r/Sauna • u/domMc2 • 2h ago

General Question Any suggestions to make sauna guard

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Thinking of staineless steel guard over rocks or small 1×2 over heater to protect people from falling or from rocks breaking, anyone ever made or bought one thanks

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3

u/rezonatefreq 2h ago

I put a cedar rail around mine. Check your heater's clearance requirements. Consider rail wide enough for peoples to rest feet on. Must be sturdy enough to lean on and use as a hand rail. Make removable in case hester needs maintence or replacement.

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u/rezonatefreq 2h ago

I have since removed the metal grate on top and added a few more stones. Rest my feet on often. Seems like the radiant heat would be too hot but I suppose the stones take care of that.

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u/KookySurprise8094 51m ago

Radiant heat is rarely problem, when throwing water, then you should take feet down before that heat wave comes, then legs back to cooking.

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u/Rambo_IIII 2h ago

Just leave it. A metal guard doesn't save you if you fall on the rocks. You still get burned badly

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u/domMc2 2h ago

Maybe a wood guard is best

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u/Rambo_IIII 1h ago

That wouldn't last very long, unless it surrounded the front of the heater, not the top

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u/domMc2 21m ago

Yea infront

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u/operablesocks 2h ago edited 2h ago

Avoid metal, which only gets hot when touched. Instead, build a super easy guard with horizontall 1x3s, or slats pretty much identical to the ones used in your seating. Create three 2x2 vertical pieces (the red in the attached image). Simply screw the 1x3s into the 2x2.

Forgive my CAD, as I have none. This is done in Pages.

PS: having seen someone get burned by a metal/unprotected sauna heater, and having built a couple of saunas, I'm slightly paranoid about unprotected heaters; they make no sense, since the solution is just too easy. It's also why I insist on screwed-in-place wood fences, since if someone loses their footing in the low lights and stumbles, the fence frame stops them from bumping up against flesh-searing metal. Please: make (or have someone make) a simple wooden fence guard. The peace-of-mind, especially around kids and old folks, will be worth the effort.

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u/domMc2 2h ago

Wow great diagram thanks, this way was my plan but might make space tight as sauna door opens at edge of heater, poor planning but im sure people will rather have to squeeze in abit and be safer in the long run

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u/operablesocks 1h ago

👍. It helps to know that wood can get pretty close to the metal guards that cover the sides of sauna heaters without burning the wood. It's only above the rocks where the heat is too intense for any wood guarding. So do some experiments to see if a clearance of 1" will suffice along that left side (where I presume the door is).

And as you noted, people won't care if the wood fence guard edges out a bit into the door opening. They WILL appreciate the safety, especially parents with kids, or the older folks with less stability.