I always wanted to build a cedar hot tub. The vision of a long soak in a hot tub under the starry skies on a clear, crisp night in Santa Fe is quite compelling. Doing it in a natural tub constructed from cedar made the thought seem even better. As an experienced DIYer, I was taken by the idea that I could design and build a classic, red cedar hot tub myself. And I could save several thousand dollars over the cost of a kit from an established hot tub supplier. After all, how hard could it be? I built my own home in 2014. A cedar hot tub is a far simpler and much smaller project. This is the basic hot tub I envisioned: Research I spent several weeks scouring websites of commercial suppliers and DIY builders for ideas about wooden hot tubs. In my search, I discovered three things: How to Build a Cedar Hot Tub: The Design After my research was finished, I began the design phase. The tub would be circular, five feet in diameter and about 40 inches deep. I would use … [Read more...] about How to Build a Cedar Hot Tub
Build an Instant Rusted Corrugated Metal Fence
Our master bedroom garden was an unsightly mess. What it needed was an instant rusted corrugated metal fence, although it took me a while to figure that out. The space was initially designed as coyote-safe place for our small dogs and a sunny location for our raised bed gardens in galvanized stock tanks. But the native grasses had taken over, and the heavy-gauge open mesh fence offered no privacy. It was time for a serious landscaping remodel. Bee Zollo, my life partner, and I decided we wanted a space with a cleaner, more modern aesthetic than the over-grown “natural” look that we currently had. The most important element in the new garden was making it more private. This necessitated replacing the open mesh fencing with a new design. We considered a range of wood options, but finally decided we liked the contemporary appearance of a rusted corrugated metal fence using the existing redwood framing which was in very good shape. Inventing the Instant Rusted Corrugated Metal … [Read more...] about Build an Instant Rusted Corrugated Metal Fence
