Hot tubs are nice. Cold plunges are… invigorating? But a hot tub and a cold plunge? That’s the kind of backyard extravagance that screams, “I’ve made it,” or perhaps, “I’ve watched one too many wellness influencers on TikTok.” This week on Building Outside the Lines, a family’s mundane backyard gets a serious upgrade, courtesy of our father-daughter building duo.
Jared “Cappie” Capp and his daughter are tasked with converting a steel tank into the ultimate yin and yang experience: a combined hot tub and cold plunge. Because why settle for one temperature extreme when you can have both? The episode chronicles the transformation of this unremarkable outdoor space into a relaxation destination – or at least, a place to alternate between sweating and shivering.
Building Outside the Lines generally focuses on creative building and design, repurposing everyday items into functional (and sometimes questionable) works of art. This hot tub/cold plunge project certainly fits the bill. While the practical applications of a simultaneous hot and cold soak might be debatable, the sheer audacity of the concept is undeniably entertaining.
We’ll see if the execution lives up to the ambition. One can only imagine the engineering challenges involved in creating such a contraption. Will the tank hold? Will the temperature differential create some sort of backyard vortex? Only time will tell if they’ll need to call in a hazmat team to deal with some chemical reaction gone awry.
Beyond the practicalities, there’s something about the father-daughter dynamic at the heart of Building Outside the Lines that elevates the proceedings beyond mere home improvement. There’s often a genuine warmth to their interactions, even when faced with the most convoluted construction challenges – or when dealing with hot and cold running water. Theirs is a partnership based in mutual respect and a shared love of turning discarded trash into backyard treasure.
Building Outside the Lines airs Thursday, January 16th at 7 p.m. on Magnolia.