Is that a shower head on the ceiling? Also, what's the recommendation for a wet sauna, I'm assuming you'd waterproof it like a normal shower but how about mounting the cedar too the walls? I'm used to using kerdi system for stone and tiles (Schulter), but it's not made for screwing things to the wall.
It is a shower head, the space I put the sauna was a basement shower stall and empty space behind it. I’m not Splish splashing water everywhere, it’s mostly for a cold rinse after/during. My sauna gets pretty “wet”, there’s a water tank on the heater to make steam, i crank it. I leave the door open between uses to let it air out, concrete floor is sloped to the drain, edges are caulked, a vapor barrier of that aluminum foil bubble wrap.
Standard is plain foil, I sprung for the double sided bubble wrap stuff for the extra R value. The trace amounts of humidity that could make it through the cedar and through the staple holes shouldn’t be a concern imo. I have a dry basement though, if it already had an existing humidity / mold issue I wouldn’t want a sauna down there anyway. I’ve seen no signs of issues, you could go a step farther and do poly underneath the foil, tape all the staple holes on the, get really paranoid about it, but I can’t imagine any water getting through. I ordered the cedarwood and heater from a leaf company called saunafin, they have a website with lots of helpful information geared for diy’ers
It sounds like you did your homework and it's really beautiful looking. I love the smell of cedar. I'm the marble anon and recently did some work around a dry sauna. Did you consider going for a dry sauna vs wet?
Meh I am not really worried about it. If you were particularly concerned with moisture leak though, the ultra paranoid way would be to do poly sheet first, then the foil, and foil tape all the staple spots. A lot, but not all, of the staple locations were taped over
11 months ago
Anonymous
Ok, all good. Just interested. I am very paranoid about moisture because I flatted in many horrific student flats for a decade. Nice sauna tho congrats
11 months ago
Anonymous
If you leave the door open afterwards, it’s bone dry in there an hour later. The heat differential and airflow in the house just saps it right up, and there’s a good reason you use thick 11/16” tongue and groove cedar
11 months ago
Anonymous
>and there’s a good reason you use thick 11/16” tongue and groove cedar
What's that?
11 months ago
Anonymous
It’s mold resistant and keeps the moisture in, absorbs it and releases it easily
11 months ago
Anonymous
Good airflow is definitely important in a sauna though, you want an adequate intake at the bottom under the heater, and same outtake at the top diagonally opposite of the intake
11 months ago
Anonymous
cool thanks. Is that just the wood type or is that size relevant to it too
11 months ago
Anonymous
I think the thicker the wood the better in quality, and better it does its job. Costs more than 9/16” but worth it imo
I dont have one but plan to build one some day as a detached sauna in the garden, would really like to do stone on the outside with a big ol window too
It sounds like you did your homework and it's really beautiful looking. I love the smell of cedar. I'm the marble anon and recently did some work around a dry sauna. Did you consider going for a dry sauna vs wet?
It can be either dry or wet, personally I like the steam, good for purging the sinuses and lungs
thats a nice sauna anon
I dont have one but plan to build one some day as a detached sauna in the garden, would really like to do stone on the outside with a big ol window too
Pretty much just because I’d never used rock wool before and didn’t know much about it, and the suggestion was for r-13 pink goo, but I went with r-15 faced pink goo
Just came out of the sauna. Wood fired is the superior experience but electric works too. If someone wants to build a sauna i guess it would be a good idea to see how finns build them? Almost every home here has them. I don't know how the rest of the world build them
I really want a sauna in my upstairs bathroom like I experienced in Finland where even small bathrooms had a small sauna cubicle, but I have no idea how to do about it as a diy novice especially since I would have to move the bath to make space for it.
As soon as I buy my first house the first thing I'm doing is building a sauna. I want both a wet and dry one, and a dipping tank.
The rest of the house doesn't even need to exist, I'll live in squalor so long as I have my warm rooms.
your sauna looks so good op, very nice
It definitely helped make coof era BS more tolerable, and I think it helped big time when I had the coof too. A giant ass tub is on my bucket list, I might have to bug you guys on Kerdi board at some point and replace my tub with a diy one. More of a dream that really feasible, I’d like to build a 4 seasons room with an in ground “tub”, or whatever it would be called, that can be heated with a stove. But that’s a pipe dream for now.
Just came out of the sauna. Wood fired is the superior experience but electric works too. If someone wants to build a sauna i guess it would be a good idea to see how finns build them? Almost every home here has them. I don't know how the rest of the world build them
Unfortunately I’ve never had the chance to experience the sublime pleasure of a wood fired. The convenience of it hitting 200 degrees in 15 minutes with the push of a button is nice though.
I've got an old one on my property but it's fricked up. Someone wrecked the stove with cold water, there's mold inside, and it's not where I want it, aka it's not right next to the creek for the plunge after. So I'm probably just going to build a new one. Cloudburst has a great section on saunas and sauna construction.
You may be thinking of a tiled steam room that's piping steam directly.in. Steam in a sauna typically makes the air quite dry, and is venting the water vapor.
It’s interesting when I have the sauna cranked to max and the steam maker cranked to max, the air looks clear but the camera looks like pic in, very foggy.
There's a stove that's set to +180f and filled with stones for heat retention (typical sauna stove takes about 75 pounds of stones)
The vapors are also vented outside. It dries quite fast after you've used it.
I urge everyone that's planning to PrepHole a sauna to read this book. The author is a proper fenngol autist and a docent in product design. There's info there you simply don't source from looking at pictures and going "Huh, it's just a hot room eh?"
