Joanne McSporran, Read Island BC

We installed our tub by the ocean on a remote island 1 year ago. We were advised by neighbours (seems this island has as many alumitubs as personal sawmills) as to location, ie where will any smoke blow? avoid blowing smoke toward sitting areas or windows (not much smoke anyway except at start up), situate where you have a great view of the stars. In our case, the ocean too. Now the plug for having a tub. If you are planning on building a home or cabin, put the tub in FIRST. I didn’t think I would be thrilled with it. It seemed like a bit of foolish extravagance. But day after a day of doing major repairs to our cabin, living in a construction zone with none of the usual comforts, like a place to cook, we found a soak in the tub before bed to be absolute heaven. My husband even discovered that he could use the fire of the tub to cook smokies for dinner. Hot food! on a cold rainy night. It’s usually not a daytime thing for us. We work hard all day. But in the evening whether pouring rain, silent fog, full moon or a million stars, listening to the creatures in the ocean and feeling the wind, smelling the trees, It’s all good. And comfortable enough to stay outside and come in feeling content and ready for bed. So, make the project fun by treating yourself to the hot tub first. After that everything else is tolerable