How to build a Sauna

If you’ve ever dreamed of building your own sauna then it might be more affordable then you would imagine. You don’t have to be a builder to put together your own sauna either. Building a sauna is easy if you use a do it yourself sauna kit. All it takes is finding the right sauna for you and then buying the kit. If you’ve ever been to IKEA and you managed to put together their furniture then you shouldn’t have any problems. It’s just a matter of following the plans!

If you think using a sauna kit is cheating and you have a little more hands on experience then you might try searching for a book called ‘Sweat’. You should be able to find the site which is selling this book (it’s out of print and the website has the rights to the book). It includes about 60 pages of information about how to build your own very own Finnish sauna, American Indian sweat lodge or a private bathing cubicle. The build your own section is available for about $20 (+$3 handling and shipping). If you want you can just send a cheque to:

Cyberbohemia
attention: Mikkel Aaland
539 Greenwich Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

The how to build a sauna section shows you most of the basics and few advanced techniques as well us some preliminary considerations, like whether or not to use electric, gas, or a wood burning stove when you are building your sauna. This would all depend of course on the country you lived in, what sort of wood you had available to you.

Some other considerations you will need to take into account when you are planning on building a sauna:

- An entrance room, or a place where you can undress or dress (this can even be a small verandah on the front of your sauna if it is outdoors).
- The choice of wood, and what you want the design of it to look like.
- The size of the sauna or the room you want to put it in – layout is very important.
- Is your Sauna going to have a wash room? If so, how will you get hot water to the room?

The most important consideration when you are building a sauna is the location of the sauna room. The perfect spot for a sauna is near a bathtub, pool, lake, river or ocean. If you don’t have the luxury of any of these options then near your shower will do. It’s common practice to have a cold shower, or cold bath after sauna. In some countries, people all rub ice or snow on their skin before getting back in the sauna.

The best advice for building a sauna though is to always consult with a professional. While you may be able to get lots of great advice from ‘Sweat’ or online sites, we would recommend that you get a professional sauna builder (or retailer) to visit your premises and help you decide on the best option for your sauna). There are so many different options now day and so many different ways that you can tackle the task of building a sauna that you will want to look at all your options to make sure you make the most effective decisions when installing your sauna.

If you do decide to go it on your own, you should visit this site:

http://www.kalle.com/sauna_faq.html

It’s kind of difficult to navigate, but if you really need to find out information about how to build a sauna then you should be able to find information here without any worries.

Some of the more common questions are things like: what type of wood can be used when building a sauna? Well you have a few different options for wood when you start design your sauna. (These are the recommended types of woods, you can try your own).

Hemlock is nice if you want a light sauna, Aspen is good if you don’t like the Cedar of aroma, Redwood is also good but it tends to get dirty with regular use. The favorite choice of the wood the world over is Red Cedar because of the shades and smell.

What you should avoid is hard woods or sap bearing woods because then can spoil under high temperatures. When making final selection of woods makes sure that they have been kiln dried. All of the joints in the sauna should be t & g for an airtight fit.

As far as how you arrange the timber, it’s up to you. Vertical or Horizontal techniques are both used, but more often then not people will use a vertical configuration. You should consider that vertical is more popular and therefore more attractive to buyers if you ever have to sell your house.

Mounting the heater in the sauna is a relatively easy affair. You should always get a proper electrician to install the electrical wiring for your sauna. Once they are connected your sauna stove, it’s usually just a matter of mounting the heater on the brackets that are provided. You should also make sure the brackets are drilled into something solid, not just the timber as they will be supporting the weight of the sauna and also the stones.

Likewise you have to make sure you use proper insulation so that your existing drywalls don’t absorb any of the moisture from the sauna. Get damp in your dry walls can cost a fortune to fix! Foil faced fiberglass insulation for the walls would provide suitable insulation for your sauna.

Remember thought that you sauna isn’t meant to be completely airtight! You’ll still have to breathe inside there. Normally a small gap under the door will be sufficient. Only the cold air will be escaping anyway! About a quarter of an inch is perfect.

You are also going to need to find some sauna rocks (igneous) which are necessary to store heat and provide a source of steam when water is poured over them. Granite is perfect for use in the sauna. Usually, the stones are placed on top of the heater elements.

While the seating, walls and door of your sauna should be made from nice softwood, the floor of your sauna should be waterproof and easy to clean (like in a bath room). A rendered concrete adds a nice rustic effect to a sauna.

So if you are still intent on building your own sauna, you should measure up your room and then contact a sauna company or can give you the right materials. (It’s worth shopping around so you can get quotes on timber from hardware companies and builders). Sometimes sauna companies will be cheaper, other times they will give you a better deal because they have more of the materials available in bulk then your regular hardware store.

If you end up with a sauna kit, you will normally get all the wood you need, suitable flooring that you can add to an existing floor, and benches as well as the door, heater, and vapor barrier. Quite often sauna kits will include extras but at a bare minimum, a sauna kit should include these items.


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