What is a sauna?
Before we get into this topic in more detail, I would like to clarify one thing about authentic sauna.
Infrared rooms or steam rooms are not authentic sauna.
A sauna is a place where you relax and let your body enjoy the heat and moisture. Authentic sauna also have several health benefits such as lowering stress and decreasing blood pressure just to mention a few.
The heart of authentic sauna is the heater. It can be either a wood burning heater or an electric one. In the last 10 years there has been a major development in heaters. The volume of sauna rocks placed in a heater has increased dramatically. Currently, all the modern electric or “net” structured heaters have a minimum of 180 lbs. of sauna rocks. This high volume of rocks means more soft heat and more moisture.
Another important part of authentic sauna is of course the sauna room itself. It can be placed inside of your home or it can be a standalone building in your backyard. In order to have an energy efficient sauna, it needs to be insulated correctly, both the walls and, especially, the ceiling. Also, there needs to be proper ventilation for both getting fresh air inside but also letting air go out. If the ventilation does not work, your sauna experience is not going to be very pleasant because you would lack fresh air circulation.
Also, it is very important to follow a few basic measurements in the design of your sauna. First, your upper sauna bench should be around 44-48 inches from the finished ceiling and your foot bench should be 18 inches below your upper bench. Second, the overall inside height of your sauna room should be designed so that the top of your sauna heater is situated slightly below the height of your foot bench. This way all the warm air will be located where you are sitting and you will not get “a cold draft” feeling use either “on” or “at” your feet.
Therefore, my suggestion for people who are thinking about building an authentic sauna in their backyard, for example, if you do not want to consider for example a barrell sauna, is to ask a local builder to either build you a 2′ by 4′ frame (minimum) or build a log sauna. You can choose your roof material (tile, metal or bitumen) and then do the insulation and the panel work. We can then offer you just the right electric or wood fired sauna heater for your sauna and, if requested, also offer custom made sauna benches. When you build your sauna this way, we guarantee that you will enjoy your authentic sauna for decades.
Send us an email or call us, and we would love to help you in your sauna plans.
Petri
Owner of Sauna America
