How to create a home sauna

Saunas are known to have health benefits in addition to the relaxing experience. Building a home sauna gives you 24/7 access to a haven or relaxation and the benefit of knowing your place is clean and infection free. A sauna can take up space and is quite expensive to build, but recently they have become more affordable and easier to install. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Choose a place for your sauna. Any area averaging fifty square feet would suffice. You can turn a closet, basement, garage and extra bathroom into your relaxation corner. Outdoor saunas are best situated near swimming pools such as in a shed or outdoor shower. When choosing a location, keep in mind the additional cost of plumbing and electrical wiring.

2. Build the walls, floor and ceiling of your sauna. 2-by-4 studs would make great materials for all sides of the room. Be sure to leave space below the floor and above the ceiling for wiring. Insulate your sauna with conventional 15″ wide fiberglass insulation baths. The insulation rating of your sauna walls should be 13 to conserve heat, while the ceiling should be rated 22 to 26. You can also cover the exterior of your sauna with cedar, as it is a hard wood that can withstand high temperatures.

3. When creating the walls, make sure to include at least two vents. One should be directly above the heater to reduce the risk of hazardous fumes. The other can be installed on the other side of the first to ensure proper air circulation inside. This will ensure that you have evenly dispersed heat and enough oxygen inside.

4. You can install a window apart from the door to act as the largest vent. Sauna doors open and must fit properly into the frame to prevent heat loss. Sauna doors are available from most sauna providers.

5. A stove is essential to generate heat. You can have a stove that generates heat through the burning of wood. This type generally needs a 60 to 90 minute head start before feeling the desired temperature. Burning wood is also tedious and can become dangerous due to smoke and fumes. Electric stoves take only half the time to generate enough heat. They come in different sizes and different wattages depending on the type and size. Singing a gas stove is less expensive than electric and safer than wood. This is easy to maintain, but you should check for carbon monoxide production, as this type of air molecule is dangerous when inhaled in large amounts.

6. The seats in a sauna should be built with cedar planks. The seats are usually in the style of a bunker stacked on top of each other and the length should be long enough for someone to stretch out. The size of the sauna will be your measure of the seating capacity you can install.

Creating a sauna for your own home is an investment that you are sure to appreciate as you age.