Build your own diy sauna

In addition to technical know-how, creativity is also required

Do you want to build your own diy sauna? Have you perhaps ever dreamed of having a sauna in your backyard? Of course, the idea of building a sauna yourself is not easy to implement for everyone and involves a lot of planning and work. Craftsmanship is also required here. If you have two left hands or simply the right tools are not available, then you can of course call in a craftsman to help. Specialized carpenters can help you plan and build your dream sauna and take care of the installation of important connections. In addition, the installation of the sauna heater is also an important question if you prefer a Finnish sauna cabin.

Building a sauna yourself – planning and design

Create a detailed construction plan

Buying a ready-made sauna cabin for your home can become quite an expensive story, but building your own sauna can also incur costs that you should not underestimate. Here the question arises for you, to what extent you take your own initiative, become active yourself and take the sauna construction into your own hands. Otherwise, “building a sauna yourself” will incur additional costs for hiring a carpenter. So if you don’t want to lose control of your finances, you should plan in advance all the costs and personal effort of your project. This includes, for example, the building materials, craft equipment, connections and additional purchases such as sauna accessories.

Build your own diy sauna – in different sizes and formats

Today’s diverse modern sauna products are so mobile and smart that they cut a fine figure even in small apartments. However, an individual sauna solution may also be required, as ready-made saunas do not always offer enough space for several people and do not always fit easily into every living situation. So if you are looking for an individual sauna solution for your home, you can also simply build your own diy sauna. Of course, building your own sauna will cost you money, but you can realize all your sauna dreams and saunas in any style and design you prefer.

Sauna in the garden – pure romance in your own sweat lodge

Are idyllic winter evenings in the garden with your partner or even with friends something that belongs to a perfect winter evening for you? Therefore, your own sauna in the garden is a great solution to provide warmth and coziness in winter. The time you usually spend cozily by the fireplace or sitting by the fire, you can also spend by healthy sweating and detoxing in your home sauna. Your own sauna in the garden is therefore a good idea, especially for couples among sauna fans.

Make winter dreams come true

Your own sauna in the garden is a nice way to make your dream of a personal sauna come true. Nevertheless, building your own sauna also involves a lot of effort. If you already have a wooden garden shed in your backyard, you can build on it and start building your sauna there. Here, of course, you should first make sure that you choose a suitable type of wood, so that you can enjoy your sauna for a long time. For example, abachi wood is a good choice for the sauna benches. As profile wood for the walls you can choose for example Hemlock or also spruce wood. You should make sure that you only use resin-free wood for sauna construction.

Wall construction – building a functional sauna cabin

To build a functional sauna cabin, you should first determine if you have a waterproof floor – and if in doubt, have an expert confirm it. If possible, the floor and walls should be covered with tiles or a similar material. Building your own sauna at home requires that you plan the wall construction and the dimensions of the sauna cabin sufficiently in advance, so that there are no unpleasant surprises afterwards. Before building the sauna, you should plan the wall construction and the choice of the right wood, taking into account the wall of the room. If you do not necessarily have a tiled wall, then you should also ensure that the condensation water cannot penetrate the room wall. You can achieve this, for example, by fixing vertically dowelled battens directly to the wall.

The right construction for the sauna cabin

Now that you have chosen the right place to build the sauna, you can finally start building the sauna yourself! So, first you should assemble the floor and a basic framework, so that the wall construction and the construction can be done directly leaning on it. You should select the sauna door in advance, if possible as a finished component in the correct dimensions for the sauna. For the construction of your own sauna it requires here first of all manual skill, so that with the wall construction and with the construction of the ceiling also long-term durability and impermeability can be ensured. When building a sauna, you should plan the wall structure and the construction of the ceiling as carefully as possible. For the wall construction, for example, a timber frame construction is recommended, which you can then plank with profiled boards.

Tips for building your own sauna

Enable luxury and comfort in the best possible way

So as long as you have a stable concept for the wall structure and construction, there shouldn’t be much standing in the way of your own home sweat lodge. The profiled wood for the walls, whether Nordic spruce, hemlock, aspen, red cedar, silver fir or solid wood, should allow for heat-impermeable sauna operation. However, you are certainly missing suitable sauna benches, which should convince with a long durability. In addition, it might be useful for you to install a sauna lamp, which you can place on the ceiling, walls or floor as you wish. Sauna boxes are a great idea if you want to make your stay in your sauna as comfortable and varied as possible. To save space, it is best to install the sauna heater in one of the corners. Here you can choose between wood, electric, gas or bio heaters.

