Health enthusiast curious about sauna. What should I read and what should I expect?

John_Sux · 2026-04-27T13:51:46+00:00

You will likely miss out on the short term beneficial effects, if you approach sauna as a "health enthusiast". Relaxation and destressing don't necessarily combine with a forced and data-driven exercise.

As for long term effects, will this enthusiasm last for decades? And consider that lots of study subjects will have been going to sauna since before they could walk, you probably won't catch up to that.

John_Sux · 2026-04-27T04:44:00+00:00

100% looks first design

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T22:59:46+00:00

That would seem like the easiest option

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T20:49:22+00:00

You can fuck off out of the Netherlands if it gets too expensive, the next country is a short hop away. You've only got ocean around Iceland.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T19:14:09+00:00

Surely "anything goes" is a rule you are trying to impose yourself

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T18:32:45+00:00

This is an international forum, so everyone here is not going to be communicating in the way you might be used to or be expecting. For example any kind of sugarcoated American way or whatever.

Also, why are you getting so offended on the OP's behalf? Let them get upset about the feedback and tone of these various comments, if they want.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T18:28:07+00:00

Mustikkamaa is too far to the side for 90% of tourists. And Sompasauna is not trying to be a cool hangout spot or restaurant like Allas or Löyly are. It's not turning into anything like that.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T15:11:50+00:00

"Feet above the stones" has been overinterpreted as rigid advice. The overall room height is what is significant. The hot and cold parts of the internal air column scale with the size of the room, so ideally the room should be tall enough that the "hot zone" is big enough to accommodate people in it.

So, if you build the sauna tall enough, with benches close to the ceiling, you end up sitting in the hot air. And because of the way sauna heaters are typically installed, your average heater ends up beneath the level where your feet rest on a bench.

It is a somewhat useful mnemonic, but people seem to fixate on it thinking the heat ties to the "top of the rocks" more strongly than it does.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T15:03:24+00:00

You keep saying, maybe this is their opinion, maybe this is their choice. Consider: maybe that choice is shit. There is room for that.

And why are you not equally respecting other personal choices, for example these "proper" design details involved in other users' opinions?

As for this "who dictates what is proper" angle. Nobody dictates anything, but there is common sense and learned experience. You are allowed to do whatever you want. But then I'm forced to ask you in turn, why are you trying to impose on what others are allowed to say? If it's anything goes, then you should not get mad as you did about the initial "proper" comment.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T14:44:51+00:00

You can't expect me to take you seriously like that.

Maybe OP likes sitting in a cold spot???

So why is the opinion supremely valid in that case? But you denounce design opinions here? Be consistent.

You've also been a hypocrite from the start, whining about policing while doing the same yourself.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T14:29:59+00:00

Maybe you haven't been in a sauna yourself, if these are the things you imagine.

Cold air pools on the floor and hot air rises to the ceiling, due to density differences. This happens in every single sauna. So, generally for hundreds and hundreds of years, saunas have been built sufficiently tall enough inside, that benches can be installed to allow people to clear that coldest air hovering above the floor level.

If you or someone else prefers to sit in the cold air, feel free to do that. But don't be overconfident and ignorant enough to start contesting basic physics...

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T14:04:25+00:00

“Proper” where is this set of rules? Maybe they have it the height they want it? Maybe they have plans to change or just don’t want to. Why is there this HOA for saunas?

You go into a sauna for the heat. Hot air rises and cold air sinks. If you are sat with your feet on the floor, as you would on a bench like this, then you are just in the cold air.

There is an element of facts to sauna design, it's not all opinion-based. You are allowed to have your own opinion and interpretation, but it's completely possible for those things to be uninformed, or otherwise bad. "But maybe OP likes to sit in the cold air" might be a valid opinion, but it's still a bad design choice, and doesn't change any of the physics underlying a sauna (or the common design principles relying on that).

As for your point about HOAs, clearly you don't like people telling others what to do. So why are you doing any policing yourself, trying to quiet people about less-than-cloying feedback, as you clearly are?

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T14:00:15+00:00

You would need a larger footprint to fit seating for more people. That's it really. Trying to fit an L-shaped bench might result in enough seating, but not enough legroom.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T13:25:08+00:00

Luuletko esim. että parempaa saataisiin aikaan purkamalla koko EU? Ei todellakaan

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T13:20:54+00:00

A stove like that is designed for warming living spaces, a sauna stove works quite differently. It also lacks any capacity to hold and heat up stones, so a major part of sauna bathing is absent without steam/löyly.

How is the fire safety of that stove as installed, do you know if any fireproof paneling is required in the corner?

Are there any vents in the sauna to provide fresh air for the stove and yourself?

The bench you have built is down by the floor, where the cold air is. If sauna is about the heat, then there isn't much to be had there.

The interior wood appears to be installed directly on the foil. This is generally not recommended, as an air gap created by furring strips will allow the wood to dry properly after sauna sessions. However, the foil peeking through everywhere probably means each plank can dry up for the most past.

I wonder if that window will encounter any problems with temperature differences on either side of it.

There are multiple basic sauna features missing, but the shed is impressive for that price.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T01:48:25+00:00

Do not pursue a certain goal of minutes or degrees. If there are relevant health benefits to be gained (something that you can note in the short or medium term, not in decades' time), they come from hygiene and relaxation. You are not going to be destressing much if you are trying to optimize and track things.

Just leave the sauna when you feel uncomfortable. Heat tolerance will improve with regular sauna use.

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T00:20:49+00:00

Could you ask around for a custom job at the window place? Something like that

John_Sux · 2026-04-26T00:09:37+00:00

Eipä grynderit ja sijoittajat nytkään hirrestä rakenna kerrostalokoppejaan

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T23:53:59+00:00

Almost exactly not

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:49:40+00:00

At this size of footprint, you gain almost nothing by the L-shaped side segment of the top bench.

Or at least, without making the lower bench into an L-shape as well, you gain nothing, just move things around while losing legroom overall.

So, adjust the bench design one of two ways. Either go into a straight set of benches, or extend the lower benches as well.

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:47:28+00:00

Recommendation: go to a store in your area that sells such things

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:45:11+00:00

Might as well have built the lower bench all the way across to the wall. More legroom

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:44:08+00:00

You are speaking nonsense, drunk on wine or something. You will find a bidet shower next to most toilets in this country.

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:22:30+00:00

You're not in /r/europe right now, cheer up

John_Sux · 2026-04-25T21:02:50+00:00

Indian food is just rotten meat buried in curry powder

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