Although acrylic spas are by far more prevalent today than wooden hot tubs, it was the wooden hot tub that began the experience of social bathing in America. Whether to purchase an acrylic spa or a wooden hot tub depends mostly on personal preference and each individual situation.

There are however many reasons for choosing a wooden tub over a plastic spa.
Because they are assembled on site, a wooden hot tub can be carried through any doorway, down stairs or through any other narrow access.  With a spa, you have a large one-piece vessel which can be unwieldy or impossible to move into its final location.

The vertical walls and greater depth of the wooden tub surround the bather with more water than would be found in a spa, so there is a greater effect of buoyancy in the hot tub. In addition, there is typically much more leg room since you can stretch out under the bench, and taller bathers are more comfortably accommodated.

The overall size of the hot tub, depth and diameter, can be customized to fit anything you can imagine. The exact height of the bench, and the location that the jets are installed are exactly as you like.

Because of a wooden hot tub’s greater depth, a smaller diameter hot tub will seat the same number of people as a larger plastic spa. For example, a 5′ round hot tub will seat as many people as a 7′ square spa.

Then there’s the natural rustic look of a traditional wooden hot tub. From an aesthetic point of view, nothing matches the appearance of a wooden tub.

Thickness of Wood – Roberts Hot Tubs Western Red Cedar and Alaskan Yellow Cedar hot tubs have a finished thickness of 1-3/4″. While all hot tubs are constructed of what’s commonly called 2×6, other hot tubs frequently have a finished thickness up to 1/2″ thinner. Thicker wood provides more stability, less warping, more insulating value and a longer life.

Round vs. Flat Bands – Roberts Hot Tubs use bands made of 1/2″ cold rolled circular steel with a tinsel strength of 10,000 pounds. The bands are polyethylene coated and held together with solid steel lugs and stainless steel nuts to eliminate corrosion.

Flat bands, though quite attractive, greatly shorten the life of a hot tub. Water accumulating under a flat band can cause pockets of dry rot in as little as five years.

Bench Design – The unique bench design of Roberts Hot Tubs is completely supported from the side of the hot tub. Because the bench has no legs you can stretch out in comfort without the possibility of stubbing your toes or entangling your feet. The bench can be installed at the height of your choosing, or split into multiple heights to accommodate different people.

Quality & Power of Equipment – Roberts Hot Tubs uses “pool grade” equipment rather than under-powered or discontinued spa equipment.

Thicker & Better Insulated Covers – Roberts Hot Tubs was the first to design and implement the use of a 6″ thick tapered insulating cover with an insulating seal along the entire hinge.

These covers, that come with every complete hot tub system, have an insulation value of R-21 and provide up to 60% more insulation value than the “normal” spa cover.

Precision Manufacturing Process Makes for Easy Assembly – Technological advances in computer aided milling makes Roberts Hot Tubs easy to assemble. Proprietary manufacturing equipment produces allowable tolerances of less than 3/1000 of an inch.

This insurers that there’s no need to shave or alter the finished staves. It also eliminates searching through stacks of uneven staves trying to find one with the right specs so that you can finish assembling the hot tub.

Tub Bottoms – Our tub bottoms are thicker than most standard hot tubs which allows for better insulation, less chance of warping and prolongs the life of your hot tub. In addition, we computer stamp the exact placement of each stave on the bottom of the tub so you’ll get a perfect fit every time.

Tongue & Groove Staves, Not Ball/Socket or Flat Sided – Roberts Hot Tubs uses tongue and groove on the edge of our staves, while many tub manufacturers use cheaper and less precise methods of holding their staves in place.

It takes more time, patience and skill based on the numerous diameters of tubs requiring different angles on the sides of the staves, but it allows for better surface contact, a smoother finish and easier assembly. As an added benefit, the staves are self aligning and eliminates staves from splintering due to thin edges.

Strong Chine Joists – Roberts Hot Tubs sit on strong 4″ x 6″ chine joists rather than standard 4″ x 4″ chine joists. It would cost less to use 4 x 4’s, but the bottom edge of the tub would be so close to the ground that it could easily collect dirt and debris that could prematurely promote dry rot.

4″ x 6″ chine joists lift the tub high enough to allow for optimum air circulation and gives the tub additional ground clearance. The additional height also allows enough room to install a drain fitting in the floor so that when you do need to drain your tub, all of the water will drain out.

The bottoms of Roberts Hot Tubs are so thick that only 3 chine joists are required on tubs up to 6′ in diameter for proper support. Using 3 chine joists instead of the normal 4 or 5 makes installing and leveling your tub easier and faster.

Hot Water Hydrotherapy provides both physical and mental benefits for a wide range of aliments, injuries and good health in general. Hot Water Hydrotherapy is best described as the medicinal use of hot water for positive health benefits.

These health benefits come from the mechanical and thermal effects of water interacting with the body. Soaking in a hot tub improves circulation, and when properly equipped, can provide a powerful and soothing massaging effect on sore muscles and aching joints.

Stress is often the underlying factor of many ailments and a good long soak in a hot tub can do wonders for your mental and physical well being.

Unlike the limitations of plastic and acrylic spas, you can personalize the jets in a wood hot tub anywhere you want. We can concentrate the installation of the powerful jets to better suit your personal needs.

Whether it’s your legs and feet, your back or your neck and shoulders, you have the option of focusing on specific areas of your body or your entire body in general.