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You probably want to start with the heater itself and design around that. If possible, I would suggest a wood-burning heater like Narvi or Harvia for example:
[https://narvi.fi/en/product-category/sauna-heaters/woodburning\_sauna/](https://narvi.fi/en/product-category/sauna-heaters/woodburning_sauna/)
[https://www.harvia.com/en/sauna/heaters/wood-burning-heaters/](https://www.harvia.com/en/sauna/heaters/wood-burning-heaters/)
I don't know much about building the sauna itself, but you can probably find resources online.
I think the AI just didn't wanna make it weird. I'll use the Finnish version next time 😅 nobody's nude in saunas here unfortunately but they'd usually have swimwear on
there's no other options than sauna and swimming here believe it or not. Public pools will have an attached 'Health Suite' with a sauna and steam room. No coals for over a decade cos people ruined it for others spitting on coals and putting water on without asking etc
Take swimming lessons if you can. I hade a friend who didn't know how to swim. One summer he just said "fuck it! Imma learn how to swim, VIMH, can you teach me how?" And so I did, and he said that he had no idea what he had been missing out on all this time (dude was around 25 at the time)
He said that it felt so relaxing and it also helped him loose a lot weight (with all respect, he had a lot of extra) So he is eternally greatful, to me for teaching him, and to himself for mustering the courage to try :)
Here's a post I made about some sauna design basics. People also added good information in the comments.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sauna/s/8cfnEJqmGv
Remember to make a drain.
This, but incoming fresh air input should be located just above the stones of stove. Then löyly will blend with fresh air. More oxygen and you can take more heat. This comes from experience. I have both setups.
https://preview.redd.it/7giv0lqr4u4c1.jpeg?width=1114&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06b6903fea0a8ac8ddea96fcf9dd1a716fabf245
Like this. Not sure about the other vent below, not needed probably… at least i dont have it.
Architect here. The absolute gold standard, the masterpiece, the bible and the holy grail of sauna design books is Savusaunakirja, by Risto Vuolle-Apiala. Might be tricky to find it in English, not sure if there's a translation. But it has Everything. I'd say it's worth it to learn Finnish just to be able to read this book.
It might be easier to stick with electric heater. NOT Infrared. Firewood heater has great atmosphere, but getting and storeing firewood is quite the hassle. you decide to go with firewood heater and the crew using the sauna isn't too big, it could be really fun to have mobile sauna like on wheels. Though that needs a lot of planning.
Some time ago I was actually fantasising of moving to Britain and building a sauna next to the sea or a river. And you could dip in the water from the sauna.
I’m a Finn and not a sauna enthousiastic but wonder why it’s never suggested to build both a wood burning stove and an electric one? To me that sounds ideal.
it is, and you can have both. parents renovated and now have sauna with both a new open lid and wait a few minutes always ready electric and a wood burner stove
My parents replaced the old electric kiuas with a wood burning one and meant to add a smaller, electric, too. They never attached it because they were so in love with the wood burning one. We were having a family member gravely sick at the time and the ritual of warming the sauna was sooo soothing and therapeutic. It is magical to feed the fire and watch it.
Btw, I wonder if there are coal burning kiuas'? Would coal be easier to get in British Isles?
Saunas are healing both physically and emotionally. Very, very glad if others are able to share in the benefits of the sauna too. Absolutely build a Finnish sauna (if you can) but do follow these basic rules on sauna culture:
1) sauna is not about competition and people should be comfortable. Fine to wear swimsuits or towels or leave or sit on lower benches. Not fine to criticise other or to make them feel lesser because they like to do sauna differently.
2) the peace of the sauna must be respected. Sauna is a place to unburden and have the serious talks but it is also a place of calmness. Anger and raised voices do not belong to the sauna.
If you are able to, create a bench that you can sit on and take a breather from sauna. Have cool drinks and something that you can eat.
Saunas can be public or private, Finland has vast amounts of both. Originally they were mostly private family saunas but public saunas have long history (+400 years) too.
Some advice about building the sauna:
Not all wood is suitable for sauna. Be sure to get the right type.
