Thanks for the update Pat. All of your DIY vidoes are great, I used a couple of them during covid to improve my home gym. Quick question on the vent...is it on an exterior wall of the house or is it pulling air from another interior room? I dont have access to an exterior wall, but there is an adjoining interior room that I could vent to. Thanks again for all of the great content you and Kristi provide!! Hold the onions!🤢
How did you wire your sauna heater please ? Did you use a high temperature wire or just a regular romex inside a non metallic liquefied conduit? Really appreciate your work, your sauna look great and also your choice on colors in the basement 😊
Would love to see the basement redo! Was actually wondering this entire video if you had done one when you showed little snippets of it haha (and from your backyard, what are the curtains hanging on/ how is it attached to the wood)?
Just out of curiosity, what is dry sauna? We generally (well always) use water to kiuas, hence it will generate steam but it is not like turkish bath though, but thats what we do.
What is a dry sauna like? In the sauna, you have to throw water on the heater and get a proper steaming done. If slush is thrown, the sauna is not dry. And if the steam is not thrown into the stove, the sauna is not a sauna but a steam booth. There is a good foundation for a sauna, but it only becomes a sauna when you throw a water on the stones and make sure that the sauna dries when the sauna is finished. I also wonder why a sauna has to be cheap. You can't get good for cheap.
Thank you! Was educational. I have a concrete house in Mexico and I want to build a sauna in one of the closets. I'm concerned that the concrete would soak up all the heat making the room forever to heat and then retain. Is there any padding/paint/material I could throw on the walls to "insulate" it? or is no insulation needed?
Thanks for the hints and updates. I am building a sauna similar to yours in our basement converting a room. Being yours is 6 x 6 and gets up to 180 degrees, what heater would you recommend for us with our room being approx 11.5 x 7.5 ?? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, Pat: can you comment on your choice of wood? Tongue in groove cedar at a Home Depot or Lowes is SOOOOO much more reasonable than wood from a sauna supply store. Wood marketed for DIY saunas is like 4x the price... is it worth it? What are the tradeoffs? Oh, sorry, 2nd question.. I assume the cedar remains unfinished, correct? Thank you!
Most of the wood from the Sauna companies are clear lumber, no knots. Pat used Tite knot lumber for his sauna. The Sauna companies will tell you that the knots will be hotter than the surrounding wood, so that is why they use clear lumber.
There are no "sauna trees" cedar is cedar. Although there are different grades as mentioned above. Might fund better pricing at a lumber yard and straighter pieces but do what your budget allows
7:22 it would still be a good idea to check behind the siding in a low spot to confirm there’s no mold between the siding and underlay. I think the vent was helpful for several reasons. One being it will help dry out the room between uses and help alleviate any potential mold growth. Probably wouldn’t hurt to put a fan on it after using to help completely dry the room. It looks very nice and clean. Great work and video. 👍 th-cam.com/video/nYV4I10orqA/w-d-xo.html&si=C42xzzjU7ushtuFI
I have an existing 1-person FIR sauna (radiant health e1h), and would like to remove the glass door (65"H x 24"W) and position a Red-Led panel in it's place (36"Hx12"W). Mounting the panel on a movable tv stand is not a problem, but once I wheel it into position, I don't want any gaps between the panel and the door-jamb. I understand the existing "Serious-Window" glass door is triple-plane (R6?), but I was thinking I could mount some insulating material (spaceloft-aerogel , XPS, HempWool, etc) around the panel? Since it's such a small area , the cost of the insulating material is not a concern, nor it being fire-retardant. The only concern would be breathing right next to it. Any suggestions on mounting or what I can do around the panel to insulate it?
Ok, here is the big question. Contractors are notoriously over budget and you married an accountant who wants to be under budget. How is that working out for you?
Without mechanical venting that draws the air to the outdoors- where do you think the water you're throwing onto the sauna is going...? Also, the air in your house is not 0% moisture. When 1 room is much hotter than the others (this sauna room) and lacks mechanical venting, this room will draw moisture from the rest of the house. When the sauna cool, this moisture will condense in the benches, flooring, and adjacent walls. This sauna needs a drain and mechanical venting. Please read Trumpkin's Notes!
I watched your original video and the biggest mistake you did was not to add joists under your sedar boards. Sauna is not really dry. When you throw water on heated rocks, it creates steam=moisture. And that moisture will stick to the boards. You need ventilation behind the boards to dry them. The added ventilation helps and cedar is naturally mold resistant that helps but unfortunately not enough. So this is not a long lasting build for you.
