Hot Tub Deck, Fireplace, Outdoor Shower, Towel Warmers etc.

[Letran]

Hot Tub Deck, Fireplace, Outdoor Shower, Towel Warmers etc.

Finally getting around to getting a deck constructed around the tub. I'm a tub newbie so these ideas might be a tad overkill.

I live in T.O. (Toronto, Ontario) to give you an idea of the seasonal climate and cold weather conditions.

Outdoor Shower with Hot & Cold
This is more for guests but I also feel it will make it easy for us to get in and makes the tub more usable

Towel warmer
I was originally thinking of using a good size empty cooler to place the towels in side to keep it warm in the winter. But an actual towel warmer providing a crisp warm towel might be sweet. What's the consensus on these? Of course there might also be a code issue on having metal near the tub

Linear Electric Fireplace
I'm erecting a privacy wall 4 feet in front of the tub possibly be for an outdoor TV but undecided on that too. But I think that a fireplace to warm up when you got out if the tub might be useful. It might also double as a Towel warmer. Again, the building code rules about having metal might be in violation

Outdoor washroom
This is not practical at all but, there seems to be always a need to relieve yourself after or even during the tubbing. I'm curious how tub owners handling their guest needs going inside the house possibly dripping.
I have a cabana as a dressing/change room as well as a warming station. I could also do the outside shower, but a washroom??
I was thinking of constructing some sort of drainage system for the water during water changes so maybe the ladies can use that :-)


Ideas appreciated

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Where do you live?

[bud16415]

We live right across Lake Erie from you Just south of Erie and we share the same climate. Where we live we get lake effect snows and also those artic winds coming across the lake. We normally get a few days as low as -30f and lots of them sub zero.

Our deck and tub I have talked about before but I will describe how we deal with cold, snow and rain. Our tub is located on a raised deck right off our kitchen. And the tub steps are one step from the door and the door is 4 steps from the bathroom door off the kitchen. We have a carpet runner from the deck door to the bathroom door. It runs behind our island and the stools for the island is were we keep towels in the winter. In the summer I have hooks on the privacy wall for towels. Getting out of the tub in the winter is not an issue as you are heated and will find at zero it isn’t a big deal to cool off a minute or two before going in. People do leave and return to the tub for bathrooms or drinks so you don’t want your tub at that romantic location far away from the house in the woods. Ours is sheltered on two sides by the kitchen and bathroom and I built a pergola over it that has a tin roof. It rains to much here and snow for not being covered. We have great views of the sky and woods and snow drifting down without having it landing on us.

As to towel warmers I don’t think it is worth the effort when it is cold people will want to get inside and wrap up in a warm inside towel. Figure out a way to keep a few drips off the floors inside is better. I ran a faucet outside and placed it about 5’ high. It is the freeze prof type where the actual valve is on the inside of the wall. Feeding that faucet is a mixing valve for both hot and cold that is not available to guests. Outside I have the quick change hose adapter and a 12’ real rubber hose that stays flexible in the cold with a jet nozzle. I also have a shower head I can click on to the same adapter. In the summer I set the mixer to be a mild warm temp and people will shower off if they like. No soap allowed around the spa. In the winter I will have the hose attached and water set to very hot. Remember you have to shovel to the tub and you have to clear snow from the cover. Ice will build up here and there and you will damage the cover if you open it with ice stuck to it. The stairs need to be free of ice as well as the walk way. I go out with my hose and hot water a few minutes before we get in the tub and make short work of the ice. I do that and I open the cover and turn on the lights and jets and go back in and yell spa is now open. Most of the time there is no need to de-ice for getting out as the hot dripping water will do that as people get in and out. I shovel my whole deck in the winter but I only worry about in front of the tub when we are just using the tub. I also have screw eyes at different heights on  the poles of the pergola and I have tarp like covers I can hook up for wind breaks at different heights  depending on the winds. The full height ones I keep up most of the winter when we are not using the tub to keep snow out. Sometimes we leave them up because we are lazy but for company and the outdoor tub experience and star gazing in the snow. I will put the ones up that extend about a foot higher than the top of the tub to keep wind off your heads. No wind go with full visibility.

Go to wal-mart in the spring they have the thin stocking hat made from a quick drying material and buy about 20 of them in all colors. We keep them in a basket and sit it on a stool and have people grab one if they like. If you have short hair or bald a cap is a must.

