What kind of sauna kit you choose is up to you, we present three options ready-made sauna, kit and self-construction
Sauna kit. The sauna is not an invention of our time. More than 2000 years ago there were already hot air baths, from which the principle of the sauna is copied. The direct model for the modern sauna can be found in Finland, where a sauna belongs to almost every house.
A sauna kit makes installation easy
While in the past the stones were heated in the wood fire to heat the air, today a push on the switch of the electric sauna heater is enough, and the healthy sweating can begin, after a short waiting time. As in the past, sauna cabins are still made of untreated wood, and Nordic spruce or hemlock have proven best for the interior of the cabin.
What kind of sauna kit you choose is up to you. We present the three options: prefabricated sauna, sauna kit and do-it-yourself.
What is done
- Make decision between: Prefabricated sauna, prefabricated sauna, sauna kit, material kit or do-it-yourself
- Determine the most favorable space and placement in the room
- Calculate space requirements
- Determine the size
- Prepare the floor
- Prepare space for the construction from prefabricated parts
- Assemble material kit or ready-made kit
What you need
Material. Sauna kit
- Material or prefabricated sauna kit
Tools. Sauna kit
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Scale
- Spirit level
- Drilling machine
- Foxtail
- Tacker
Wood firing
If you want to build a sauna according to the original Finnish design, you can choose a wood-burning stove instead of an electric one. For such a stove, however, there must be a separate flue in the chimney, and in the immediate vicinity of the stove, the walls of the cabin must be made of fireproof material or additionally covered with such material on a large scale.
Sauna kit. Different construction systems for sauna cabins
Of the various ways you can build your sauna, the installation of a ready-made cabin is the easiest, but also the most expensive way. Once you have decided how big you want your sauna to be, you can choose the right size and equipment from the offer of many sauna manufacturers and order it.
You will receive a sauna kit disassembled into handy parts, which you only have to assemble yourself. All parts such as door, vents, benches and stove are included.
Prefabricated sauna
The wall parts are provided with internal and external boarding, between them is the insulation layer. Also the assembly accessories such as screws, angles, etc. is supplied. Depending on the manufacturer, thermometers, hygrometers (for measuring humidity), lights or a wooden tub with a trowel may also be included.
The second option is to assemble the sauna from a material kit, which consists of prefabricated parts. The components may need to be adapted to local conditions, the walls in this method by yourself to assemble and connect with each other.
Modular systems sauna kit
With such a kit you buy everything needed for the construction of the sauna. This is significantly cheaper than buying a prefabricated sauna, but also requires more labor and craftsmanship. As with the prefabricated saunas, these material kits are also offered for different cabin sizes.
The advantage of kits is obvious: You don’t need to run from one store to another to get all the individual parts together. Everything is delivered to the house in one shipment and is quickly and easily assembled.
Sauna kit, custom made
The third possibility is the complete self-construction. The work also includes the construction, which is done by the manufacturer in the case of the other two solutions. However, even with this method should not be completely abandoned prefabricated parts. For example, it is hardly worthwhile to build a door for the cabin yourself. It is better to buy them ready-made even if you build your own sauna.
The same applies to the stove and other technical equipment. Completely building your own sauna is the cheapest solution, and if you take advantage of special offers and remaining quantities when purchasing the individual components and materials, you can also save many a penny.
Two options for the sauna kit: prefabricated and frame systems for self-assembly
Installation options and space requirements for the sauna
There is hardly a house where there is no space for the installation of a sauna. When planning, keep in mind that a sauna does not have to consist only of the cabin.
Ideally, there is more to it: A shower, a room for a plunge pool, a changing room – and rest room. However, you should think about this luxury only if you have enough space in your home.
In most cases it is also possible with simpler means.
A lounger in the utility room or the seating area in the living room can replace the relaxation room, the ordinary bathroom can replace the sauna shower. And a plunge pool is very nice, but not essential.
