Finnish Sauna: Building advice

Building Your own sauna

There are many ways to build a sauna. Many companies offer easy kits that can be set up with relative ease into your apartment bathroom. At the other end of the scale, you may decide to build a sauna cottage from hand sawed timber, using stones that you gather from a nearby stream to make your heater.

To give you some idea of the possible variations on the theme, there are saunas built into vans and onto floating barges. There have been tent saunas large enough for a hundred bathers during record breaking attempts. Finnish UN peace keeping forces routinely build a saunas in their permanent camps. The potential is limited only by the skills and ingeniosity of the builder.

The heat and moisture make building a sauna a little more demanding than adding an extra sleeping room into your attic. If you are lucky to live near a sauna manufacturer, discuss your plans with them. You may also contact other of manufacturers and ask for brochures. Even if you decide not to buy their kits, you will have a better understanding on sauna construction.

For detailed advice on building saunas, visit Kalle's building FAQ, he is much more experienced than I am.

A five star sauna

There is quite a difference between building a sauna and building a great sauna. Pekka Tommila gives you tips on building the five star sauna.

Once you have a sauna of your own, take good care of it. Depending on how often you use it, you should clean the sauna once or twice a year.

More assistance

If you can't find what you are looking for, there are several books on sauna that might help. You can also get in touch with a sauna association in your area and ask for assistance.

Hometime show how to install a sauna in a bathroom. Their expertise in building and materials is way better than mine. They do a panel-built and a log cabin sauna and show how to install one in your bathroom.