As to a fireplace, I don’t see the point. If your hot tub room was enclosed and you were planning on sitting around out there after tubbing sure. If not then I don’t think there is one big enough to heat the outdoors. Dressing room would be great in the summer if you have the deck space we just use our bathroom for it all. Off our bathroom is our laundry so we use that as a changing room and people can dry their swim suits if they use one and we have some hooks in there to hang cloths.

We used to hot tub at our friends a lot and it got us thinking what we didn’t like about how theirs was set up. Their dining room became the changing room and there was always worries about dripping water and where people change and shower and stuff. So far it has worked out really well and people feel comfortable using the tub. We even have a back walk up to the deck and a gate and close family know they can come and use it even if we are not home we have a keypad door lock.   

[bud16415]

Couple things I didn’t mention about having the year round supply of hot water. Very hot water with a jet nozzle will make cleaning your filter a snap. What builds up on the filter is like a waxy / greasy film. Cold water makes it stick more hot water cuts it right off. Also having hot water to top off the tub is great because the last thing you want in the winter is having to add a couple inches of cold water to a hot tub.

Our friend used to fill his from his garden hose and he had to get off his deck and crawl into a snow pile to turn the water on and off. You want it close to the tub for filling and cleaning and having it high allows the water to drain out of the hose so the hose wont freeze.   
 

[Letran]

Great ideas bud,

i really like the inside mixer idea and the convenience of having hot water. I didn't even think of using it for snow removal.

My tub is about 10 feet away (with 4 feet of stairs) from the kitchen door which is the main access to the backyard. The powder room however is in the front of the house which is a long walk about 50 feet passing by the family room, dining etc. But the slip proof runner idea I would guess would still be the best viable idea.

The Cabana is also about a 60-80 feet walk across the yard but that will only be good for changing and keeping warm. But also only makes the tub guest friendly in the summers but really not convenient for guest in the winters. Oh well

I really do like the idea of the Electric Fireplace but as you noted not that useful for the winter but I'm thinking mainly for the cold nights but for the other seasons when it is not entirely freezing. It I would think adds to the ambience and will hopefully conveniently warm up the towels too. I'm finding a hard time finding an outdoor electric fireplace for less than $1000. Opinions on this is appreciated. Anyone has a fireplace with their tub?

[Letran]

Where do you live?

Toronto, Ontario Canada (suburbs)

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Where do you live?

Toronto, Ontario Canada (suburbs)

  I missed that completely in the original post sorry.   If it enclosed the electric fireplace might work heat wise, if not enclosed no way, but it would look nice.

[bud16415]

What we have found and you may be different, but for us we don’t want distractions when in the tub. Absolute lowest on our tub wish list was sound and TV. We didn’t care all that much for lights and the waterfall feature. But they are fun with all the color combinations but honestly 90% of the time we turn them on blue. We found we love to talk in the tub together as a couple and in a social setting it is great to just talk with friends and not have some other entertainment going on. Alone for me it is about total loss of connections and destressing. The clouds moving or snow in the winter and watching the flowers and my hummingbird feeder is more than enough outside stimulus.

If you are new to tubbing I would give myself a period of time to find out what suits you best. Do some pre-wiring if you think you might want an electric fireplace or a TV and then when you adjust to hot tub life add them if you still want them. I do wish I had a couple more GFCI outdoor 120V outlets around the deck. I just added one this year for the bug zapper.

Sorry I can’t be more help with specifics on the outdoor equipment.

[wmccall]

We live right across Lake Erie from you Just south of Erie and we share the same climate.

I grew up in Wesleyville (East Erie)  just curious where you are?

[bud16415]

We live right across Lake Erie from you Just south of Erie and we share the same climate.

I grew up in Wesleyville (East Erie)  just curious where you are?

I grew up in Fairview and now live in Cambridge springs. I work at the big company just north of Wesleyville, We bring good things to life. or we used to..

There is a huge difference in weather just 30 miles south of the lake. When Erie gets 150" snow in a winter we get 300" and bitter cold. But a wonderful little town. We bought our tub up in Erie.

[Tman122]

I use a instant hot water heater, works off a propane tank and garden hose, I have this one, http://www.homedepot.com/p/Eccotemp-Eccotemp-45H-LP-Tankless-Water-Heater-45H-LP/206028758. I use it year round for guests with a small home made curtain on my deck. I'll take a photo later. I built my own towel warmer out of tongue and groove ash and light bulbs. Not sure a fireplace heater is needed.