Freedom of movement
The space needed for the whole sauna also depends on how many people you want your cabin to be enough for. For a normal family sauna, a 4-person cabin, calculate with a footprint of 2 x 2 m.
For each additional person you can add about one square meter. If you want to install a bench and a small shower cabin in the same room where the cabin is to be located, the room should have a floor area of at least 9 square meters. With a square room section of 3 x 3 m, there is even room for changing and for a small wardrobe. If you have more space available: so much the better. You can then plan more generously.
Most basement rooms are well suited for the installation of a sauna cabin.
The room only needs to be dry, well ventilated and at least 2.20 m high. If the basement does not meet these requirements, the sauna kit can just as well be placed or installed in a large bathroom, at the unused end of a hallway or in the attic.
Some suggestions for the installation of a sauna cabin or sauna kit: the more space can be used, the more comfortable the installation will be. The sauna cabin shown here measures 2 x 2.5 m. Plan according to the spatial conditions.
Room section, sauna kit
Sauna cabins also do not necessarily have to be square or rectangular. Sloping walls are no more an obstacle than beveled or even rounded walls. Even installation under a sloping roof is not an insurmountable problem.
However, with all these forms that deviate from the norm, the best option is complete self-building. If you want to buy a custom sauna cabin for a room with a fancy shape, you have to dig deep into your pocket for all the necessary extras. Sauna can be installed not only in the house, but also in the garden. For this purpose, sauna manufacturers offer ready-made sauna huts as kits, but there are hardly any basic differences between them.
We will limit ourselves here to the construction of a sauna in the house.
Whichever of the three construction methods you choose for your sauna, the floor in the intended room must always meet the same requirements. It should be flat, waterproof and easy to clean.
The most suitable flooring is floor tiles laid on a heat-insulating layer. However, a level floor covered with PVC is also sufficient.
This is also possible: a sauna kit under the sloping roof. With self-construction, all shapes and layouts for the cabin can be realized.
Installations
If you also want to install the shower in the same room, you need a connection for hot and cold water and a drain. The stove requires a three-phase connection, which is fused separately. Therefore, contact an electrician. He can also take this opportunity to provide the necessary connections for the lighting in the cabin and vestibule.
Ventilation for the sauna kit can be made through an existing window, if you provide it with appropriate screens. You do not need to treat the walls of the room in a special way. A normal, wipe-clean coat of paint is sufficient.
Prefabricated sauna: saving on own work
The easiest way to get a sauna is delivery and installation in your house by a specialized company. This means: you order a sauna cabin that suits you in size and equipment. this cabin is prefabricated in the factory, disassembled into parts for transportation (panels for walls and ceilings, ready benches, complete door, etc.).) and then installed and connected by the delivery team.
You can save some money by having the sauna kit shipped to your house – and then building the cabin yourself. Prefabricated saunas are available in various dimensions. Choose a sauna kit in a size exactly suitable for your room, because changes can be made only with difficulty or, in many cases, not at all.
The heights have the standard dimension of 2.05 to 2.10 m for all types.
In order to install the sauna kit, you need a slightly higher room. Also its length and width must be slightly above the sauna kit dimensions, because during assembly some freedom of movement to all sides is necessary.
Tongue and groove
The sauna kit is assembled from individual wall elements, usually using the tongue and groove principle. They consist of slatted frames, which are covered with profiled boards from both sides.
Between the boards there is insulation. In most makes, only two walls are covered with boards on the outside, while the others are only covered with chipboard, because almost always the cabin is placed in a corner of the room. Slatted frame and cladding are assembled in such a way that the slat protrudes on one side and the cladding on the other side.
Like tongue-and-groove boards, you now push the wall parts into each other. The cabin ceiling can also be connected to the walls. Screws that are not visible from the inside provide sufficient support. All wall and ceiling components have dimensions that allow them to be transported through an ordinary door or down cellar stairs.