Is that a shower head on the ceiling? Also, what's the recommendation for a wet sauna, I'm assuming you'd waterproof it like a normal shower but how about mounting the cedar too the walls? I'm used to using kerdi system for stone and tiles (Schulter), but it's not made for screwing things to the wall.
It is a shower head, the space I put the sauna was a basement shower stall and empty space behind it. I’m not Splish splashing water everywhere, it’s mostly for a cold rinse after/during. My sauna gets pretty “wet”, there’s a water tank on the heater to make steam, i crank it. I leave the door open between uses to let it air out, concrete floor is sloped to the drain, edges are caulked, a vapor barrier of that aluminum foil bubble wrap.
Is this standard? I guess I'm concerned with watrer getting trapped behind the mylar or wtv foil and the cedar - mold etc?
Standard is plain foil, I sprung for the double sided bubble wrap stuff for the extra R value. The trace amounts of humidity that could make it through the cedar and through the staple holes shouldn’t be a concern imo. I have a dry basement though, if it already had an existing humidity / mold issue I wouldn’t want a sauna down there anyway. I’ve seen no signs of issues, you could go a step farther and do poly underneath the foil, tape all the staple holes on the, get really paranoid about it, but I can’t imagine any water getting through. I ordered the cedarwood and heater from a leaf company called saunafin, they have a website with lots of helpful information geared for diy’ers
It sounds like you did your homework and it's really beautiful looking. I love the smell of cedar. I'm the marble anon and recently did some work around a dry sauna. Did you consider going for a dry sauna vs wet?
So you glue the boards to the foil?
Stapled foil to studs, if that’s what you mean
I guess so, just thought piercing the foil would create the very moisture issues you seek to avoid
Meh I am not really worried about it. If you were particularly concerned with moisture leak though, the ultra paranoid way would be to do poly sheet first, then the foil, and foil tape all the staple spots. A lot, but not all, of the staple locations were taped over
Ok, all good. Just interested. I am very paranoid about moisture because I flatted in many horrific student flats for a decade. Nice sauna tho congrats
If you leave the door open afterwards, it’s bone dry in there an hour later. The heat differential and airflow in the house just saps it right up, and there’s a good reason you use thick 11/16” tongue and groove cedar
>and there’s a good reason you use thick 11/16” tongue and groove cedar
What's that?
It’s mold resistant and keeps the moisture in, absorbs it and releases it easily
Good airflow is definitely important in a sauna though, you want an adequate intake at the bottom under the heater, and same outtake at the top diagonally opposite of the intake
cool thanks. Is that just the wood type or is that size relevant to it too
I think the thicker the wood the better in quality, and better it does its job. Costs more than 9/16” but worth it imo
That cold rinse is a great feature.
I member. Saunafin right?
U member
thats a nice sauna anon
I dont have one but plan to build one some day as a detached sauna in the garden, would really like to do stone on the outside with a big ol window too
saunanon!
has it really been two years?
Maybe not quite but getting there
It can be either dry or wet, personally I like the steam, good for purging the sinuses and lungs
thx anon, and that sounds like it would be lovely
Why house meat instead of rockwool?
Pretty much just because I’d never used rock wool before and didn’t know much about it, and the suggestion was for r-13 pink goo, but I went with r-15 faced pink goo
It's great stuff and easy to work with. Would rec you look into it for future projects.
Just came out of the sauna. Wood fired is the superior experience but electric works too. If someone wants to build a sauna i guess it would be a good idea to see how finns build them? Almost every home here has them. I don't know how the rest of the world build them
I really want a sauna in my upstairs bathroom like I experienced in Finland where even small bathrooms had a small sauna cubicle, but I have no idea how to do about it as a diy novice especially since I would have to move the bath to make space for it.
Anyone have experience fitting in tiny saunas?
What’s the length and width of the space you want to put it in? What do the Finn’s use to heat a tiny sauna?
For normal home saunas the electric ones are usually 6 - 9 kW.
>What do the Finn’s use to heat a tiny sauna?
Rage
As soon as I buy my first house the first thing I'm doing is building a sauna. I want both a wet and dry one, and a dipping tank.
The rest of the house doesn't even need to exist, I'll live in squalor so long as I have my warm rooms.
your sauna looks so good op, very nice
It definitely helped make coof era BS more tolerable, and I think it helped big time when I had the coof too. A giant ass tub is on my bucket list, I might have to bug you guys on Kerdi board at some point and replace my tub with a diy one. More of a dream that really feasible, I’d like to build a 4 seasons room with an in ground “tub”, or whatever it would be called, that can be heated with a stove. But that’s a pipe dream for now.
Unfortunately I’ve never had the chance to experience the sublime pleasure of a wood fired. The convenience of it hitting 200 degrees in 15 minutes with the push of a button is nice though.
I've got an old one on my property but it's fricked up. Someone wrecked the stove with cold water, there's mold inside, and it's not where I want it, aka it's not right next to the creek for the plunge after. So I'm probably just going to build a new one. Cloudburst has a great section on saunas and sauna construction.
Genuine question here:
How does the wood inside of a sauna not rot immediately? Wouldn't the constant moisture exposure rape it within a few months?
You may be thinking of a tiled steam room that's piping steam directly.in. Steam in a sauna typically makes the air quite dry, and is venting the water vapor.
It’s interesting when I have the sauna cranked to max and the steam maker cranked to max, the air looks clear but the camera looks like pic in, very foggy.
There's a stove that's set to +180f and filled with stones for heat retention (typical sauna stove takes about 75 pounds of stones)
The vapors are also vented outside. It dries quite fast after you've used it.
I urge everyone that's planning to PrepHole a sauna to read this book. The author is a proper fenngol autist and a docent in product design. There's info there you simply don't source from looking at pictures and going "Huh, it's just a hot room eh?"