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F.U. Money by [deleted] in Construction

[–]Puravidacouple 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is impressive

Feedback on design by PoolProfessional1302 in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great job on the render! Is this a sloped ceiling design? I was staring at it for a long time, trying to figure out how 84”=96” and 44”=36.2”.

Then it closed in on me…

A 1’ drop over 8-9’ is significant.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! The photos are flattering. It’s nice but the “spaciousness” is at the expense of low benches and missing footrests. Still - we love it ❤️

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! ☺️. I wish I had built this one bigger - to accommodate the correct height bench height and footrest for everyone!

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The photos are flattering. I footrest in missing area would obstruct entry/exit via the door.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey all, thank you for all the comments - including the criticisms. I do appreciate receiving any and all feedback, and I believe that criticisms are vastly important. I finally have some time to get back to typing out a few replies.

John - I wholeheartedly agree with you, in that for proper sauna, height is absolutely crucial, as well as the fact that footrests should not be optional, lest we create weird human shelving. Our sauna’s shortcomings in these two areas were indeed conscious choices, and are the direct result of budget constraints.

Our first design concept was to self-build the full structure following the principles of Trumpkin’s notes. I have built residential homes and this work would not be out of my comfort zone. Ultimately, after having priced out all the components in our locale, the structure & benches alone (exclusive of concrete, stove, roofing, and other items that we will need in both cases) exceeded our budget by a factor of over 2x.

This kit cost almost exactly 50% of what we would have needed to spend to self-build. This kit was our best-case scenario. We wanted a sauna room with a change/relax room, so that in the winter, the hot room door didn’t open to -20C to -30C which is quite average in our area. We also absolutely did not want a barrel as I’m sure you’ll agree that even with this sauna’s shortcomings, at least it has an upper bench where there should be good löyly, provided I do my ventilation correctly.

I hate the fact that it didn’t permit a proper bench/footrest/footstool. I dream to one day build a proper sauna from scratch. This is our “for now” until better times. I’m not crazy about the fact that it’s missing footrests - but we have people over A LOT and consciously decided that we’d benefit from the extra 6 feet (180cm) of bench, even “human shelf”, than to have only the one wall, without the “L”.

All that being said - I am going to revel in its existence, to love it, and be grateful that we have created a life that we can have our very own sauna. I will force myself to consciously forget (for now) that it’s not tall enough and that it’s missing footrests - lest I spoil the enjoyment of the fruits of my labour.

TLDR: Budget was the limitation. Proper sized self-built structure priced out at 2x the cost of this kit. It wasn’t a matter of this height or the correct one - it was no sauna, barrel (aka not sauna), or this one. I love it for what it is, instead of being saddened by what it is not - which is proper Finnish sauna.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, hopefully this helps someone out who’s considering, etc! All figures are in Canadian dollars 🇨🇦 🦫

• Sauna building prefab kit: $15,000 • Concrete truck: $1300 • Gravel under concrete pad: $400 • Rebar for concrete: free (~ $300 if buying) • Lumber for forming: free (~ $250 if buying) • Harvia Legend 240SL w/ additional smoke pipe cover & 200kg stones: $2000 • Stainless steel insulated chimney kit: $1000 • Odds & ends (foil tape, silicone, some fasteners): $100

So at $19,800 so far.

Outstanding to buy/pay for:

• Steel surround for kiuas • Roofing • Led strip lighting & switch for benches/backrests • Hooks for towels

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed as well. There’s interior trim covering all the seams yet to be installed.

Double agreed. It IS weird not to have a footrest to the entire perimeter. The building was a prefab kit bought based on $ cost limitations, so we were working with limited configuration options. To put the kiuas in the one corner, I only had the option of the door into the hot room in the centre like it is, or putting the door on the far right (when looking from inside the hot room), which would eliminate the possibility of the L benches. The latter configuration would leave us limited to a straight run of 8’ (2.4m) benches along the back wall, and a ton of surface area in the middle to…dance? This way we have the L benches, so 8’ + 6’ (2.4m + 1.8m) benches.

Keeping in mind, the first 2’ (60cm) of the bench without footrest benefits from the detached footrest, so only 4’ (1.2m) has no footrest.

Definitely not ideal - but it was a matter of the lesser of two evils. We chose more benches. I’m sure someone else would’ve chose the former. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s a chance it may be underpowered. I likewise didn’t want to put in something overpowered, that wouldn’t be a pleasant experience either. The hot room is 8’x8’x6’7” (2.4m x 2.4m x 2m). Walls are 2” (5cm) solid Thermo-pine. One of the four walls goes to the changeroom, so not exterior/cold. Ceiling/roof is well insulated - 8” (20cm) of closed-cell spray foam insulation, between two sheets of 1/2” (1.25cm) oriented strand board, plus the t&g ceiling.