Cabin door and couches are prefabricated so that they can be installed in a few simple steps. Also the installation of the heating unit and the control unit does not cause any problems. However, you should leave the electrical connection to a specialist.
Everything you need for the installation is included: the parts for a 2 x 2 m sauna including the interior furnishings.
Self-assembly of a sauna from prefabricated elements
1. The floor frame is laid out, aligned with the spirit level, possibly wedged under, and then screwed to the floor.
2. Gradually put up the wall elements and fit them together very tightly, creating a tight bond.
3. The ceiling panels are laid over the walls and also joined together very tightly, without any open joints.
4. Strips completely seal the joint between the walls and the ceiling and ensure a firm bond between the components.
5. Place the prefabricated benches on the wall rails. They are not screwed, so that it is easy to clean the cabin.
6. The insertion of the door is reserved until benches and stove are installed. The electrical connection is done by a specialist.
Do not build the sauna alone.
If you work in pairs, the necessary actions will be much easier for you. Some prefabricated parts have quite large dimensions and are easier to bring into the correct position with a helper. Especially for walls and ceiling four hands work more effectively than two.
Besides, the installation is more fun for two people, and later you can be proud of your "self-build" together. The time you need for assembly depends on the size of the sauna, but should not exceed two weekends
claim. The first operation is to lay out and join the floor frame. You should pay particular attention to aligning the frame exactly horizontally. Small wedges help to compensate for the unevenness of the floor.
After marking
In the back corner, start assembling the individual parts of the wall construction, marked according to the order of assembly, onto the floor frame. Push the parts firmly together and connect them with the
provided fittings.
If all four walls are in place, check the top edge of the walls for horizontal alignment and, if necessary, use wedges to compensate for this.
Now you can hang up the blanket pieces. You put it in the right position above the side walls – for this the difference between the height of the room and the height of the cabin is important.
Then you attach the panel that covers the transition from the walls to the ceiling and seals it at the same time. Now the cabin is ready and the heater can be mounted. The couches and benches are easy to assemble to make the "furnishing.
You should not fix the benches and also the touch guard for the heater firmly to the cabin, so that they can be easily removed for cleaning the floor.
A cabin made up of individual parts: the material kit
Do you want to save even more than when buying the ready-built kit? Then you can choose a material kit for your sauna. With it, all the material for the construction of the sauna cabin and all accessories are supplied to you. The difference to the prefabricated kit is that the material is not yet assembled into wall and ceiling elements. This work is left to the do-it-yourselfer. In return, the price of the material kit is often only half the price of a prefabricated sauna.
You can also order the material kits for cabins of different sizes.
The material is then assembled by the supplier in appropriate quantities. For example, you get ready cut squared timber from which you build the frames for walls and ceilings. Even the boards necessary for cladding already have the right length. They are fixed to the frame with the supplied profiled wooden claws. At your leisure, you can completely assemble the walls from the individual parts on the floor of the room intended for the sauna, and also finish the ceiling divided into two or three panel parts.
Most material kits also include the door with all the fittings and the door lining. To assemble them yourself would be complicated and costly.
Control unit
For the power supply of the heater is supplied empty pipe, which you use when building the wall elements. Through this pipe the electrician later pushes the power cable from the outside into the interior. Oven and control unit are also included in many material kits.
In the control unit there is a timer, the light and the main switch. A temperature sensor can be connected. So that you can equip your sauna with the necessary benches and benches, this material is also supplied immediately. As well as the necessary connecting parts, fittings and screws.
A material kit is therefore especially recommended to those do-it-yourselfers who live in a place without specialized stores. With the material kit you do not have to worry about anything, everything is delivered completely to the house. All you need in front of or in the future sauna room is enough space to put the large pile of wooden parts, insulation material and accessories so that it does not interfere with the construction work.
Except for the insulating material, everything you need for the construction of the sauna is delivered to your home as a complete material kit.