Finnish sauna, in America

[tuulen]

I know how to cut, split and burn wood, and because I live in a rural area I am thinking about building a sauna as a small building out in my back yard. Now, there are many things to consider in order to build a good sauna, including the size and the quality of building construction, insulation, windows and other things, and, of course, a sauna needs to have a good wood burning stove with rocks piled on it, too.

Wood burning stoves have long been made in America, but I discovered that there are no sauna stove makers here. The only sauna stoves available here are imported from Finland, and apparently the best sauna stoves are made by Harvia Oy http://www.harvia.fi/

[Pursuivant]

If you know someone who can weld - say a BBQ maker, a sauna stove isn't anything difficult.

[interleukin]

And remember to not make the sauna too airtight. The best saunas I have been in have been old ones with actual cracks in the walls or small holes, through which the fresh air comes in.

[Pursuivant]

Wood-burning sauna ventilation works totally different from say electric sauna ventilation. The flu creates the draft, and it should too. I've been to saunas some "architect" was given the planning and you suffocate in them.

BTW stove design, I'm going to import one of these konockoffs from Estonia once I get to renovating mine... been there 50 years so whats the rush?

[Upphew]

Now, there are many things to consider in order to build a good sauna, including the size and the quality of building construction, insulation, windows and other things, and, of course, a sauna needs to have a good wood burning stove with rocks piled on it, too.

I've heard that one gets fine löyly with some tarp and modified stove... so don't over engineer your sauna to a bottle, as Pursuivant and interleukin said.
http://www.nexi.fi/10

[tuulen]

Well, there is the old fashioned savusauna, where a fire is made in the middle of the floor to heat rocks.

But yes, I understand the need for ventilation. Of course a stove needs to be ventilated out through a chimney, but there needs to be a fresh air vent somewhere underneath the stove and there needs to be ventilation to keep the room from becoming too humid, both when in use and when not in use, or otherwise when not in use the entire room could become covered with fungus and mold. Sit on a moldy bench, anybody?

[tuulen]

...I've heard that one gets fine löyly with some tarp and modified stove... so don't over engineer your sauna to a bottle, as Pursuivant and interleukin said.
http://www.nexi.fi/10

That is an interesting idea, erecting a tent sauna. My concern is laziness, where I would rather build a permanent building with a stove in it, so all that is needed is to just light the stove, rather than to have to put up a tent in the snow during winter and then take it down again.

However, a tent sauna is both inexpensive and portable. Good idea!

[Rosamunda]

Sit on a moldy bench, anybody?

I have never seen a moldy sauna. When you heat up a sauna the air is initially very dry and the hot temperatures would kill off any bacteria. Same when you've finished your sauna and it is cooling down, the dampness evaporates. In fact it is quite a sterile environment as long as it is used regularly; not so many years ago Finnish women were giving birth in the sauna.
Ours is used for hanging pheasant, hare and whatever else the dog carries home, so probably not as sterile as most

[Pursuivant]

Of course a stove needs to be ventilated out through a chimney, but there needs to be a fresh air vent somewhere underneath the stove and there needs to be ventilation to keep the room from becoming too humid, both when in use and when not in use, or otherwise when not in use the entire room could become covered with fungus and mold. Sit on a moldy bench, anybody?

You living in Florida?

I got a "vent" pipe rigged to the front of the stove, but say like the old aitta made into a sauna at my sis's cottage has the natural draft from under the door. Basically the best sauna design is an old pioneer loghouse, with maybe a few "shooting holes"...

[tuulen]

The history of the sauna goes back thousands of years. It is said that the first sauna was a cave dug into the side of a hill. Then later came the tent sauna, and then later came wood buildings. The sauna with a wood burning stove is actually a more modern invention.

Although a sauna with a wood burning stove might be the most popular today, apparently there are those people who like the old fashioned savusauna, but that must take some getting used to. There is no chimney and a fire is simply made in the middle of the room to heat rocks, a process which could take hours to do, and then the door is opened to let the smoke out, where people then sit in a hot room smelling of smoke. The funny part is the saying that a good savusauna building burns down every five years or so.

