Building Your Own Sauna

Sauna baths induce sweating and opens the pores of the skin to help the body remove toxins from your body and blood. It is great for relaxation and weight loss. A 15 to 20 minute sauna is almost equivalent to 1-2 hours of brisk walk or 1 hour of exercise, depending upon a your weight and physical condition. Taking a sauna bath following an exercise program relaxes tense muscles from the workout. A sauna can contribute to many other aspects of good health such as:

Although there are many types of saunas such as; infrared, wet, dry, and steam, the most common is the dry/wet sauna, heated by an electric heater. Stones are placed around the heating element that radiates the heat from the heater. Water is poured over the stone to induce steam. These are great saunas because they can be either dry or wet.  These are known as Finnish type saunas and are the most popular in health clubs and homes.

Purchasing a sauna kit can be very expensive ranging from $250 for a single person heat lamp type sauna to over $2,500 for a three person sauna. The price also depends on the type of heater the sauna uses. A three person sauna can be built for approximately $1200 using standard carpenter tools and purchasing a sauna heater unit from a supplier.

We at DIY Home Improvement Plus have built saunas for $1200 or less. We offer you, the homeowner, the instructions to build your own sauna. Building a sauna is a great DIY home improvement project that can be completed in a week end. Our sauna heaters are a standard Finnish 6,000 watt heater with built in controls. It is a 220 volt heater. Heater prices vary greatly from approximately $300 to $600 depending where you buy them. It pays to shop around.

Instructions for building your own sauna:

1. Determine the size that best fits your needs. I recommend a three person sauna because the difference in building material cost is roughly only 10% more than a two person sauna. The heater we recommend is a 6,000 watt heater, wired on a 220volt/single phase circuit on number 10 copper wire. It will adequately heat a 170 to 250 cubic foot sauna. Our plan is a 6 feet wide X 7 feet tall X 6 feet deep, equaling approximately 189 cubic feet inside dimension when finished. It’s a great heater and the sauna will comfortably seat three adults.

2. Construct a shell structure using standard 2 x 4 studs including a roof. The shell is built on a concrete floor, usually the basement or a garage. Do not forget the intake and exhaust vent framing. The vents are standard heating vent registers. The intake should be on the bottom near the heater and the exhaust close to the top of the ceiling on an opposite wall from the heater.

3. Install ¼ inch siding (plywood) on each side and the top.

4. Insulate the sides and ceiling using 4 inch fiberglass insulation.

5. Run a wiring circuit in accordance with your local building code. Normally a disconnect box including a 40 amp     circuit breaker is installed on the outside of the structure.

6. Install six inch cedar tongue and groove siding on the inside walls and ceiling.

7. Fabricate a bench using standard 2 x4s and 1 x 3 inch mahogany for the seating surface. The bench is installed against the back wall and is usually a two tier bench.

8. Install the heater on a forty five degree angle in the corner approximately eighteen inches from the floor.

9. Install the door. Recommend that the door open outward. The door is a standard glass panel 20 inch wood door. You can use a panel door and remove one or more panels and replaced them with window glass. The finished floor can be installed on the concrete floor that the shell is built on, a graded / slat floor using mahogany, or it can be tiled.