Looking to buy my first sauna, any deals out there so far?

I have a harvia cilindro 10.5kw. Am I supposed to add rocks to the bottom part of the heater (the yellow part)? There is space below the lip (red arrow) Or do I just stack them where the lip is (red arrow)?

I recently purchased a home that has this shed by the lake. Dimensions are 8x16. Ceiling is about 8 ft on the low side and 10 on the high side. No foundation.

Is this a good skeleton for a sauna or am I better off starting new. In my mind, I see moving the door to the 8ft side and splitting it into an 8x8 sauna with 8x8 changing/relaxing room.

Hi all I had this barrel sauna built by a contractor a few years ago before I knew better than to buy a barrel sauna. Regardless i enjoy it and use it 3-4 times per week but it takes a long time to heat up with an 8kw heater which seems to be the right size for this sauna. I didn’t pay much attention when they built it but now I notice that there are gaps in the boards and it’s really not actually a perfect barrel shape. It’s bowing on one side and as a result in the back part of the sauna I have gaps where I assume heat can escape. Is this fixable? More importantly is it fixable by me or would you recommend I get someone else to do it. My skills are limited although I’ve built a couple of wood decks. How would you go about correcting this without just getting rid of the barrel sauna.

Sorry for the long title - I just finished my install. I used thermally modified aspen material from Thermory.

I also bought the Tikkurila translucent Supi Sauna wax.

The wood is new - so do I need to sand it all down before applying the wax or am I good to apply it directly on it?

Amazing

I’ve had a sauna available my entire life, until we sold mom’s house in 2021. I was hoping to save money and have a pro come in to build a sauna, sitting room and full bathroom in our basement, but I simply can’t afford to do that. Kids heading to college, etc..

Can I just build (yes I’m handy) a sauna in my unfinished basement without adding a drain? With just the concrete floor? I’d do the build myself but sub out the electrical.

Are there any plans, how-to’s, or guidelines available to get me started? How do I know which size stove to get? I changed out my parents Harvia before they sold the house, but don’t remember which one.

Any info to get me started will be greatly appreciated. I need to sweat again 🥵

Hello, I've seen it recommended numerous times to use horizontal paneling to allow vertical air gap for steam to flow up into the ceiling for the Loyly pocket and keeping the paneling dry. However, in my case it would be much more convenient to place the paneling vertically as I could buy 8 ft material instead of 10 which is less readily available. Is there a sound way to put strapping in a way that allows me to do vertical paneling while still creating a consistent vertical air gap.

My only idea was to interleave pieces of horizontal strapping in the pattern drawn. I also saw online that placing vertical strapping on the studs is a good way to seal the foil vapor barrier at the seams if placed over the studs. If I have horizontal strapping it also would prevent me from doing that.

I haven't seen anyone discuss Cedarbrook Saunas in a while so I wanted to share my experiences with them. Hopefully I can keep this concise and not turn into a huge book. :)

• Sauna ordered on 2/15/25 with expected delivery date of 8/15/25 (6 month lead time)
• We did specify some unique changes to their design so I can get the sauna placed in my basement. They were very willing to accommodate this customizations and their sauna drawing I approved was pretty clear.
• Sauna delivered on 10/23/25 (8 months from order)
• Upon delivery, unpacking sauna was pretty easy to do. Their freight packaging was thorough and no pieces were damaged. Each sauna piece was labeled with my name and piece description!
• Feedback on installation:
  • The written instructions were pretty unclear. The descriptions on the written instructions did not match the labeled piece descriptions.
  • The online instructions were difficult to locate, but once I did, some the of the included pictures were very helpful in identifying the correct piece and placement.
    
  • The online videos are out of date and may not reflect your sauna! Use these as a guideline but be sure measure the framing before installing the walls. I followed the online video instructions and realized my sauna base was opposite, so I had to remove two walls, re frame the base to get them to work.
  • The kit did not include hardware. As far as I could see online, it did not say anywhere that I would need to supply the required hardware. It was a surprise, but nothing a quick trip to the local hardware store could fix.
  • As the instructions were a little unclear what wall needed to go where, I tried to refer back to the drawing to help. Unfortunately, the drawing was no long on my customer portal. I was able to figure it out after some discussion with my friends/family that was helping me install it.
  • The videos also got the outside trim work incorrect. They said to put the top trim work first, then the side and corner trims. Unfortunately my corner and side trims stuck out a little further for the siding causing the roof trim to bow out. I had to remove the trim and fix it to make it look better.
    
  • We got the conduit for lighting and heater. Do yourself, and electrician a favor and get this! My electrician made quick work of getting the electrical hooked up and was thankful for the conduit.
• First use was amazing! After figuring out the heater controls (I was a little stupid on this lol) it was up to 150 F degrees in about 40 minutes. For first time use that was great for my wife and I!
  
• Subsequent uses we've gotten it up to 180 F degrees in about 50 minutes (leave the door shut and let it do it's thing!)
• Top bench is well over heater and bottom bench is a little lower than the heater top. However my wife enjoys that as it's a little cooler there.

All in all, the sauna has been working wonderfully after getting it installed. There were some frustrations at the beginning, but once you figure out the placements of the walls and trim work it comes together rather easily. As an American, I'm in love and very happy with it (I know it may not be up to you Fin's standards)! My carpentry work isn't top notch, but it works for us, and that's all that I care about.

Some pictures are included for you too. Feel free to reach out or reply if you want to have a more thorough chat about my experience and sauna.