[tuulen]

Of course a stove needs to be ventilated out through a chimney, but there needs to be a fresh air vent somewhere underneath the stove and there needs to be ventilation to keep the room from becoming too humid, both when in use and when not in use, or otherwise when not in use the entire room could become covered with fungus and mold. Sit on a moldy bench, anybody?

You living in Florida?

I got a "vent" pipe rigged to the front of the stove, but say like the old aitta made into a sauna at my sis's cottage has the natural draft from under the door. Basically the best sauna design is an old pioneer loghouse, with maybe a few "shooting holes"...

No, I am in New England, in northeastern USA, but even here fungus and mold can grow, especially in a building which is wet inside.

The best thing to do is to vent the building immediately after a sauna session is over, and the heat will help to dry the inside of the building.

[EP]

doors that are raised about 10-15 cms

Ours is only about 5 cm. Ventilation in the ceiling and another one near the floor next to the stove. There is a window but I open it only when I want to stick my head out to the cold at the same time when I throw more steam and raise the heat.

At the cottage some 15 cm at the bottom of the door is drilled full of 1-2 cm holes.

And I have never seen (or heard of) mold in a sauna. Like said already, it is a dry place when it is not heated. I use the benches to dry mushrooms.

[tuulen]

The best thing to do is to vent the building immediately after a sauna session is over, and the heat will help to dry the inside of the building.

This is the time to listen to everything the natives are saying! Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a reason why all ready made sauna doors look like they're made for small people doorways. All the sauna's I've been in have doors that are raised about 10-15 cms from the floor. Intake ventilation made easy. There's always at least one vent in a wall somewhere. We don't do anything special with ventilation before or after our sauna...just empty the bucket and close the door. Oh, and if there's some sausage hanging, hubby takes that out to eat with the beer! No mold here.. quite the contrary actually...

Yes, I understand the need for ventilation while a sauna is in use, and apparently there are a number of ways to do that. Mold is not a big problem here, but it can happen in a damp room, so some ventilation is necessary. Houses in this area depend on their heating systems to help keep them dry inside, especially during winter, and rooms which are closed off from the heat can develop a small amount of mildew.

I will remember to chill the beer and light the barbeque at the same time when I light the sauna stove. Great idea!

It's the perfect place to dry laundry even when the sauna is cold.

Aha! I was wondering what else a sauna room could be good for when not in use, otherwise a great place to collect spider webs.

And I know that there is at least one manufacturer of sauna stoves in Canada somewhere. My uncle finished the cottage sauna 2 years ago and he found a company in Canada that built-to-order and shipped it out. They even had a contact in BC who would could help with the installation if he wanted. We haven't tested it yet (gotta wait 'til this summer) but he says it's just great. Interior is redwood cedar so I can imagine the scent is amazing! They've heated it up to 100c but no one can stand the heat more than a few mins. That's just about right for me! I'll see if I can track the company name down.. If I had to guess, it'd be somewhere in Ontario.

I am not surprised that a Canadian company could make sauna stoves, but I know nothing about that and I am not aware of any sauna stove maker in the US. There is a sauna or two in the area where I live, but in general they are quite rare.

[Jukka Aho]

Some previous sauna threads, just in case you'd possibly find something useful in them:

• Sauna project underway
• Saunas and housing!!
• Sauna heater recommendations
• Temperature and Humidity in Sauna
• The Sauna Country?
• The Finnish Sauna
• How frequently do you take a sauna?
• The Sauna
• To sauna or not
• Some questions about your sauna behaviour
• Sauna....
• Sauna rules
• Sauna etiquette

[Jukka Aho]

doors that are raised about 10-15 cms

Ours is only about 5 cm. Ventilation in the ceiling and another one near the floor next to the stove. There is a window but I open it only when I want to stick my head out to the cold at the same time when I throw more steam and raise the heat.

Sounds pretty much like the setup in my parents’ house. No windows in there, though; the sauna is located in the heart of the building.

I found some nice smoke sauna pictures on the web, by the way... and a story about heating it for the Easter:

• Savusauna lämpimäksi pääsiäisenä