That's not true. Running sleepers behind the boards does, in theory, provide an air gap. We had that done on the exterior of our house. We have rigid insulation, with then 1/2 furring strips vertically attached, and then our hardie board attached horizontally over that. The furring strips create a drainage plane, and allow air to ciruclate between the siding and rigid foam board insulation. In a sauna, it's creating dry heat -- the moisture created in that room with the pouring of water on the heater is evaporated in seconds. As long as he has the venting done, that place is going to dry out fully no problem. So in theory, the furring strip idea is best practice, but in reality, or at least in this application, it's not necessary. Pat, nice job, man. I'm a fitness nut as well, and have a very similar set-up. Don't ever let perfect be the enemy of good. The only thing that I would recommend you try beyond the change you made with venting is thinking about getting your bench higher. You want your feet "above the stones." In traditional Finnish saunas this is a must. The idea behind it is that you want your whole body to be in the heat zone (approximately the bottom 1/3 of the sauna shouldn't be occupied, and your body shiould be in the top 2/3. They also push 8+ ceiling height - I know you couldn't do this in your pre-built room. Check out this resource for more info: localmile.org/trumpkins-notes-on-building-a-sauna/
I think this guy thinks heat rises more than it do. I suppose with the heating being fairly asymetic you should get more heat rising effect, but he actually thinks the room is room temperature at the floor of a sauna. What temperature does he think the floor is outside of a sauna?
I have a sauna room in my house, the floor inside the sauna is just bare concrete. If I keep the sauna on all day or fire it mornings and evenings for a couple days, keeping the temperature around 70c the concrete will be warm or even cool to the touch. So I think what he is saying is pretty accurate the flooring will not change temperature like say the bench seating will inside the sauna room.
The biggest mistake anyone can make building a sauna is not installing air circulation vents. Sauna will get moldy and rotten if there is not enough air circulation to dry it after. All Finnish people know that.
😂 I literally just recommended checking under the siding and putting a fan on the room to dry it out. And your spot on about look to those who already do it well. 😅
People who never try, never fail; you did good. I am looking to build something soon but want to avoid mold and other mistakes.
I really appreciate the reflection video. Always helpful to hear lessons learned and how you're using it in life.
well done, I did very similar sauce in my garden room, built it myself and all works perfect.
Thanks for the update Pat. All of your DIY vidoes are great, I used a couple of them during covid to improve my home gym. Quick question on the vent...is it on an exterior wall of the house or is it pulling air from another interior room? I dont have access to an exterior wall, but there is an adjoining interior room that I could vent to. Thanks again for all of the great content you and Kristi provide!! Hold the onions!🤢
Same question on the vent. Please help. Great video otherwise! Thanks!
Excited to do this in the space where our garden tub is located in the bathroom. Looks great!
How did you wire your sauna heater please ? Did you use a high temperature wire or just a regular romex inside a non metallic liquefied conduit?
Really appreciate your work, your sauna look great and also your choice on colors in the basement 😊
Would love to see the basement redo! Was actually wondering this entire video if you had done one when you showed little snippets of it haha (and from your backyard, what are the curtains hanging on/ how is it attached to the wood)?
Hey! Patrick ran gas pipe across for the curtains to hang from across the wood post!
@@Kristi-Eramo-OConnell thanks so much!
Love it…need to share this video with my hubs…we could so do this in our shop!!
Great follow up and I feel you on some of the really ticky-tack comments some people are throwing out there. IT'S A DRY SAUNA, NOT A STEAM ROOM!!!
Just out of curiosity, what is dry sauna? We generally (well always) use water to kiuas, hence it will generate steam but it is not like turkish bath though, but thats what we do.
Really awesome work! Thank you so much for sharing.
I really want to do my storage room like this thanks for the update
Where does the vent exit to?
What is a dry sauna like? In the sauna, you have to throw water on the heater and get a proper steaming done. If slush is thrown, the sauna is not dry. And if the steam is not thrown into the stove, the sauna is not a sauna but a steam booth. There is a good foundation for a sauna, but it only becomes a sauna when you throw a water on the stones and make sure that the sauna dries when the sauna is finished. I also wonder why a sauna has to be cheap. You can't get good for cheap.
Thank you! Was educational. I have a concrete house in Mexico and I want to build a sauna in one of the closets. I'm concerned that the concrete would soak up all the heat making the room forever to heat and then retain. Is there any padding/paint/material I could throw on the walls to "insulate" it? or is no insulation needed?
Thanks for the hints and updates. I am building a sauna similar to yours in our basement converting a room. Being yours is 6 x 6 and gets up to 180 degrees, what heater would you recommend for us with our room being approx 11.5 x 7.5 ?? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, Pat: can you comment on your choice of wood? Tongue in groove cedar at a Home Depot or Lowes is SOOOOO much more reasonable than wood from a sauna supply store. Wood marketed for DIY saunas is like 4x the price... is it worth it? What are the tradeoffs? Oh, sorry, 2nd question.. I assume the cedar remains unfinished, correct? Thank you!
Most of the wood from the Sauna companies are clear lumber, no knots. Pat used Tite knot lumber for his sauna. The Sauna companies will tell you that the knots will be hotter than the surrounding wood, so that is why they use clear lumber.