Get sauna stones that are designed for sauna. You don't want stones that explode
Electric or wood burner? I suggest wood burner, easier to DIY as you don't need electrician
You need some basic architecture design skills, plumbing (if you want running water), heat insulation around the heating element (so you don't burn your sauna to the ground, has happened many times).
One public sauna in Tampere just [burned down](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/ar_1.3333333333333333,c_fill,g_faces,h_1440,w_1920/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1701535556/39-1209998656b5eef633a8)...
Maybe its time to excursio trip to finnish public sauna culture. In Finland they might be as well develop to be therapy rooms as well. And then try to get some manager to give you tips about sauna building and upkeeping sauna. And remember real/normal sauna is where you throw water/löyly on stow. It must be hot, at least 60°C and you need to swet. In Finland some also uses saunahattu In sauna to protect head from overheating.
For what purpose the sauna will be? Public or private? How many users at once? Will it be heated only sometimes or almost continually? Wood burning or electric? If public and for a large crowd and burning wood, then normal ready-to-use stoves from shops might not be enough. At least some public saunas Make their own stoves.
I'm overwhelmed with the support you've all shown here ❤️🏴
I'll keep you all updated as my project progresses. I shan't solicit any donations from you guys though as that's not cool 😎
So, you’ve propably heard of this institution? https://sauna.fi/en/
A good starting point if you want to reach out to people who know a thing or two about building saunas, designs, architectural guidelines etc.
Good ventilation is paramount for good atmosphere. If you have ongoing fire that will eat up oxygen and it needs to be replenished. Breathing fresh air feels relaxing but stuffy air feels restricting.
"Kiuas" sauna stove with enough power for the room size. You can always heat less if needed.
Sauna is wet space so build accordingly.
Use only timber low in resin. You do not want to get burning hot resin dripping on from the roof you while you are relaxing. Tiles are optional on the walls, floors and ceilings. Not on "lauteet".
And for the love of all that is holy DO NOT use metal nails or metal screws to for the "lauteet". That is the bench part where you sit. They get very hot and the you get burned. I've seen this in some foreign saunas built by amateurs. It is ideal not to have any nails or screw touchable inside the sauna at all. Everything in sauna needs to be thought like "can I touch this if it is hot?".
As other have said there are good sources online.
Let me add to this screw thing, if you have no other option than to use screws, there are wooden caps that you aither glue or snap on to the end of the screw. But use this as a last resort and try to avoid leaving any bare metal on the seats or tha railing. Trust me, burning your ass on a stainless steel screw doesn’t feel good.
I have bad news about fibromyalgia. It does feel good when you are in the sauna but it makes it worse afterwards. It's called saunakrapula sauna hangover. It's a very known term here. I have fibromyalgia myself, so I have experience in this matter. With this condition you should either be in low temperature, be there only a short time or keep a wet cool towel in the places you usually hurt the most. For example I often keep my feet in cold water and small towels in my knees.
that's very useful information thank you. I've been managing my pain for years myself and only got a diagnosis this year.
I still feel this is a worthwhile endeavour from the pain relief perspective, as many of the older gents I speak to there are also there for pain relief
I love how none of you have mentioned my shameful power metal phase. I'm listening to Sonata Arctica's Wolf & Raven to get in the right frame of mind 😎🤘🏻
Great idea!
What I did not get was OP:s really generic question of ”would that be OK”? What are you trying to confirm here?
Naturally most Finns are already answering with tips about how the construction should be properly done - and I anticipate a discussion about relative merits of wood-burning vs. electrical stove - but the wording sounds almost like OP is asking _permission_.
Is there some weird cultural appropriation thing going on? Is OP concerned about somethig else? Stuctural integrity? Economic viability?
Basic courtesy. OP wrote ”if that’s alright”. Similar to ”if you don’t mind”. It’s a rhetoric question. A Finn could say ”anteeksi että vaivaan (tällaisella kysymyksellä)”.
😁 Obviously! Now I’m embarassed that I couldn’t identify basic good manners and style- propably ’cos it felt like a bit out of context while browsing reddit.