[wmccall]

We live right across Lake Erie from you Just south of Erie and we share the same climate.

I grew up in Wesleyville (East Erie)  just curious where you are?

I grew up in Fairview and now live in Cambridge springs. I work at the big company just north of Wesleyville, We bring good things to life. or we used to..

There is a huge difference in weather just 30 miles south of the lake. When Erie gets 150" snow in a winter we get 300" and bitter cold. But a wonderful little town. We bought our tub up in Erie.

I could look out my bedroom window and see that plant, Lake Erie and Long Point Ontario.  I've had a lot of family that worked there since the 50s, but I think they are all retired now.  I know what you mean about the weather, that ridge around where I90 runs is like a barrier that catches a lot of snow.  My sister currently lives along that ridge line in Harborcreek. No doubt you frequently have to remove a foot or more of snow from your cover!

[bud16415]

We live right across Lake Erie from you Just south of Erie and we share the same climate.

I grew up in Wesleyville (East Erie)  just curious where you are?

I grew up in Fairview and now live in Cambridge springs. I work at the big company just north of Wesleyville, We bring good things to life. or we used to..

There is a huge difference in weather just 30 miles south of the lake. When Erie gets 150" snow in a winter we get 300" and bitter cold. But a wonderful little town. We bought our tub up in Erie.

I could look out my bedroom window and see that plant, Lake Erie and Long Point Ontario.  I've had a lot of family that worked there since the 50s, but I think they are all retired now.  I know what you mean about the weather, that ridge around where I90 runs is like a barrier that catches a lot of snow.  My sister currently lives along that ridge line in Harborcreek. No doubt you frequently have to remove a foot or more of snow from your cover!

Yep we put our tub in a couple years ago in the summer not knowing what to expect. Typical first time buyers with just a little experience from our friends tub to go by. We loved the tub all summer and every night we would sit out under the stars and look for shooting stars and watch the high altitude jets come over. Stars were amazing also. Couple times we were forced out by rain but all in all we loved the open sky. About thanksgiving we went a week without using the tub as the weather was turning cold and I knew I needed to build something quick for winter shelter or close the tub till spring. For a week I rigged a tarp like a tent to get a feel for what we wanted. The thought was do we make it fixed or removable and we went with fixed. And it had to carry a few feet of snow load as well. We left it as open on the sides as we could for summer and then made covers we could quickly put up and down with the weather. I know if I went out and had 2’ of frozen snow and ice on the cover I would say forget it. No one wants to work an hour to hot tub for 20 minutes. It has worked out nice and the trade off in the view of the night skies for ease of use has been a good one. If we lived in the south, I’m sure we would still be open air, with maybe a retractable cover. The OP living in Toronto will have to figure out how much of a problem weather is for him.

My dad always said they built I90 at the exact worst place possible.   Good for growing grapes though. I bet I have run into some of your kin in my 43 years working there. Second best sunsets in the world here viewed from PI state park over the lake.

Couple years ago Erie won the snow globe contest http://goldensnowglobe.com/ Syracuse NY normally beats us. They measure the snowfall here at the airport and where I live south of town it is always double that amount. If they measure it in my back yard we would be number one every year.

[Letran]

Verdicts

Outdoor Shower
I'll be implementing bud's idea of an inside mixer adjusted for summer and winter usage

Towel Warmer
I'll be building an outdoor linen cabinet for robes and towels as part of the tub deck. This will eliminate the need for a towel. If need be I'll hide a GFCI outlet inside the cabinet if I ever want to plug something there in the future

Electric Fireplaces
No go on the electric fireplaces. Apparently these guys are just more for looks at 5,000 to 6,000 BTUs it won't be warming anything outdoors.

Cheers, Thank you all for the ideas and comments.

Now let's move on to BBQ Grills, any input on Napoleon Oasis Modulars?

[Letran]

Update

Outdoor Shower
I brought in a plumber friend to do the job and suggested this
http://eaglemountainproducts24.blogspot.ca/
It allows for Hot & Cold control from the outside. Been very useful cleaning with hot water in the backyard

I also laid down pond membrane/liner under the deck below the shower to collect the water and dug out a weeping tile to direct the drainage away from the tub/house

Towel Warmer
Had a GFCI outlet installed near the tub. (5ft away) If I choose to do so i'll plug in a heating pad. That should work well. We have been having a heat wave here in T.O. so I couldn't try it out.

BBQ
I went with Napoleon Oasis Built-in Outdoor kitchen