Los Angeles · Sauna Builder Services
Cedar Tub Install
Hand-built western red cedar soaking tubs and Japanese-style ofuro, electric or wood-fired, with fitted insulated covers and low-chemical water treatment.
Cedar Tub Install · Los Angeles
Cedar Tub Install Done Right
A cedar tub is what a hot tub was before acrylic. Staves of clear western red cedar drawn tight with steel bands, deep enough to sit in up to your shoulders, heated electrically or by an integrated wood-fired stove. We build traditional round and oval soaking tubs and Japanese-style ofuro, the tall square tubs designed for sitting upright rather than reclining, which use less water and fit spaces a conventional spa cannot. Every tub ships with a fitted insulated cedar tub cover, because an uncovered tub in a Los Angeles summer loses heat and gains debris fast, and the cover is what keeps the running cost sensible. We install indoors and out, deck-mounted or sunken, and we handle the pad, the plumbing, the dedicated circuit and the permit. Water treatment runs on ozone and UV so the cedar keeps smelling like cedar rather than a swimming pool.
How We Work
From the first design consult to the first löyly, one project manager runs your build.
1. Tub style, size and site walk
Round, oval or Japanese-style ofuro. Two-person up to eight. We show real cedar grade samples, talk through electric versus wood-fired, and walk the site to fix dimensions, access, plumbing routing and where the equipment will live.
2. Base, plumbing and electrical
Concrete pad, reinforced deck or interior subfloor reinforcement, because a filled tub is heavy and the base has to be right. Then the dedicated 240V circuit, supply, drain and overflow plumbing, and the flue for wood-fired models. Permits pulled.
3. Cedar build, equipment and first fill
Staves assembled and banded on site, bench and step package fitted, heater or stove installed with the ozonator and UV sanitiser, insulated cover made to the tub. We run the first fill and swell cycle and hand over the water treatment kit and a maintenance schedule.
When You Need Cedar Tub Install
A cedar tub is the right choice when:
- You want wood rather than acrylic. Cedar looks and smells like nothing else, and it ages into something better rather than yellowing.
- Space is tight. A Japanese ofuro is deep and narrow, seats you upright and fits courtyards, side returns and small decks where a conventional spa will not go.
- You want wood-fired heat. An integrated stove heats the water directly, needs no electrical service and is genuinely enjoyable to run.
- You are building a sauna too. Combining a hot tub install with a sauna build shares the permit, the trench and the design, and costs meaningfully less than two separate projects.
- Chemicals bother you. Ozone and UV sanitation cut chlorine to a fraction of a standard spa, which matters more in a wooden tub than a plastic one.
- You want it to last. A properly built and covered cedar tub runs for decades. Staves are replaceable individually, which no moulded shell can offer.
Send photos of the deck or yard and we will come back with a layout and a flat-rate number. Call: (818) 873-4902
What Affects the Cost of Cedar Tub Install
Cedar tub pricing follows size, heat source and how much base work the site needs:
- Size and style. A two to four person soaking tub is the entry point. Japanese ofuro sit in the middle. Six to eight person tubs are the top.
- Cedar grade. Standard western red cedar is the default. Clear vertical-grain cedar, with no knots and far better stability, is the premium upgrade.
- Heat source. Electric is simplest. A wood-fired stove costs less to run and adds a flue, clearances and a burn permit check.
- Base work. An existing rated deck or slab is cheap to work on. Pouring a pad or reinforcing a deck to take the filled weight is a real line item.
- Plumbing distance. How far supply and drain have to run, and whether the route crosses hardscape.
- Cover and extras. A fitted insulated cedar tub cover is included as standard. Steps, surrounds, lighting, hydro jets and a cover lift are additions.
Flat-rate quote after the site walk, with cedar, equipment, plumbing, permit, cover and first fill all included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do cedar tubs leak?
Not once they have swelled. A cedar tub works like a barrel: the staves absorb water, expand and lock tight against the steel bands. There is normally some weeping during the first fill, which stops within a day or two as the wood takes up. Filled within about thirty days of assembly and kept full afterwards, a properly built tub stays watertight for decades. The one thing to avoid is leaving it empty and dry for months, which lets the staves shrink.
What is a Japanese soaking tub and how is it different?
A Japanese ofuro is deeper and smaller in plan than a Western tub, designed for sitting upright and immersed to the shoulders rather than reclining. It uses less water for a deeper soak, fits into much tighter spaces, and is traditionally used after washing rather than instead of it. We build them in cedar and in hinoki-style profiles, indoors and out, for one or two bathers.
Why does the cover matter so much?
Because heat loss through the surface is where nearly all the running cost goes. An insulated, well-fitted cedar tub cover cuts standby heating dramatically, keeps leaves and dust out, and slows evaporation, which in turn keeps the water chemistry stable. We build the cover to the tub rather than buying a generic one, so it actually seals.
How much water maintenance does a cedar tub need?
Less than a conventional spa. Ozone and UV do most of the sanitising, so chemical dosing is a fraction of what a chlorinated tub needs. Practically it is a weekly water check, a monthly filter rinse and a drain and refill a few times a year. Around ten minutes a week. Heavy chlorine is actively bad for cedar, so keeping the chemical load low is both easier and better for the tub.
Can a cedar tub go indoors?
Yes, with three conditions. The floor has to be rated for the filled weight, which usually means reinforcing a timber subfloor. The room needs waterproof flooring and a drain or sump. And it needs proper ventilation, because a tub indoors puts a lot of humidity into the house. We handle all three as part of the install.
Sauna projects rarely stay in one lane. Homeowners who come to us for cedar tub install often fold Cold Plunge Install or Sauna Kit Assembly into the same build, and Sauna Installation is a common follow-up a year or two down the line. Keeping all of it on one permit and one flat-rate quote from a custom sauna builder costs considerably less than running each piece as a separate job. Call: (818) 873-4902
Planning a sauna build in Los Angeles?
Tell us about your space and what you're imagining and we'll send a 3D concept and a flat-rate quote within a few business days. Free estimate, no obligation.
Or call us now: (818) 873-4902