Changing Our House: The Homesteading Wash Tub

I’m always up to something when it comes to improving the homestead. This includes altering features of the house to better serve our purposes. She does laundry by hand, so that means making a space for her to do that easily. Coincidentally I use the same area to handle the culling and processing of our animals, so the homesteading wash tub will do double duty.

Why Add a Homesteading Wash Tub

In this particular case, improvement means installing a bathtub in the laundry room. This replaces the washer and dryer which we sold long ago. Both machines are energy-intensive, so the decision to sell them was an easy one.

Installation Process

Back to the homesteading wash tub. Installation proved to be rather tricky as I had to custom build a sturdy platform to handle the weight. It also needed to be at a comfortable working height for both of us while not interfering with the features of the laundry room too much. I did eventually have to cover an electrical outlet with the tub, but I managed to avoid any other issues. Don’t worry, I did it safely! 

Setting Up

Here’s how the build went. I had to measure and mark off an area for the placement of the tub and do some basic math to ensure everything would fit well. The chalk outline allowed me to easily visualize the space it would take up. It also gave me the general size of pieces I was going to be looking for and allowed me to consult sizing and spacing with my wife.

Now it was time to raid the “boneyard” (a term for my collection of all the random pieces of wood, hardware, and broken pieces of whatever happens to be potentially useful) for what I had on hand and then to sit down and draw out some plans to figure out what else might be needed. Luckily, I had everything minus two 2×4’s for reinforcement. To be honest, I did have suitable pieces, but they were still attached to pallets and buried under at least 6 more pallets. I opted to go ahead and buy some at the local small-town hardware store near us instead since this was a time-sensitive install.

Building The Homestead Wash Tub

Now I needed to cut the legs and make sure they were in place for the top once I cut it down to size. I used my battery-powered handheld circular saw and drill to do the majority of the work. Since I haven’t converted the shed to my workshop yet, so my truck bed usually serves as my basic cutting workbench. This means my building ability is dictated by the weather.

Once I cut the top to size it was time to reinforce the legs and secure them with bracing to give some added strength. Then flip the whole thing over and test its construction and fit. Since she opted for some extra “tabletop” and a lip in front of the tub to place various things while washing, the legs don’t line up with the cantilevered edge. 

Finally, it was time to paint the whole top for waterproofing. I used some spare exterior white paint someone gave me after redoing their house. Once the paint dried, she helped me lift the homesteading wash tub in place so I could finish the installation. 

With the tub in place, I just needed to drill a hole through the support. This allowed me to place the drain and caulk it to the wall.

Interested in hearing more from the homestead? Join our email list below!