There are no "sauna trees" cedar is cedar. Although there are different grades as mentioned above. Might fund better pricing at a lumber yard and straighter pieces but do what your budget allows
Love it, you did a great job
7:22 it would still be a good idea to check behind the siding in a low spot to confirm there’s no mold between the siding and underlay. I think the vent was helpful for several reasons. One being it will help dry out the room between uses and help alleviate any potential mold growth. Probably wouldn’t hurt to put a fan on it after using to help completely dry the room. It looks very nice and clean. Great work and video. 👍 th-cam.com/video/nYV4I10orqA/w-d-xo.html&si=C42xzzjU7ushtuFI
Where did you buy the cedar
I have an existing 1-person FIR sauna (radiant health e1h), and would like to remove the glass door (65"H x 24"W) and position a Red-Led panel in it's place (36"Hx12"W). Mounting the panel on a movable tv stand is not a problem, but once I wheel it into position, I don't want any gaps between the panel and the door-jamb.
I understand the existing "Serious-Window" glass door is triple-plane (R6?), but I was thinking I could mount some insulating material (spaceloft-aerogel , XPS, HempWool, etc) around the panel? Since it's such a small area , the cost of the insulating material is not a concern, nor it being fire-retardant. The only concern would be breathing right next to it.
Any suggestions on mounting or what I can do around the panel to insulate it?
Thanks for sharing
You guys have the 8kw on a 30a breaker, right? Seems like anything leas than 6kw doesn't perform too well.
Pat said its is actually on a 40 amp breaker.
He stated his heater is rated at 33 amps @ 240 volts, so a 40 amp double breaker would be suitable for his installation.
Ok, here is the big question. Contractors are notoriously over budget and you married an accountant who wants to be under budget. How is that working out for you?
Without mechanical venting that draws the air to the outdoors- where do you think the water you're throwing onto the sauna is going...? Also, the air in your house is not 0% moisture. When 1 room is much hotter than the others (this sauna room) and lacks mechanical venting, this room will draw moisture from the rest of the house. When the sauna cool, this moisture will condense in the benches, flooring, and adjacent walls. This sauna needs a drain and mechanical venting.
Please read Trumpkin's Notes!
OK added to my honey do list. 😊
Share does pictures, also from the ppl that send you pics too thanks
I watched your original video and the biggest mistake you did was not to add joists under your sedar boards. Sauna is not really dry. When you throw water on heated rocks, it creates steam=moisture. And that moisture will stick to the boards. You need ventilation behind the boards to dry them. The added ventilation helps and cedar is naturally mold resistant that helps but unfortunately not enough. So this is not a long lasting build for you.
That's not true. Running sleepers behind the boards does, in theory, provide an air gap. We had that done on the exterior of our house. We have rigid insulation, with then 1/2 furring strips vertically attached, and then our hardie board attached horizontally over that. The furring strips create a drainage plane, and allow air to ciruclate between the siding and rigid foam board insulation. In a sauna, it's creating dry heat -- the moisture created in that room with the pouring of water on the heater is evaporated in seconds. As long as he has the venting done, that place is going to dry out fully no problem. So in theory, the furring strip idea is best practice, but in reality, or at least in this application, it's not necessary.
Pat, nice job, man. I'm a fitness nut as well, and have a very similar set-up. Don't ever let perfect be the enemy of good. The only thing that I would recommend you try beyond the change you made with venting is thinking about getting your bench higher. You want your feet "above the stones." In traditional Finnish saunas this is a must. The idea behind it is that you want your whole body to be in the heat zone (approximately the bottom 1/3 of the sauna shouldn't be occupied, and your body shiould be in the top 2/3. They also push 8+ ceiling height - I know you couldn't do this in your pre-built room. Check out this resource for more info: localmile.org/trumpkins-notes-on-building-a-sauna/
Put a shower there like a luxury gym shower it’s endless ideas
Translucent glass would have been better for privacy.
I think it should be how to build a sauna and not a suna👍
😂.... I would agree.. Fixed 😃
I think this guy thinks heat rises more than it do. I suppose with the heating being fairly asymetic you should get more heat rising effect, but he actually thinks the room is room temperature at the floor of a sauna. What temperature does he think the floor is outside of a sauna?
I have a sauna room in my house, the floor inside the sauna is just bare concrete. If I keep the sauna on all day or fire it mornings and evenings for a couple days, keeping the temperature around 70c the concrete will be warm or even cool to the touch. So I think what he is saying is pretty accurate the flooring will not change temperature like say the bench seating will inside the sauna room.
That drywall patch is killin e homie lol
lol what drywall patch?
@@Kristi-Eramo-OConnell think he’s taking about the dodgy repair on the black wall 😂
The biggest mistake anyone can make building a sauna is not installing air circulation vents. Sauna will get moldy and rotten if there is not enough air circulation to dry it after. All Finnish people know that.
😂 I literally just recommended checking under the siding and putting a fan on the room to dry it out. And your spot on about look to those who already do it well. 😅
I cannot see how you dont have a noticeable difference in your electric bill!?!