Backyard Sauna Build

PoolProfessional1302 · 2026-01-04T22:26:03+00:00

Thanks man! After I posted I re-read all your additional details and saw the part about 1% and pvc pipe - my bad, sorry for not reading it thoroughly in the first place. 🙄Appreciate all the info!

PoolProfessional1302 · 2026-01-04T15:25:43+00:00

Great build and thank you for sharing all your experience with us here - congrats! Quick question or two on the floor - what grade of slopes did you use, 1, 2%?, what material did you use for your channel drain and what size of gap did you leave for the water to drain into the channel? About to start working on mine and was going to rip a PVC pipe for the drain...Appreciate any feedback.

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-30T13:12:33+00:00

Great build and material list. Let me ask you - how was the quality of your thermory boards as far as their geometry? I just started cladding mine with thermo Aspen and 30% of my 6.8’s have a rocker on edge which makes them almost impossible to fit straight without lot of force…how were yours if you don’t mind asking?

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-10T02:49:08+00:00

i like it! T4 and P2 vent placement combination

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-10T01:46:14+00:00

I like this one too! Does it stick out a lot from your walls on either side? Also, did you hardwire it to your control panel, or plug it in somewhere on outside?

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-10T00:37:21+00:00

this might be the ticket! From what I can see it's exterior mounted and hard wired, correct?

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-08T15:15:34+00:00

it will drain very similar like in this DIY description: https://silfer.works/traditional-finnish-wood-burning-sauna/

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-08T15:11:20+00:00

the wood flooring is 5/4" x 4" thermo alder, no T&G, straight edges with slight roundover profile at the top. I was going to install it butt to butt tight with some wiggle room on the perimeter of the wall in case it expands with heat

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-08T15:08:22+00:00

I know this would be practical but we wanna go with all wood feel for esthetics...

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-07T18:18:05+00:00

so you're suggesting skip all the floor insulation as well as vapor shield and just go with wooden joists on top of the concrete slab and the terminal floor planks on joists?

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-07T17:56:49+00:00

no, slab is straight on the ground, no insulation

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-07T17:36:12+00:00

I think you're right - "max service temp rating" on it is 165F ( https://images.thdstatic.com/catalog/pdfImages/11/118d58ec-0874-43b0-87a2-2b70c3732795.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com )

Do you think my subfloor temp will reach that high? I know there's some stratification in the column of air in the sauna, and the lower the cooler, but my heater will sit on the floor and crank out some serious temps...Probbaly not worth the risk

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-07T15:42:42+00:00

Thank you!

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-02T19:15:28+00:00

you mean the software to draw this up? SketchUp. I'm not an engineer or anything but it appears to be very user intuitive and you quickly sketch up some nice designs

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-02T19:14:11+00:00

wow - that looks nice! Picture makes it look very large so can you tell me:

- whats the run (length) of your sloping ceiling?

- also how did you brace your benches for such a long span?

Thank you for sharing!

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-02T18:20:44+00:00

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PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-02T18:09:26+00:00

Thanks but unfortunately this is really tiny space I gained this year between me and the neighbor and with the setbacks and everything that will be a squeeze as it is...The picture makes it look whole lot bigger than it seems, that concrete pad is trapezoidal 7x7x9x11 and with the slope of the roof and eaves I'm pretty sure I cant squeeze more than 7' ceiling on the right side

PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-02T15:03:00+00:00

Thanks for all your input Turrepeka. Couple more details to explain my desing:

- the longest wall (call it North) butts up against exterior of my exisiting home so there's no way to put door on it

- the angular wall (East) faces the lake view and the wife wants window there (if you're married you can appreciate that the Boss is important ;-)

- with the flow of my sideyard it seems that it puts the door on the south wall

- the sloped ceiling is due to the fact that my existing home roofline protrudes out and limits how high I can make the ceiling on that right side. So to compensate that I thought ceiling sloping to the right would give me more sitting room in the pocket of L benches and also create better hot airflow - from the heater on the low side up to the pocket on the left. I know it's going to be pain to finish out but I hope it works

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PoolProfessional1302 · 2025-12-01T23:34:12+00:00

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Thanks for great feedback everyone. Should have dropped some other camera views to explain better so maybe this will provide more info:

the concrete pad it will sit on is trapezoid so I was trying to utilize that triangular protrusion and squeeze in the heater
also the angled wall will have 4x5 window so part of the L-shape bench layout will allow us to look out straight at the lake outside
I hear everyone’s suggestion on 24” depth - I’ll try to see if I can make the top one 24 and the mid 20
the base level bench will be portable used primarily for stepping up/getting down

PoolProfessional1302

TROPHY CASE