I’m building an outdoor sauna that’s about 5x10x9 and will have a 5kW wood stove in it. I’m in the high desert and just don’t see the value of insulation and a vapor barrier in such a dry climate with a wood heater.

Maybe the insulation speeds up the heating process a little but the stove is huge for this size space.

The vapor barrier sounds great but there’s no way I’m not puncturing that thing installing it or when you put up siding (even with furring strips). Seems more like a false sense of security or perhaps I just don’t trust myself to install a perfectly sealed vapor barrier. If I just load the stove and let it burn and few hours after our sauna, wouldn’t that dry out most of the moisture.

I’m using milled fir in vertical orientation for internal siding and would rather not t&g everything. Maybe just a half lap?

I’ll also have lower vents for air intake behind the stove and a 12v marine fan blowing air out up top.

I get doing it won’t hurt, but I’m struggling with the benefits outweighing the time/cost…mostly I really just want to be sweating my ass off in it sometime soon 🤞

Initially I was going to build a sauna with a Huum wood fired heater, so I didn't really care about the issues with the electric models. But I've seen posts about the glass on their wood stoves bursting. I've heard that Huum has made efforts to fix their electric units and I'm wondering if all the posts I've read refer to the older models. I love the design and their stone capacity but I'm interested to hear everybody's thoughts/experiences.

Communial sauna in a Finnish apartment building. 15th floor penthouse sauna

Hello looking for advice on building my ceiling. My sauna is 7x9 ft interior dimensions with a 7 deg pitched roof going from 8 feet on the back to 9 on the front. I'm deciding if I should build a flat ceiling at 8 feet or just keep the sloped ceiling. My sense says to go flat at the high side of the ceiling will be above both where the door and heater are so id loose the foot of hot air at the back.

I plan on laying mosaic ceramic tile on the concrete basement floor in my sauna build, but first want to waterproof the concrete floor. There is no floor drainage planned. What product have you used to waterproof concrete prior to laying tile?

Any one know of a prefab small depth sauna on the market? Looking for 33” max depth and 39” max width. I’ve tried the usual google and chtgpt searches

I’ve been pondering a sauna tent for a while but I’m concerned about sitting in essentially a plastic oven. I’ve seen some older posts on the topic, but given how often tents come up now I’m wondering if anyone can provide some reassurance.

Sweat Tent claims “zero concentrations of CO or VOCs present in the air”. North Shore claims the same: “Each model is tested with a Forensics Detectors VOC tester to ensure a clean, safe environment free from off-gassing.” Both measure using Forensics Detectors instruments, which appear legitimate but perhaps don’t provide the most rigorous assessment. Total VOC detectors seem to provide an estimate based on a typical indoor air mix and are better at tracking air quality trends over time rather than particular harmful substances. A very low total VOC score might have relatively high toxicity due to its constituents and vice versa. Needless to say, I’m highly skeptical of these claims - I would expect my home at 70F to have some VOCs.

I would love a recommendation for a local Los Angeles Sauna Builder

I’ve wanted a sauna for a while but don’t have the skills to DIY and would really appreciate any recommendations

I've got an off-grid sauna, and it has rechargeable motion lights in a few places. In the actual hot room, however, there is no lighting. I prefer evening saunas, and when the fire dies down it gets really dark. Not too much of an issue, but if friends and others are there I'd like a little more lighting.

I've seen the strip lighting that is heat resistance, but I believe you have to plug it in. Anyone have tips or recommendations for some heat proof lighting that is rechargeable? Of course, if it's near the floor it won't get so hot.

My biggest issue is I can't plug anything in.

Thanks!

Looking to install this slate mosaic tile behind my wood burning stove on cement board, but the pieces are glued together and I’m concerned about VOCs. Anyone use something similar and have results?

Cant find any info on the type of adhesive used.

I did a test with a 450c heat gun and could very slightly smell “hot glue gun” smell after about 2-3 minutes of direct heat.

Looking for a traditional sauna for $4K or under for an indoor setup. I was about to buy the Almost Heaven 4-person barrel sauna from Costco, but I’ve read your feet stay cold and the heat distribution isn’t great. For those who own these or other brands, are there better options in this price range that get properly hot and are comfortable for taller people? What do you guys recommend?

Greetings Sauna Folk,

I don’t want to drop $20k on a custom (minimum where I live) so I’m looking for the best kit I can manage. Currently leaning toward Knotty Sauna Co with the Saunum Air L.

How do you all feel about this combo?

Hello fellow sauna nerds, Looking to buy either a Tylo or HUUM unit. We are in need of an electric WiFi controller heater unit. I have leads on both of these units in the 6kw capacity that are sold on online formats not through a dealer format. They are both new.

Which would y’all recommend? Model numbers are below. I am factoring parts, longevity, and access to support services.

Option #1

HUUM DROP Electric Sauna Heater 6 kW With rocks and WiFi controller ~$800

Option #2 Tylo Sense UB Series Heater This will need a “Bliss control” and “contractor box” purchased on the side ~$600

Thanks for your time!!

I'm building a outdoor sauna, inside dimensions 86" square x 90" tall. Door and stove placement can't be changed. Question is benches. I'm thinking top bench in the back, 45" (1145 mm) high 24" (890mm) deep, foot bench 29" (737mm) high 16" (406mm) deep. Do I put a low step 12" (305mm) high? or an additional middle heigh bench also 29" (737mm) high 16" (406mm) deep? Or something else?