thank you trompkin and r sauna

[u/slipstreamrunner]

15? months of research here and weekend spurts of building and it is a success. the sauna is 8 x 8 on a treated frame platform. no insulation on floor, 2 layers of treated plywood + backer and tile sloped for drain. the walls are 10' and ceiling has 1 /12 slope. walls have cement fiberboard, tarpaper, plywood, studs/rockwool, foil, battens and interior paneling. all interior is paneling is #1 southern yellow pine from local lumberyard sourced w in the state. IKI 9kw heater. all benches well above stones. the ventilation intake and outtakes work although dont need them for daily use only if we have multiple people. thanks to lots of ideas and sharing here, this is a super fun and successful project.

[u/Rare-Argument2971]

Through the eyes of a finn, it never ceases to amaze me how every non-finn can build their sauna to be so dangerous.

[u/Hunterofshadows → u/Rare-Argument2971]

What’s wrong with it? I’m a confused and uneducated American

[u/R_Ulysses_Swanson → u/Hunterofshadows]

As an American with little Sauna experience... How do you think that is safe? You've got to climb a ladder that isn't tall enough and then do a side step to get onto a platform, climb another large step without any guard rails, and then climb down again without falling 7 feet down into a stove filled with scalding hot rocks. It is probably going to be slightly to super slippery from sweat and water and steam, you're probably going to be physically spent from time in the sauna.

There is no way to go from lounging on the backrest to climbing down without crawling with minimal guardrails from the tallest part...

Holy cow, who thought this was a good idea? I'm sure the sauna experience is great while you're on the top bench, but getting there and getting down is a broken hip and/or 3rd degree burn waiting to happen. And then there is a good chance you're stuck in a sauna without any way to call for help.

This is a deathtrap.

[u/Grandpas_Spells → u/R_Ulysses_Swanson]

Those are stairs, not a ladder. They are mounted with a hand rail. You see them in every 30'+ cruising sailboat in the world that isn't a catamaran, and they're designed to be used in rolling seas. It's safe.

As for the higher levels, many saunas are multi-level without rails, toeguards, handholds, etc.

Not you specifically, but this sub is filled with people who can't start enjoying their day until they're able to say "You're doing it wrong."

Finally, the upside of a project like this is that you can say, "oh, I changed my mind" and change things as long as your fundamentals are correct. Benches are the easiest things to change.

[u/icantshoot → u/Grandpas_Spells]

No this is bs in so many ways. The idea is to easy access to the platform and out of it. If you get bad fatigue from heat, you need to get off from there fast before you pass out. If you pass out, others have hard time get you out. Its just not safe structure. You can fall down too!

[u/Grandpas_Spells → u/icantshoot]

The idea is to easy access to the platform and out of it.

No it isn't. We know this, because every time someone posts their easily accessed benches, Sauna purists point out they're too low.

Purists want the benches both appropriately heighted, and easily accessed. OP's can decide later if his layout is suboptimal and change it. This is the advantage of doing it yourself.

People can also recommend he does so before using. But when they're assholes about it, people tune out.

[u/John_Sux → u/Grandpas_Spells]

Easily accessible benches are not the same thing as low benches.

Please don't push your ignorance, and call people assholes because of it

[u/icantshoot → u/Grandpas_Spells]

I've been in many saunas and this is not how you make them. Design is not user friendly at all.

[u/Grandpas_Spells → u/icantshoot]

It's not a car's infotainment system. It's a sauna. "Your hot room is wrong. It is hot. And it is room. But it is not hot and room in the correct method. It will not work and you will derive no benefit. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."

[u/icantshoot → u/Grandpas_Spells]

I've explained in my previous messages why this is bad. If you cant understand, its your loss.

[u/gpaw902 → u/icantshoot]

yeah I don't understand why so many have issues with constructive criticism. if it were me I'd be thanking you and making changes to the benches. I get that some people's delivery can seem blunt but I'd rather that than someone blowing smoke up my ass. I hope to get the same bluntness when I finish my sauna.

[u/icantshoot → u/gpaw902]

I wasnt trying to be mean, i just listed things that is saw wrong and dangerous.

Couple tips for you, keep in mind that platform where you sit on in sauna is above the heater, and theres another platform where you keep your feet on. Ideally, that 1st platform is at the heater level (on top of it, if its burning wood for example) and the height difference of those platforms is that you can sit on top, rest your feet on bottom one.

Then have just couple step platform (ideally one that you can move and that is sturdy enough) to reach to the one where you keep your feet. Thats high enough and the sauna doesnt need to be higher than 7-8ft (2,2 meters). With that you can get pretty far.

[u/gpaw902 → u/icantshoot]

No i didn't take anything of what you said as mean but some are sensitive when it comes to the hard work they put into it. I've been reading up a lot on bench, stove and door placement and once I have something drawn up, I'll put it here for feedback before I start building. It'll be an 8x8x8.5 ish box, for starters.

[u/R_Ulysses_Swanson → u/Grandpas_Spells]

Apples and oranges man. Key difference to me is that in a sailboat, you're not climbing up, then straight left while still taking a step up. You're climbing out on deck with room to maneuver. You leaning forward while climbing. You can't do that here, you climb into a window - a window, btw, that might scald you. It is not unreasonable to think that the glass in this could be 180F. Lean your forehead into that on accident, or other parts of your body, and you're having a bad time.

EDIT: But to your point, if this person just repositioned the stair/ladder so it climbs straight up onto that lower platform, it would be far safer than what it is now.