Build a Hot Tub!

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When our neighbor set up an elaborate steel tank, water pump, and heater complex in his back yard, my wife Joan and I wondered if the poor fellow was losing his marbles. And—when he then filled the giant bath apparatus with 110°F water . . . and asked us to join him in a dip-we knew he was crazy. Somehow, though, we finally agreed to shed our clothes and slowly (verrrry slowly) lowered our bodies into the steaming pool. The heated liquid made our hearts race and our limbs turn into limp rubber bands but—amazingly enough—felt delicious!

After a few blissful minutes, Joan and I both felt the urge to cool off, so we languidly dragged ourselves out of the tub. The night air felt unusually warm . . . then a wee bit crisp . . . and soon so downright cold that we were eager to plunge right back into the steaming vat and begin the cycle all over again.

In other words, we had both become as "crazy" as our neighbor ... we'd been stricken with the divine madness of hot tub bathing.

The human pastime of soaking—or steaming—oneself in sweltry water has a long and respectable pedigree. The Finns have a tradition of drenching themselves in hot saunas (and then rolling in the snow!), while the Japanese bathe in ofuros warmed to as high as a scalding 120°F ... and health-seeking people of all nationalities and classes have—for eons—lowered themselves into natural hot springs. Now, more and more Americans are building big vats and sharing the relaxing joys of soaking. Many of these hot-tub enthusiasts will tell you the experience is good for the circulation, for inducing a sleep that rivals the untroubled slumbers of childhood, for bringing body and soul together, and for providing a sense of warmth and community with others. But—even though everything these zealots say is true —we think the real reason folks sit in heated vats is simply because it's pure, unadulterated fun.

BATHING BLISS FOR $250

As you may have guessed by now, we Campbells were so infected by hot tub madness that we became determined to have a "poaching pool" of our own. We soon discovered, though, that we'd have to build—not buy—our bath of bliss ... because most commercial hot tubs cost well over $1,000. (We wanted to soak, but not get soaked!) Once we'd reached that conclusion, we had to decide what material to use for our hot tub's vat and figure out a way to warm the bath water. Neither Joan nor I can claim to be much of a "handyperson" when it comes to carpentry or welding, so homemade wood or steel tubs were out of the question. We needed a material that could hold a ton of heated H 2 0, yet one that amateur do-it-yourselfers could work with. We settled on concrete.

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