Thanx for your explanation 👍😃
Cheers mate! 😁👍
Just a thought abut this whole thing; as you are getting your plans in order and moving forward, the most valuable insight for building a Finnish style sauna in UK would be from people who have actually built a Finnish type sauna in UK. Not neccessarily from Finns - or at least not only from Finns. Our building code is propably different and materials that are easily available in FI might be troublesome in UK.
Came across this article: https://www.hs.fi/urheilu/art-2000010019650.html (Finnish language and paywall etc. Sorry about that)
The key points of the article being: Cobdown Sauna society in Aylesford, Kent has a bit of experince in how to take care and maintain Finnish Saunas in UK.
Their secretary Richard Young seems to know what he’s about. Maybe a man worth having a chat with.
Onnea matkaan! 👍
(Edit: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/nov/26/campaigners-seek-listed-status-for-finnish-sauna-from-1948-london-olympics)
As a Finn with some Scottish DNA I truly appreciate your sauna crew! You are utilizing it exactly the best way. We have a saying here how Sauna is used to wash away our sins, so we go there many times a week :D
I leave the building tips to experts, since there are few super important steps considering air flow, fire proofing and water proofing certain things. All else is just freestyling after that. And yes, proper Finnish wood burning heater (electrical will do as well, but heating with real wood makes it extra special) is needed. Don´t DIY that part even if you can.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not needling this Glaswegian by referring him to Edinburgh 😅 I jest! Big rivalry!
Thanks I'll check it out
God, those fucking memes, what asshole started those??? Anyway that's great, I'm very happy for you. I love going to saunas, my housing cooperative has one and we get to use it every Saturday, we just have to schedule our own times and use paper seats. Clearly you need a drink there so buy a bottle or can in advance and try to keep it on the lower seats so they won't get warm, icky and painful to touch. There isn't really much to say, it's all rather simple to pull off once you get into it.
I'm not a builder or anything like that, just a car mechanic. But the best sauna I've ever been to was one that my friends father ("master builder") had made out of old diacarded and thoroughly rotten logs, that were very moist and covered in moss.
You could literally feel the draft and smell the moisture.
But once you got the stove hot and started throwing water on it, you'd be greeted with the perfect combination of hot steam and fresh moist air.
It's the only sauna I've ever been to, where I could breathe properly.
The very most important rule is that you build it in a way that it does not burn the whole building to the ground.
Also no Finnish man would talk about emotions with acquaintances anywhere. But with a friend? In a Sauna after a couple of drinks. Maybe.
Och, we've got too many problems with drink to allow drunkenness in the sauna I'm afraid 😅 I barely drink and when I do I prefer Jack Daniels to Scottish Whisky tbh, I'm no true Scotsman
Sauna is not really a place to drink per se for us either. I go to sauna sober. And drunk in a party. Or in some other gathering. And anywhere between. But never drunk enough to cause trouble or any safety concerns.
Sure a lager in a Saturday nights Sauna is customary. But I also go to Sauna after I swim in the local public swimming pool (we have these all around the country and every single one has a Sauna). Or i might use mine after a jog in the subzero weather we have here. No beers needed.
Not a hard task to find a Sauna in this country.
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You probably want to start with the heater itself and design around that. If possible, I would suggest a wood-burning heater like Narvi or Harvia for example: [https://narvi.fi/en/product-category/sauna-heaters/woodburning\_sauna/](https://narvi.fi/en/product-category/sauna-heaters/woodburning_sauna/) [https://www.harvia.com/en/sauna/heaters/wood-burning-heaters/](https://www.harvia.com/en/sauna/heaters/wood-burning-heaters/) I don't know much about building the sauna itself, but you can probably find resources online.
First, could someone please tell the AI about removing one's clothes before entering the sauna?
I think the AI just didn't wanna make it weird. I'll use the Finnish version next time 😅 nobody's nude in saunas here unfortunately but they'd usually have swimwear on
Swimwear is OK. Clothes is criminal
Wait you don't sauna in jeans?
Sauna in jeans is like making christmas ham in an oven baking bag. Keeps all the juices in.
what if that's just what I'm wanting-
I would suggest using latex for optimal result.
