Dowel wouldn't hurt a thing. How would you drill it straight though? One of two degrees off and you have ruined it.

Not sure the mitre isn't a better choice looks wise.

[Steven Peters]

I definatley prefer the look of the miter but I think the box joint will be stronger. I may forego the dowel just to keep things simple.

[Michael Cody]

One thing I noted, all those pic's on all those links, I don't see any box joints or aluminum corners, etc.. on the square tubs. The one Japanese tub is even made pinned butt joints, surely not as strong as a splined miter. I don't think a good mitered corner glued with a spline could be improved on too much. It would look much better than box joints or aluminum corner brackets IMNSHO. I would think, if you wish to reinforce the corners any, then a square tub wrapped with black rubbed bronze strapping would look most excellent. Much better than all that shiny stuff!

As far as other leaks, the wood will swell when it gets wet and force the joints together, splines in all the edges would pretty much insure against leaks once the wood in finished anyway, assuming the wood swelling. I surely wouldn't go to all the work of building a teak tub and then coating it with fiberglass and/or epoxy. Sort of defeats the purpose in my mind. Oil or at most varnish is all the farther I would go. I would want the wood to show through as much as possible for both texture and looks. Oh well just one persons opinion.. but I do have to admit, I love the oriental style and wood just fits there!

[Jeff Horton]

As far as other leaks, the wood will swell when it gets wet and force the joints together, splines in all the edges would pretty much insure against leaks once the wood in finished anyway, assuming the wood swelling........

I would want the wood to show through as much as possible for both texture and looks. Oh well just one persons opinion.
Maybe I need to explain my concerns a bit more. First the fiberglass. It will not hide the wood at all. Look at this boat

http://www.actionfish.com/images/AF_pics/image_lightweight.jpg

The deck is epoxy coated (not polyester!) with a layer of fiberglass cloth. You can not see the cloth anywhere! So you don't hide the wood at all.

As for the swelling your probably right that it would happen. But based on some experience around wooden boat and this is basically an inside out boat, even swollen wood boats leak some. My concern is that small leak and long term damage to the house.

Being a home inspector I regularly see what 'just small' leaks do. They destroy sections of the house and in hidden areas that the owners never see till the problem is usually serious.

My second concern is the wood swelling and shrinking because the tub will not stay full or water. So your going to have movement and an increased risk of breaking a joint and the a leak. Wood boats have to be soaked for at least a few days to ever swell up and seal after they dry out. This tub is not like a hot tub and will stay full of water, so the wood will not stay swollen I am afraid. It would most likely swell and shrink, that concerns me.

If it were mine, and I am not trying to tell you what to do Steven, at the least I would coat the inside and the top of the tub with a couple of coats of expoxy. It would keep the wood dry and prevent swelling and shrinking. I would give serious consideration to the glass because it would tie the tub together into one big unit. And it just looks hard, it's really not.

[Steven Peters]

My idea for the aluminum was that it would be hidden inside of the corner like a piece of spline. I would never build something like this and leave exposed metal reinforcement. I'm not real big on the barrell look. I do agree with you on the look of the mitered corner as opposed to the box joint. I'm just getting into the tearout phase of the bathroom right now and am getting a good firsthand look of some decent water damage.

Fiberglass would make the project much stronger but is not completely invisible. Also you still have to worry about yellowing over time, especially with epoxy. A polyester surfboard resin would be a better option in my opinion. Also due to the oily nature of teak, there will probably be adhesion issues between the composite and the wood.

I'll post pics of the bathroom shortly. For some reason the builder used drywall, metal lathe, 1" of plaster , and then ugly pink tile!