Where to find wood for skirt rebuild??

[pkillur]

Anyone have any idea where to get some sort of material for the skirting around my tub?  My 8 year old was "helping" me trim the new spa blanket today and tipped over his step stool which broke a bunch of boards on my skirt.  they seem pretty thin - like 1/2 " tongue and groove cedar or redwood.  I've called a bunch of places with no luck.  The closest I've found so far is 1" t&G cedar.  I'm thinking of just converting to T1-11 on all sides since we're getting our house painted in a few weeks - can have a matching tub.

My questions:
1: Is finding thin T&G hard to do for a non-mfg?
2: Is T1-11 a bad choice for spa skirting?  My hot tub is wrapped in Mylar, so I don't see it as anything but a GAIN of r-rating.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

1. Near impossible

2. No

[Tman122]

Anyone have any idea where to get some sort of material for the skirting around my tub?  My 8 year old was "helping" me trim the new spa blanket today and tipped over his step stool which broke a bunch of boards on my skirt.  they seem pretty thin - like 1/2 " tongue and groove cedar or redwood.  I've called a bunch of places with no luck.  The closest I've found so far is 1" t&G cedar.  I'm thinking of just converting to T1-11 on all sides since we're getting our house painted in a few weeks - can have a matching tub.

My questions:
1: Is finding thin T&G hard to do for a non-mfg?
2: Is T1-11 a bad choice for spa skirting?  My hot tub is wrapped in Mylar, so I don't see it as anything but a GAIN of r-rating.

We have a local sawmill (in Northern Minnesota) that will make 1/2" tounge and groove for you. Likely cost an arm and a leg. I can get you their number if you'd like. T1-11 would be a great choice.

[Chas]

If you plan on painting it anyway, I would sure go for the plywood. 1/2" or thicker - be sure to caulk/seal all joints and corners.

The groove style is up to you - keep in mind that "T1-11" is a style of finish, and does not assure quality of material. I only use all wood premium grade. It is very possible to get "T1-11" in OSB, Hardboard surfaced, etc.

HTH

 

[pkillur]

If you plan on painting it anyway, I would sure go for the plywood. 1/2" or thicker - be sure to caulk/seal all joints and corners.

The groove style is up to you - keep in mind that "T1-11" is a style of finish, and does not assure quality of material. I only use all wood premium grade. It is very possible to get "T1-11" in OSB, Hardboard surfaced, etc.

HTH

 

That's good to know - I didn't realize that it was just a style, not a type of board.  I will look for it.  I called pretty much every lumber vendor in town and no luck with the boards.  The closest was our hot tub dealer, who wanted 300 for an old panel that is a year old.  I love the guys at WindRiver, but I'm not paying 300 bucks when I can redo the whole thing myself for half the cost.

As far as caulking, my current skirt screws into the base pieces of wood.  Are you saying I could caulk around the edges after I screw it in, or that I should caulk any joints I have in the middle, or both?  My only concern with that is I probably get into the tub every 3-6 months for something or other - maybe I'll design an access panel with gaskets or something.  My tub is fairly old (7 years) so I sporradically get leaky gaskets, etc that I have to fix.

[Chas]

Just keep the breeze to a minimum under the skirt - which is good advice in more ways than one, I suppose.