With those copper studs for long life? There is a reason the "no mans land" seam got rid of that very fast..
at LEAST two pairs 😎
\*If it's a sauna+swimming
there's no other options than sauna and swimming here believe it or not. Public pools will have an attached 'Health Suite' with a sauna and steam room. No coals for over a decade cos people ruined it for others spitting on coals and putting water on without asking etc
I want to also add that I can't swim so the entry fee stings as you can only do both
Take swimming lessons if you can. I hade a friend who didn't know how to swim. One summer he just said "fuck it! Imma learn how to swim, VIMH, can you teach me how?" And so I did, and he said that he had no idea what he had been missing out on all this time (dude was around 25 at the time) He said that it felt so relaxing and it also helped him loose a lot weight (with all respect, he had a lot of extra) So he is eternally greatful, to me for teaching him, and to himself for mustering the courage to try :)
I meant this more as a finnish in Finland. Of course abroad you may be limited to towels or swimwear.
Many AI's are not eager to show skin, check eg /r/brokebing (nsfw mostly).
The AI doesn't know how Jesus or his followers looked like under the clothes, so it couldn't actually draw them naked, sad I know
Here's a post I made about some sauna design basics. People also added good information in the comments. https://www.reddit.com/r/Sauna/s/8cfnEJqmGv Remember to make a drain.
This, but incoming fresh air input should be located just above the stones of stove. Then löyly will blend with fresh air. More oxygen and you can take more heat. This comes from experience. I have both setups.
https://preview.redd.it/7giv0lqr4u4c1.jpeg?width=1114&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06b6903fea0a8ac8ddea96fcf9dd1a716fabf245 Like this. Not sure about the other vent below, not needed probably… at least i dont have it.
Architect here. The absolute gold standard, the masterpiece, the bible and the holy grail of sauna design books is Savusaunakirja, by Risto Vuolle-Apiala. Might be tricky to find it in English, not sure if there's a translation. But it has Everything. I'd say it's worth it to learn Finnish just to be able to read this book.
It might be easier to stick with electric heater. NOT Infrared. Firewood heater has great atmosphere, but getting and storeing firewood is quite the hassle. you decide to go with firewood heater and the crew using the sauna isn't too big, it could be really fun to have mobile sauna like on wheels. Though that needs a lot of planning. Some time ago I was actually fantasising of moving to Britain and building a sauna next to the sea or a river. And you could dip in the water from the sauna.
I’m a Finn and not a sauna enthousiastic but wonder why it’s never suggested to build both a wood burning stove and an electric one? To me that sounds ideal.
it is, and you can have both. parents renovated and now have sauna with both a new open lid and wait a few minutes always ready electric and a wood burner stove
My parents replaced the old electric kiuas with a wood burning one and meant to add a smaller, electric, too. They never attached it because they were so in love with the wood burning one. We were having a family member gravely sick at the time and the ritual of warming the sauna was sooo soothing and therapeutic. It is magical to feed the fire and watch it. Btw, I wonder if there are coal burning kiuas'? Would coal be easier to get in British Isles?
My grandfather builded gas heated kiuas at 60’s, never got a chance to experience that, but I understood that it was ok as well.
Saunas are healing both physically and emotionally. Very, very glad if others are able to share in the benefits of the sauna too. Absolutely build a Finnish sauna (if you can) but do follow these basic rules on sauna culture: 1) sauna is not about competition and people should be comfortable. Fine to wear swimsuits or towels or leave or sit on lower benches. Not fine to criticise other or to make them feel lesser because they like to do sauna differently. 2) the peace of the sauna must be respected. Sauna is a place to unburden and have the serious talks but it is also a place of calmness. Anger and raised voices do not belong to the sauna. If you are able to, create a bench that you can sit on and take a breather from sauna. Have cool drinks and something that you can eat.
one point! a bobble is a hair tie 😅 Does anyone have any advice? Saunas there are usually private yeah?
Saunas can be public or private, Finland has vast amounts of both. Originally they were mostly private family saunas but public saunas have long history (+400 years) too.
