Can I just build my own sauna? I feel like people are gate keeping this.
It's just wood, a vapor seal, an electric heater.
Make it with heat treated timber

Or am I seriously underestimating how much you need to know to keep it in good shape?

>>2925959 (OP)
My dad did it on his own, and many people here have. They sell diy kits, heaters, benches, even the wooden pillow things etc.

First ask if you really really want one. Decide on the volume and rough design, then pick a matching heater (check the electrical requirements - in Europe you can’t always get 400V which often limits you to ~4kW unless you get a perilex one). Don’t get a heater with the same nominal current as your breaker, most electric ones take way more power for 10-20 seconds when you dump water on it. Position the heater so that there is no way to touch it directly or you’ll enjoy some severe burns one day. Also no exposed screws or other metal you could touch (it gets hot)

Get the right wood species (Fichte, aspen or red cedar) or it’ll crack apart in all directions when you first heat it. And cover it not like mr gym bro in your but put an actual roof over it to protect it from rain

Other than that it’s not too hard to do imo

>>2925961
Reading online says barrel saunas are not any good. You need to sit above the heater and cannot do that in a round one. Apparently it needs to be square.
Pity as round ones look so much nicer.

Is finland the best manufacturer country for these. I am within Europe so hope to be able to source a kit without spending too much time.

I read also ventilation is very important and some vent holes wont be enough
I cam build a frame but wont be able to do overlapping wood properly routed.
How much expansion room do you need to leave or as it is pre treated heated wood it wont expand or shrink so much?

Does it more likely to shrink than expand?

Yes people are gate keeping. It's a box with a heater in it.
Here's a tip that nobody will say out loud:
>taller is better
It will mean you need a bigger heater but it stretches out the temperature gradient so that you avoid having your head be hot as hell and your feet being cold. Put your seating as high as you can.
Ventilation is important but you don't need to be a nerd about it. Cut a hole roughly underneath the heater. Cut a hole up high away from the heater. Put a little door on it so you can close it if you want.

>>2925961
4kw is plenty for such small space. Sauna heaters are usually 6-9kw. My indoor sauna is only 3m^2 and I have disconnected L2 and L3, so its only 2kw. I also have overload of stones, slow heating is better. My outdoor sauna has wood heater and they all range from 20kw to 50kw, also loaded with huge boulders.

>>2925959 (OP)
Its literally just a wood shack and a stove. Nobody is gatekeeping it. Every year, thousands of alcoholics go to their summer cottages and build them. Make sure to use cedar or spruce. Wood stoves are easy because they naturally ventilate the space as long as you have a chimney and a gap under the door for air. No clue how you would do it with an electric stove. Also make sure you put a bunch of rocks on top of the stove. Then you can splash some water onto the rocks for some nice steam. And don't forget to install windows or else you'll have a dreary cave sauna.

I’ll bite,

I have been thinking about saunas for a while especially when I bite the bullet and built my own house; I would love to add a 4 person small sauna as an additional room on the main bathroom of the house right next to the shower. Would there be any strict regulations to be on the lookout for? Obviously it depends which country you are from. I am guessing there would be strict fire regulations. Also it would preferably be an electric sauna but are they complete dogshit?

>>2925959 (OP)
>Can I just build my own sauna?
you? probably not. Me? yes. will I? no.

if I want a sauna I just go outside at 2pm on any day in the summer when it is 110 outside.

but I'm not retarded so I don't.

What is so great about saunas?

>>2926139
>if I want a sauna I just go outside at 2pm on any day in the summer when it is 110 outside.

Pretty much this.

>>2926107
Its pretty common to have indoor saunas in Finland. You really have to have good ventilation or else mold will build up. Make sure the sauna has a small exhaust fan that's always on. Air should come in from somewhere else in the house like a living room, and out through the sauna. Electric saunas are fine, but you're going to need a few kw. Use a 2 phase power supply if you're in the USA. The stove needs to have a certain amount of clearance from everything else.
>>2926139
Saunas are the ultimate winter luxury. There's no better feeling than spending 10 minutes in the sauna, then rolling around in the snow.

>>2926147
Your skin (largest organ) is more versatile than most would believe. It's much more than just a self-healing, protective layer. It can absorb light energy to supplement nutrition and release wastes to supplement excretion. Whether or not the skin can replace the kidneys has not been proven, but it can step in and help. Most people also tend to be ignorant of the lymphatic system (moves nutrients to organs/cells & moves wastes/toxins out), which complements the circulatory system as a function of the immune system. The issue with the lymphatic system is it needs the user (you) to apply activity (moving, breathing, etc.) or temperature in order to push lymph around. As we live, our bodies don't always get rid of all the wastes and toxins that accumulate, sometimes the body will pack it away into our organs and fatty tissues (see atherosclerosis) until it can deal with it later.
>the heat of the sauna activates the lymphatic system, which pushes wastes and toxins out of the skin
You don't *need* a sauna to flush your body, but it sure is nice. It follows that cold (see cold water therapy) will produce a similar effect.
>heat is expansion & cold is contraction
Using both hot and cold together can really do wonders for the body.

>>2925976
> You need to sit above the heater and cannot do that in a round one
You don’t need to sit all the way above the heater. But barrel type is a bad design for many reasons including being hard to build. 6-10mm gap afaik but I checked and we have these panels that slide into each other (like rabatt) so there’s no actual gap

We have 2x 100mm hole in the ceiling with a wooden slide thing to close it but keep it closed whenever the heating is on

>>2926102
>Its literally just a wood shack and a stove. Nobody is gatekeeping it.
/r/sauna

You sure?

