Build no. 6 · for private homes

A teak cold tub with a white liner, adult proportions and not a hoop in sight

The wooden tub for a private home: honey-toned teak on the outside, a smooth white fibreglass liner that shows above the waterline, no metal bands to rust in sea air and room for a tall adult to sit with shoulders under. It is chilled by a unit you do not see and closed by a lid that fits.

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Oval cold tub clad in teak staves with a smooth white fibreglass liner visible above the water, on a shaded deck beside a villa pool on Koh Samui

Shapesoval 420 L, round 520 L, double 800 L

Outsideteak staves, oiled or left to weather silver

Insidewhite fibreglass liner with a smooth finish, visible above the water

Hardwareno metal hoops or bands

Cooling1⁠-⁠4 HP chiller out of sight, sized from the litres

RangeTHB 245⁠-⁠350k (round, with chiller) to THB 425⁠-⁠640k (double, with chiller)

WarrantyTwo years, then a further year of assisted service visits

Why a teak shell, and why a liner inside it

Teak is dense, oily and slow to rot, which is why boatbuilders and Thai joiners have used it for centuries. A tub still has to hold water, so the staves wrap a smooth white fibreglass liner that does the sealing and gives the water a clean, easy-to-wipe face. Seeing white above the waterline is also the quickest honest check of cleanliness: if the rim is white, the tub is fine. There are no metal bands anywhere, because stainless corrodes slowly in sea air and mild steel does not wait.

Proportions that suit a grown man

Tub	Water	Sits	Chiller	Tub only	Tub plus chiller
Oval	420 L	one adult, shoulders under	2 HP	THB 120⁠-⁠175k	THB 260⁠-⁠380k
Round	520 L	one adult, or a close pair	2 HP	THB 105⁠-⁠145k	THB 245⁠-⁠350k
Double	800 L	two adults	4 HP	THB 205⁠-⁠310k	THB 425⁠-⁠640k

Small tubs feel good for about a week and then feel cramped. We draw the tub around the tallest person who will use it, with a seat height and an internal depth that let the water reach the collarbone. The 250 litre solo shape lives under ice bath tubs if space is the limit.

A woman chest-deep in the teak and white cold tub on a shaded deck, eyes closed — The white inner rim is part of the design: it shows the waterline, and it shows when it is time to wipe.

Teak, thermally modified timber or cedar for the outside

Teak is our default for a tub that lives outdoors in humidity; thermally modified timber (the Thermo-D durability class) is the alternative when you want a darker, uniform colour; cedar suits sheltered interiors and is less forgiving in a monsoon. The trade-offs, with maintenance, are in teak or thermowood for a cold tub.

Where to stand it

Shade first. A tub in afternoon sun fights the chiller all day; a pergola, a roof edge or a tree decides more than horsepower.
A level base. A full 520 litre tub weighs about half a tonne of water plus the tub itself, so the deck framing or slab is checked, not assumed.
A drain within reach. Emptying 500 litres through a garden hose onto a lawn is a one-time adventure.
A short pipe run. Keep the chiller within a few metres so the lagged lines stay short and the heat gain small.

A tub or a plunge pool?

If more than a household will use it, or the tub is the amenity in a rental, a built-in cold plunge pool is the better answer: more water, a proper edge and a hygiene routine that matches the traffic. A tub is private by design. That is also why this page carries no commercial specifications.

A lid that fits, and why it matters in Thailand

The lid is half the insulation. A tub left open in tropical sun gains heat all day and collects rain and blossom; a fitted, insulated lid keeps the heat out, the debris out and the water clean, and a latch keeps a curious child or pet out as well. We build the lid to the tub's exact shape and put a handle where a tired adult can reach it.

What care looks like in a wet climate

Teak outdoors turns silver-grey if left alone; some owners love that, others oil it once a year to keep the honey colour. Wipe the white liner when you change the water, keep the lid shut and let the chiller run on its timer. Anything beyond that is covered in the first-year service visit that comes with every build.

Why is there a white liner inside a wooden tub?

Wood alone will not stay watertight or clean. The liner seals, resists staining and makes the water easy to keep clear; the teak provides the outside, the warmth and the proportions.

Do the staves need metal hoops?

Ours do not use them. The tub is built around its shell, which also removes the corrosion point that rusts first in salt air.

How long does the chiller take to cool the water?

From a warm start of about 29 °C, a 520 litre tub needs to lose around 15 kWh of heat, so plan an overnight run and a timer. After that it only has to hold the temperature.

Can we use it with guests in a rental villa?

We build it for private homes. A rental has more users, more turnover and different hygiene duties; for that, the villa developer page shows the pool route.

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