How They Pulled It Off: A Hot Tub Built Into a Boulder

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

With a hot tub built into a boulder, Tyler Quinn’s Joshua Tree project is the stuff dreams are made of. Situated in a fairly remote location in the desert, the modern take on a southwestern-style home is impressive on its face; it’s even more so when you learn that the six-year off-the-grid project was Quinn’s very first build.

When people think of deserts, they think of heat. Quinn, who’d previously done stints working in film production and as a furniture maker in Los Angeles, says they don’t consider that the dessert actually gets cold and windy, too. "After living on the property for three years in a trailer, I found myself wanting a retreat from the cold more often than the heat, and I always knew I wanted a hot tub. It allows you to revel under the stars on a cold night when you wouldn't otherwise find yourself stargazing comfortably," Quinn says, explaining that this direction just made sense. "I frowned at the idea of a fiberglass spaceship, never cared much for jets, and wondered how I could create a soaking tub with natural materials."  

The tub, which looks like a mirage you’d stumble upon while wandering the landscape, was built right into the bed rock next to the house. Here’s how Quinn made it work.

How They Pulled It Off: A Hot Tub Built Into a Boulder  

• "I had a shape in mind for the tub so I started by scoring an eight-foot circle into the boulder as the boundary to work within, and would crosshatch in a checkerboard pattern across the circle one layer at a time," Quinn says. 

• "I accomplished this with a concrete saw, with my cuts about four to six inches deep. I would then remove the entire layer of granite with hand tools; chisels and hammer."

• But why didn’t he use just demo hammers or other power tools? "One, I felt I had a much better shot at controlling unwanted fracturing or cracking in the stone by swinging a hammer in hand, doing it one piece at a time," Quinn says. "Two, a demo hammer would have created a pile of useless rubble, and in this case I was able to treat the boulder like a quarry and turn the material into a granite block." 

• Getting the water in the tub is easier than it might seem. "The water comes from the well on the property, and is filtered and pumped through a propane heater," Quinn says. "The pump is a wonderful variable speed which allows me to sustain a low energy draw. Piping is simply plumbed over the rim of the tub!"

Quinn also put the rock he quarried from the hot tub to great use. "With the help of friend and local mason Jean Michael, we turned the block into granite tiles for my kitchen, and it’s probably one of the most gratifying pieces of the house," he says. 

But the hot tub is one of the most notable pieces of the whole property. "I’ve often thought after I’m long gone and my house may have burned down in a brush fire, this soaking tub will still be catching rainwater and the animals will savor a drink from it." 

Top photo by Justin Chung

Project Credits:

Architect: Drift Studio

Builders: Tyler Quinn, George Armstrong

Tradesmen: Tim Pinar, Steven Talian, Greg Robinson, Ryan Drobatz, Dan Tarro, Nick Oshlick, Jean Michael Wilson

Boulder Tub: Tyler Quinn

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