What is Ayous like for sauna wood

>>2926233
>/r/sauna
I'm not retarded and far-left enough to visit modern Reddit.

>>2925959 (OP)
What's the best base for this?
2nd hand wood shed
Or build from scratch?

>>2926496
>2nd hand wood shed
Probably a bad idea. You don't want to breathe in mystery pressure treatment fumes. You also need wood that won't crack when exposed to 80 degrees C with high humidity.

Sauna is a 21 point system not just "hot room". Barrels do not meet the standard stop encouraging them.

>>2926612
You're one of the gatekeepers anon mentioned. Please lay out the "standard" so we can laugh at you, nerd

I'm Finnish but mostly grew up in Michigan and we do not have saunas here, but here is what I can say from instinct

Size of the room is greatly important, it needs to be small, especially for a DIY personal one
However it can't be too small, at least one direction you should be able to lay down flat on a bench
You need 2 tiers of bench, one higher than the stove and one lower or at level, the bench heights should be standard seating height with the bottom one being deep so that a person can sit behind another person.
The room should be taller than wide but shorter than deep
Rocks go on stove if stove is designed for rocks.
Pads for butt are stored outside of the sauna unless in use
Door opens outward
Temperature gages and clocks are for faggots
Do not use metal bucket or scoop, they must both be wood
Do not use double pane glass for windows
Do not use insulation, instead size your stove right and be mindful of your room placement

The ones that go in your house needs proper planning: ventilation, steam barriers etc.. Outdoor sauna? You can't fail.

>>2926772
>his sauna doesn't into löyly
Perkele

>>2926794
>Rocks go on stove if stove is designed for rocks.
Rocks should always be there
>Pads for butt are stored outside of the sauna unless in use
There are no pads. Maybe towels
>Temperature gages and clocks are for faggots
Saunas take a long time to warm up. You need a temperature gauge to tell if its ready
>Do not use metal bucket or scoop, they must both be wood
Metal is fine as long as the handle is wood or plastic. You don't want to touch bare metal at 80 degrees C
>Do not use double pane glass for windows
You want double paned windows so they don't fog up. Also you need tempered glass to tolerate the heat difference

>>2926818
>You want double paned windows so they don't fog up.
I think they will lose their seal from the temperature much faster and then moisturise and minerals builds up on the inside.
So single pane it fogs up sure but you can clean it and it lasts forever. Why do you need windows to see through, it's mostly to let natural light in.

>>2926862
>I think they will lose their seal from the temperature much faster
I live in Finland. I've never seen sauna window seals fail.
>and then moisturise and minerals builds up on the inside
There are no minerals on the window. That's something caused by running water, not steam.
>Why do you need windows to see through, it's mostly to let natural light in.
Looking out the window is a big part of the sauna experience. Especially when out at the summer cottage. It is also useful for people outside the sauna to see whether the sauna is already occupied. Generally whole families take turns in the sauna, and there are often periods where it sits empty when warming up.

>>2926933
Hello Finland bro.
You are inspiring me to build my own.
Is there a guide.

I want to build it for outside in a Nordic country.
Assume I can get heat treated wood.
Have reasonable wood skills.

It's points like knowing if insulation is needed. Air flow. Should the wood be tight or let it breathe.

Surely there is a good online source or videos? How do Finns know or learn it

>>2926946
Fins are born from eggs hatched in saunas. As they sit developing within their eggs they take in all that they can detect through their shells about proper sauna construction and etiquette. When it emerges from its shell the Fin is keenly aware of how to behave upon hearing the sound of steam sizzling off rocks.

>>2926150
>Saunas are the ultimate winter luxury. There's no better feeling than spending 10 minutes in the sauna, then rolling around in the snow.
OR avoiding the heat in the summer, and enjoying very mild winters with no snow.

>>2926150
>Saunas are the ultimate winter luxury
I used a sauna once. who the fuck wants to be in sweltering heat ever?

>>2926974
It's good for you, faggot.

I live in Central Spain, I thought about looking for saunas but for the next two months I'm gonna have reliable 40C and up temperatures so I think I'll just sit in my garden and take dips in the pool and get pretty much the same experience

>>2927384
Get one of those big plastic barrels and a garden hose to controll the temperature with fresh water and piss
Get a table next to it to hold beverages and ashtray, because you europeans smoke a lot i presume

>>2926972
Sounds gay

>>2927384
Sauna is great in the summer to make it feel cooler outside. Although 18c is hot for me

>>2927569
This is such a Finnish thing to say.

Can anyone actually recommend a good source for learning about building sauna r

>>2926164
High temperature induces autophagy which can prevent/fight cancer.

>>2926038
This is true if tou want it to be 40-50C. For a proper sauna that heats to 80-120C according to taste, you need 6-9kW for a 4m2 sauna. Obviously much depends on insulation, ventilation etc.
I'd rather get an overpowered radiator as they come with temperature limiters. Then at least the stones would keep hot.

You want the radiator's top level to be even with your feet and leave some 115cm above the top bench to ceiling - not much more.
https://saunologia.fi/lauteiden-mitoitus/

>>2925959 (OP)
Taking a steamy shower does the same exact thing bro so yes. You can easily have a sauna at home, especially if you have a fireplace in your bathtub like I do.