Step by step to the finished sauna cabin

If you want to build your own diy sauna yourself, you should plan the individual steps carefully, in addition to the costs. It is advantageous, for example, if you first complete the sauna floor and then build the basic framework for the sauna cabin. Here you should pay attention to sufficient stability and durability. Then you can proceed with the construction of the sauna benches, the installation of the sauna heater and the wall construction. An additional colored light system for the sauna lamp can also provide even more relaxation in your sauna. At the very end comes the construction of the ceiling. If you still haven’t had enough, we recommend a sauna shower for added luxury or a temperature sensor for added safety.

Build your own diy sauna and be rewarded with promoted health

Taking a sauna in winter is a healthy measure for pretty much everyone against the occurrence of diseases and additionally leads to physical well-being. Saunas strengthen the immune system, heart and circulation and are also good for the skin. However, to ensure that saunas also have long-term positive effects, you should find time for healthy sweating once a week if possible. This is definitely feasible with your own sauna at home. Thus, building your own home sauna should definitely be very worthwhile, even if it requires a lot of work and long-term planning in advance. But the more elaborate the composition of your own sauna cabin is, the more you will be happy about cozy evenings on the sweat bench afterwards.

Sweating as comfortably as possible with your own sauna heater

The completely individual design of your sauna cabin enables the realization of maximum comfort and your very own wishes and ideas. For example, you can design the sauna to match the interior design and color. In order to ensure optimal well-being during sauna bathing when building your own sauna in the garden or in the apartment, the choice of the right sauna heater is also crucial for you. For example, by choosing a wood-burning stove for the sauna in the garden, you can create more romance and coziness while taking a sauna. However, you will still need a chimney.

What costs more: building a sauna yourself or installing a ready-made sauna cabin?

If you want to build your own diy sauna, then all doors are open to you. You can be really creative and design the sauna according to your personal taste and individual needs. Of course, building your own sauna will also incur some costs, which you should calculate in advance. You should decide for yourself whether building your dream sauna really makes sense or whether buying a ready-made sauna set would not be more suitable. Of course, you can save money in some areas and estimate the material requirements exactly, but in terms of cost, building your own sauna is not necessarily more advantageous than buying a prefabricated set. For example, if you do not have the necessary craftsmanship, then the sauna self-build could quickly become a bit more expensive with a visit to a professional carpenter.

Build and equip sauna yourself

Products for construction

As we have mentioned many times now, you should definitely plan your costs accurately and calculate them properly, so that you are not negatively surprised afterwards. Even though building your own sauna is a sensible investment, not least in your own health, you should approach the construction project realistically. If you build your sauna yourself, you will not necessarily come off better in terms of costs than if you install your ready-made cabin. On the other hand, taking a sauna in your personal dream sauna is a very special and unique experience, which you have absolutely earned after the long construction time – building your own sauna can quickly become a project of self-realization in your own home. If you want to build your own diy sauna, here are all the important products you should consider.

The sauna heater

As for the sauna heater, you can choose between wood, gas, electric or bio heaters. A wood-burning stove is the traditional Finnish version, which uses dry wood for heating. In this case, however, you also need a chimney. For an electric stove, on the other hand, you need an electrical connection, but it is very easy and safe to use. A gas heater offers easy operation and temperature setting, but requires additional safety precautions. A bio sauna heater allows you to set the temperature and humidity separately.

The right wood

You should choose the wood for sauna construction carefully, because it will be a big part of your sauna. First and foremost, it should be durable and as impermeable to water and air as possible. Solid wood, pine, silver fir, red cedar, aspen, hemlock and spruce are particularly suitable as profiled wood for the walls. For the sauna benches you can choose, for example, abachi wood, because here stability and durability are particularly important. As already mentioned, the wood you use should be resin-free.

The sauna lamp

You can placethe sauna lamp wherever you want, and you have quite a few different lighting solutions to choose from. A color lighting system can create a positive mood and both more harmony and relaxation during sauna.

The sauna door

Whether you choose a wooden or glass door, the choice of the sauna door should depend on the rest of your design concept. Here, too, you should of course make sure that the dimensions are suitable, and if you are unsure, it is better to go for a ready-assembled door that you only have to hang in place.

The sauna benches

If you don’t have comfortable sun loungers or a large couch near your future sauna location right now, then you might want to do some touch ups. We think that after a long sauna session there is hardly anything better than relaxing on a comfortable lounger afterwards.