Episode 3: Mindwarp

The Tardis Base

Materials List
2 x 4 x8
screws
48 x 48 x 1/2 plywood
48 x 3 x 1/2 filler wood
various scrapes for support

The base is 56"x 56".  Once the 2x4 is measured, it helps to sketch the angle of the cut so you don't end up with parallel ends that won't frame up.  Cut 45 degree angle on ends.  Angle the rip saw to cut the upper face of the 2 x 4 to soften the edge.  I used 60 degrees and left an inch on the bottom of the angle.  Then use the rip saw with the blade lowered to create a lip for the plywood to sit in.

I used scrap wood from other projects and secured them randomly underneath the base to support the plywood.  But I will have another piece of plywood on top of this base and then tongue-and-groove wood on top of that for the sauna floor.  There will be enough support for my 200# bod.

Floor support

The finished base

Paint it Tardis Blue.


Episode 4:  The posts and walls get built.

Episode 2: Inferno

DIY Sauna:  Everything you need to know to plan your own
Frequent Sauna Questions

Inside or outside?  Definitely outside.
Electric?  Easier and cleaner.
Cedar or Pine?  Ooof!  I like the smell of cedar but it is $13 versus $4.87 for pine.  Cost wins, however, I bought some cedar boards for the flooring and redwood for the seat.  Since when is the Doctor not eclectic?

Description  I scouted out options and located ground zero near the electrical supply and an outlet.  I want to have a functional light on top and inside.  After moving the rhubarb and the irises I somewhat leveled the ground with a flat shovel and used brick pavers placed on top of a bed of gravel (app. 1 inch deep).  The area measures 63" x 62"  I spread sandbox sand over the pavers and swept it into the cracks.  The Idaho Highway Department has an area just outside of town that they use to store excess gravel.  I collected it from there as I only needed a small area and the day I got this Tardis bug the gravel company was closed.

Materials List
54 Pavers
gravel
sand

Tools
Shovels
Buckets

Episode 1: Genesis 1.0

The story is quite simple.  I was in a toy store in Columbus, Ohio and saw a stage prop that the owners purchased to display some of their toys.  We loved it!  I thought "Why can't I build a sturdier version for myself?"  Months passed but the idea did not.  It simmered.

I decided that a Tardis should be gifted - the Doctor wouldn't just abandon it or send it into the void and my wife, Lynnet, would love a Tardis for her birthday, on June 27.  It was decided.  I would build it while she was on holiday in Costa Rica for Desmond and Dylan (my children).

After seeing various images from Tardis Builders.com, I thought a "shed" was too mundane, and most end up storing shovels and other implements of garden destruction.  I want to enter the Tardis with my spouse and warp time and space and a "wet/dry" sauna would certainly do that!

There you have it - a Tardis sauna.

I researched different styles of Tardis' as it has regenerated as often as the Doctor.  My favorite Dr. Who was Tom Baker, as he was my PBS high school buddy.  The Tardis from this era is known as the Newberry prop.

I nipped some pictures to also follow but then realized later that they were the Tom Yardley-Jones prop which came later.  So I began the project with a mixture of the two and then later corrected it to reflect the Newberry Prop.

Tom Baker is shown in the Tom Yardley-Jones Tardis.

    

Here is a comparison of the two related Tardis'.  There are subtle differences:  color of the "Police Box" sign,  the angle of the roof, the way the roof is attached, etc.  I also used some basic plans, but recognized that they did not jive necessarily with the construction materials I had available at Home Depot.

Episode 2:  The Base