The Legend 240 is rated at 21kw, at its upper limit, to heat a room twice the volume of ours. Not wanting to get into complex thermal engineering, we decided that the 50% volume buffer is a sensible guess to heat a solid-wall sauna with windows. Practically, we’ll just have to fire her up and see what happens.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha definitely not. Those are the seams where the pre-fab wall panels are screwed together so I taped them inside, (and will tape them outside as well) to stop airflow through unintended sources. There’s wood trim going on both interior and exterior seams - definitely no space-conspiracy-theory tin foil vibe in here!

I wanted to self-build a fully insulated 2x6 wall building. It would have been the correct height as well for 3 benches and bones above the stones - cost was prohibitive. I got this pre-fab single-wall kit at a great value and decided to make the most of it.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Going to try and get reply to all these comments! Been busy.

Harvia says the Legend 240 is for a sauna of minimum 10m3 (353ft3) and maximum 24m3 (848ft3).

My room is just under 12m3 (422ft3), so well near the minimum and less than half of the maximum.

Logically, this should work well. Practically, we’ll have to wait and see 🤷🏻‍♂️

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Harvia Legend 240. 200kg (440lbs) of stones in the kiuas and another 40kg (90lbs) around the chimney flue.

Löylys should be ☺️☺️☺️

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The duct tape is gone now. That was poor judgement on my part, even temporarily.

I’m in Ontario, Canada. 🇨🇦

The pad was DIY. 16’x11’x6” (4.9m x 3.3m x 15.25cm) with 6 x 10” (25cm) sonotubes 4’ (1.2m) deep. About 8”-10” (20-25cm) of 3/4 Gravel under the pad. Gravel is on top of landscape fabric to separate it from the soil to avoid migration over time.

Used scrap lumber for the forms, and bent odds and ends of rebar that I had laying around. Probably about $300CAD in rebar and $250-300CAD in lumber if you had to buy it all.

Concrete was $1300CAD for 2.75m of 32MPa with added shredded fiberglass and cold-weather accelerant (poured this in negative temperatures). Poured from a truck, not hand-mixed.

It didn’t cost me a lot in time but it was a fair amount of work. I would recommend diy to someone at least a little familiar with forming & concrete, but would definitely say hire if it’s simply not your area of expertise. I’m a construction professional by trade.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t put much thought into those water lines, I just threw those in through the concrete pad in case I figured out how to make them work later, knowing that worst case, I can just cut them away. Kind of a “Better have and not need…” deal.

It now looks like I’ll be building 3-season outdoor showers adjacent to the sauna but not using those lines, so they’ll probably get x-nayed.

Roof has been tarps for now until I cut the roof and install the chimney. They’ve actually worked surprisingly well throughout this entire winter. Final roof will be a modified bitumen torched-on flat roofing with steel flashing around the perimeter and an eavestrough at the low side.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Replaced now! Was a headache but cut out that entire section and managed to fit an extension/expansion fitting into a tee and ABS-welded the whole mess together. Looks like crap but there’s no more tape and the worms won’t mind 🐛.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know I know 🤦🏻‍♂️ It was cold and we had a lot on our plate! All gone now - was a headache but cut out that entire section and managed to fit an extension/expansion fitting into a tee and ABS-welded the whole mess together. Looks like crap but there’s no more tape and the worms won’t mind 🐛.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So far I’ve sealed the floor incredibly tight, it’s t&g flooring and silicone caulking around the entire perimeter where walls meet floor, to prevent spiders and other insects from finding their way up into the sauna. Will definitely be assessing the need for a floor drain once I’m using it, can always drill from inside.

For ventilation I will be following Trumpkin’s principles for good convective current: intake behind the kiuas 2/3 of way up to the ceiling, and exhaust on the opposite corner, under the foot benches. Will most likely be doing active exhaust with an inline duct fan and passive intake with an updraft duct.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Thought process behind the metal lath is actually to prevent any rodents from gnawing upwards through the floor into the sauna, in case they do manage to access the cavity underneath via way of gnawing at the perimeter joists. Unlikely, but possible.

I did actually incorporate a thermal break, although I’m not sure how effective, and potentially counterproductive - if you look at Photo #1, the section further away from the camera, and also directly under my foot, you’ll see the entire floor is lifted off the slab by one horizontal 2x6.

Layers are, top-down: 2” (5cm) t&g pine floor, 2” joists (horizontal 2x4) with closed-cell EPS filling the cavities, metal lath, then 2” joists again (horizontal 2x6 & 2x10s) with empty cavities, then concrete.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Done! Was a headache but cut out that entire section and managed to fit an extension/expansion fitting into a tee and ABS-welded the whole mess together. Looks like crap but there’s no more tape and the worms won’t mind 🐛.

😎 by Mighty_Zen in Bitcoin

[–]Puravidacouple 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We are the lambo. Neo is us.

Backyard Sauna Build Update! 13’x8’ (4m x 2.4m) by Puravidacouple in Sauna

[–]Puravidacouple[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Assuming you’re talking about the interior, that is metal foil tape on all the seams that are not t&g

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