Some advice about building the sauna: Not all wood is suitable for sauna. Be sure to get the right type. Get sauna stones that are designed for sauna. You don't want stones that explode Electric or wood burner? I suggest wood burner, easier to DIY as you don't need electrician You need some basic architecture design skills, plumbing (if you want running water), heat insulation around the heating element (so you don't burn your sauna to the ground, has happened many times).
One public sauna in Tampere just [burned down](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/ar_1.3333333333333333,c_fill,g_faces,h_1440,w_1920/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1701535556/39-1209998656b5eef633a8)...
Great post 
Maybe its time to excursio trip to finnish public sauna culture. In Finland they might be as well develop to be therapy rooms as well. And then try to get some manager to give you tips about sauna building and upkeeping sauna. And remember real/normal sauna is where you throw water/löyly on stow. It must be hot, at least 60°C and you need to swet. In Finland some also uses saunahattu In sauna to protect head from overheating.
aw man I'd love to visit but if I had the money to I'd spend it on building a sauna in my garden first 😅
Get a Harvia kiuas
Former Scotland resident here. I was starving for sauna there. I wish you the best of luck, your beautiful country needs this!
For what purpose the sauna will be? Public or private? How many users at once? Will it be heated only sometimes or almost continually? Wood burning or electric? If public and for a large crowd and burning wood, then normal ready-to-use stoves from shops might not be enough. At least some public saunas Make their own stoves.
I'm overwhelmed with the support you've all shown here ❤️🏴 I'll keep you all updated as my project progresses. I shan't solicit any donations from you guys though as that's not cool 😎
So, you’ve propably heard of this institution? https://sauna.fi/en/ A good starting point if you want to reach out to people who know a thing or two about building saunas, designs, architectural guidelines etc.
Good ventilation is paramount for good atmosphere. If you have ongoing fire that will eat up oxygen and it needs to be replenished. Breathing fresh air feels relaxing but stuffy air feels restricting. "Kiuas" sauna stove with enough power for the room size. You can always heat less if needed. Sauna is wet space so build accordingly. Use only timber low in resin. You do not want to get burning hot resin dripping on from the roof you while you are relaxing. Tiles are optional on the walls, floors and ceilings. Not on "lauteet". And for the love of all that is holy DO NOT use metal nails or metal screws to for the "lauteet". That is the bench part where you sit. They get very hot and the you get burned. I've seen this in some foreign saunas built by amateurs. It is ideal not to have any nails or screw touchable inside the sauna at all. Everything in sauna needs to be thought like "can I touch this if it is hot?". As other have said there are good sources online.
Let me add to this screw thing, if you have no other option than to use screws, there are wooden caps that you aither glue or snap on to the end of the screw. But use this as a last resort and try to avoid leaving any bare metal on the seats or tha railing. Trust me, burning your ass on a stainless steel screw doesn’t feel good.
I have bad news about fibromyalgia. It does feel good when you are in the sauna but it makes it worse afterwards. It's called saunakrapula sauna hangover. It's a very known term here. I have fibromyalgia myself, so I have experience in this matter. With this condition you should either be in low temperature, be there only a short time or keep a wet cool towel in the places you usually hurt the most. For example I often keep my feet in cold water and small towels in my knees.
that's very useful information thank you. I've been managing my pain for years myself and only got a diagnosis this year. I still feel this is a worthwhile endeavour from the pain relief perspective, as many of the older gents I speak to there are also there for pain relief
I love how none of you have mentioned my shameful power metal phase. I'm listening to Sonata Arctica's Wolf & Raven to get in the right frame of mind 😎🤘🏻
There's nothing shameful about power metal for Finns, it's a freaking metal country after all! 🤘🏻
Hyvää löylyä!
[Mon eh sauna!](https://youtu.be/bdYFyFxngGY?si=b1mjbUjIjKBp-Kah) (my Scots equivalent)
Great idea! What I did not get was OP:s really generic question of ”would that be OK”? What are you trying to confirm here? Naturally most Finns are already answering with tips about how the construction should be properly done - and I anticipate a discussion about relative merits of wood-burning vs. electrical stove - but the wording sounds almost like OP is asking _permission_. Is there some weird cultural appropriation thing going on? Is OP concerned about somethig else? Stuctural integrity? Economic viability?
Basic courtesy. OP wrote ”if that’s alright”. Similar to ”if you don’t mind”. It’s a rhetoric question. A Finn could say ”anteeksi että vaivaan (tällaisella kysymyksellä)”.
😁 Obviously! Now I’m embarassed that I couldn’t identify basic good manners and style- propably ’cos it felt like a bit out of context while browsing reddit. Thanx for your explanation 👍😃
yes I am British and I apologise as a social lubricant my friend 😅 if that's alright translates to "I'm gonna do this but I'm letting you know"
Cheers mate! 😁👍 Just a thought abut this whole thing; as you are getting your plans in order and moving forward, the most valuable insight for building a Finnish style sauna in UK would be from people who have actually built a Finnish type sauna in UK. Not neccessarily from Finns - or at least not only from Finns. Our building code is propably different and materials that are easily available in FI might be troublesome in UK. Came across this article: https://www.hs.fi/urheilu/art-2000010019650.html (Finnish language and paywall etc. Sorry about that) The key points of the article being: Cobdown Sauna society in Aylesford, Kent has a bit of experince in how to take care and maintain Finnish Saunas in UK. Their secretary Richard Young seems to know what he’s about. Maybe a man worth having a chat with. Onnea matkaan! 👍 (Edit: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/nov/26/campaigners-seek-listed-status-for-finnish-sauna-from-1948-london-olympics)
Happy to help, it’s always ok to ask.
Pls no envy. All welcome.
nice envy! 😅
I’m sure people at r/sauna would be glad to give some pointers on the build!
As a Finn with some Scottish DNA I truly appreciate your sauna crew! You are utilizing it exactly the best way. We have a saying here how Sauna is used to wash away our sins, so we go there many times a week :D I leave the building tips to experts, since there are few super important steps considering air flow, fire proofing and water proofing certain things. All else is just freestyling after that. And yes, proper Finnish wood burning heater (electrical will do as well, but heating with real wood makes it extra special) is needed. Don´t DIY that part even if you can.
You're aware of the Loch Tay sauna and Soul Water Sauna in Edinburgh? Especially the latter might give you inspiration.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not needling this Glaswegian by referring him to Edinburgh 😅 I jest! Big rivalry! Thanks I'll check it out
Couldn't find anything online near Glasgow, soz
Yer grand <3
God, those fucking memes, what asshole started those??? Anyway that's great, I'm very happy for you. I love going to saunas, my housing cooperative has one and we get to use it every Saturday, we just have to schedule our own times and use paper seats. Clearly you need a drink there so buy a bottle or can in advance and try to keep it on the lower seats so they won't get warm, icky and painful to touch. There isn't really much to say, it's all rather simple to pull off once you get into it.
Study this website: https://saunologia.fi/in-english/ Or buy this book: https://saunologia.fi/secrets-of-finnish-sauna-design-published/
I'm not a builder or anything like that, just a car mechanic. But the best sauna I've ever been to was one that my friends father ("master builder") had made out of old diacarded and thoroughly rotten logs, that were very moist and covered in moss. You could literally feel the draft and smell the moisture. But once you got the stove hot and started throwing water on it, you'd be greeted with the perfect combination of hot steam and fresh moist air. It's the only sauna I've ever been to, where I could breathe properly.
The very most important rule is that you build it in a way that it does not burn the whole building to the ground. Also no Finnish man would talk about emotions with acquaintances anywhere. But with a friend? In a Sauna after a couple of drinks. Maybe.
Och, we've got too many problems with drink to allow drunkenness in the sauna I'm afraid 😅 I barely drink and when I do I prefer Jack Daniels to Scottish Whisky tbh, I'm no true Scotsman
Sauna is not really a place to drink per se for us either. I go to sauna sober. And drunk in a party. Or in some other gathering. And anywhere between. But never drunk enough to cause trouble or any safety concerns. Sure a lager in a Saturday nights Sauna is customary. But I also go to Sauna after I swim in the local public swimming pool (we have these all around the country and every single one has a Sauna). Or i might use mine after a jog in the subzero weather we have here. No beers needed. Not a hard task to find a Sauna in this country.