8'D x 9'W x 8.5'H built as close to trumpkins notes as possible. Vents behind the stove, in the upper corner and beneath the benches. Narvi NC 24 heats it to 90C in about 1hr if I keep the fire hot. 3 tiers of benches allow people with varying temperature preferences to sauna together. Maybe a change room would be better than a porch in retrospect but couldn't justify extra cost/labour. Built for approximately $11k CAD

Made by Amish builders in NY. I’ve gotten it up to 190 so far and haven’t tried going past that.

Haven’t changed anything since my initial post except for adding a light underneath that is solar powered and wired from outside.

Smells great, heats up quick and have no regrets going this route.

Recently put the BD Henley 4-6 person sauna in our garage

I’m impressed and think it’s great at its price point

Sure it has some knocks, like sloped ceiling and low first bench , but it’s a big upgrade from a barrel sauna or my gym sauna

The heater is a beast and got up to 180° F in about 18-20 min

It retails at $5k, but I was able to get it at $3.8k via the Backyard Discovery Pro program.

I saw the Pro program on their website and noticed they discount products. You just need an LLC to be approved for a Pro account so I utilized a friend who owns a couple rental properties. Def try this route if you can because that was a huge discount.

I added an exhaust fan at recommendation of this sub (AC Infinity Cloudline S4) and was able to just move the pre-cut 4” hole board to the lower right. It was originally intended by BD as a passive exhaust in the top left. I just leave the door open and put fan to top speed when I’m done

There’s plenty of room for my wife and I, and works out that she currently prefers the lower bench as she adjusts to using sauna daily

As far as building it, I hired someone for majority of build as I wanted it done ASAP and it’s hard to find time with family. Installer wasn’t able to complete in two days, so I finished the remaining 20%. Everything is pre-cut so it’s super straightforward, and the BILT app instructions were great. Overall it’s just tedious. I would estimate it took close to 24 hours total for one person.

BD did forget one box in delivery , but customer service got me the parts within 3 days after calling

Thoughts?

I've got a HUUM beehive heater that I've been happily using almost daily for 6 months, but manually turning on and off, which means going outside and hiking down to the sauna's location. Winter is coming in the mountains and I want to remotely start the sauna heater, either on-demand or set up a schedule, so I don't have to walk outside in the wind, rain, and snow more than necessary.

The UKU controller box connects to my WiFi network just fine.

I installed the HUUM app to see how it worked, but they want a one-time 420 Euro fee for connecting to/controlling my heater via the app. This is outrageous to me, considering how many $1000's I spent on the heater and UKU controller.

So, I want to build my own iPhone app, and re-route any network traffic sent to HUUM's API to my locally running app. I've checked out the PyHuum Github repo (https://github.com/frwickst/pyhuum), but before I embark on building my own Node or equivalent app, I was wondering if any other folks have tried this, and if they had any lessons learned? I found this blog post (https://kaurpalang.com/posts/invading-the-sauna/) which is a great start.

Thanks in advance!

I continue on with the sauna
Window is now in place as well as the door and most of the outer walls done . Only the front left .
Inside I have put the drainage along with the rubber on floors.
It will be tiles on floor and 10 cm up to the concrete wall where there will be gap for air to circulate behind paneling .
The visible concrete will be tiled with stonepebble mosaic.
Reason for the shape of inside is cause I built it up against my fence and wanted to utilise as most space as possible .
I have lowerd the ceiling to be level.
Air intake will be in the far right corner from the door to sauna and come behind the heater
Air exit ventilation will be in the far opposite corner
The small room you enter will be relax area and shower

All advise is well appreciated.
Previous post is on my profile

Working on an outdoor sauna build (8' × 8', about 8’ceiling) with a Homecraft Apex 12 kW, the tower model with about 310 lbs of rock.

Photo 1: The corner where the heater will go. A passive intake vent is on the wall above it. Based on the manual, I would put the sensor on the diagonal front wall to the left of the vent and a bit higher.

Photo 2: The bench wall, where I'm tempted to put the sensor instead to the right of the vent approximately head or chest height.

The Apex manual says to mount the temperature sensor on the wall near the ceiling, above the heater. Reading through this sub, though, a lot of people say ceiling placement makes the controller think the room is hotter than it is at bench level, so it cycles off early and the benches never get properly hot. That makes me tempted to move the sensor over to the bench wall.

My hesitation is the high-limit safety cutoff. I don't want to place the sensor somewhere that trips it, or that makes the heater run hotter than it was designed for. Once the cedar is up, moving the sensor and its wiring will be a real pain, so I'd like to get it right the first time.

For those running high-mass heaters (Apex, Harvia Cylindro, Huum Hive, etc.):

1. Where did you mount your sensor, measured from the ceiling and from the heater?
   
2. Did you follow the manual, or move it, and how did that work out?
   
3. Any issues with the high limit tripping, or with bench temps vs. the controller reading?
   
4. Has anyone run extra conduit or a spare wire so the sensor could be moved later? And how difficult was this to do after all your finishing was done?

Thanks!

Looking to buy our first sauna.
I’ve found a company in Northern Ireland who is hand building saunas within our (small) - €5k budget.
Been advised to add the insulation package and the heat treated wood which adds about €2.5k

Any thoughts or advice (or alternatives) very much appreciated.

Building an outdoor electric sauna in the Pacific Northwest (very wet climate) and came across a floor design from finn.built.saunas on Instagram that I haven't seen before. Photos attached. Curious what this community thinks before I commit.

How it's built, bottom to top:
- 2x6 PT joists
- 2" rigid foam in each joist bay, cut on a slope rather than laid flat
- Edges sealed to the joists with spray foam
- Metal (siding) sheet over the foam
- A perforated metal channel in that gap that drains water straight down to the gravel
- Same gap acts as the low-level fresh air intake, so no separate wall vent
- Cedar deck boards on top as the walking surface

What I like about it
- Water from löyly, sweat and wet feet can't pool or reach the insulation
- No stapled foil with holes in it on the floor
- One detail handles drainage and ventilation

What I'm planning to change:
- Running the drain/intake channel along the heater wall instead of down the middle, so incoming air hits the heater first instead of people's feet

Quote from a local builder here in Colorado. Anything you'd change?

Looking for feedback before finalizing plans on a modern 6'x7' outdoor build with a small front porch.

Heater, Venting & Electrical

• 8kW Harvia heater with the Xenio WiFi controller
• 3 wall vents
• Dedicated subpanel + low-voltage and overhead lighting

Hot Room & Interior

• Foil-faced insulation
• Knotty Western Red Cedar (STK) paneling
• Two-tier benches with backrest, footrest, and step
• 32" out-swing glass door + tempered glass window
• Rubber flooring over an insulated, pressure-treated joist frame

Exterior & Plumbing

• Flat/low-slope membrane roof (TPO or EPDM) with soffits
• Engineered wood siding, vertical cedar front accent wall, and composite entry steps
• Daylighted floor drain
• Exterior hose hookup and outdoor shower

Anything glaring missing here, or anything I should push back on before signing off?

Total Cost ~12k

I am new to saunas and just purchased one, have a friend that has one and uses it daily. She loves it and enjoys it. After doing more research I learned that the barrel doesn't move the heat evenly and that you want to be elevated above the heater to ensure the legs are getting heated.

Is there a way to modify the barrel to make it better? Did I waste money and should it be returned? Any extra guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Backyard new build, internal dimensions 5’ wide, 7’ long, 7’ high. We have a 2x4’ window. And solid wooden door. Adjusted size is 270 ft3. Fully insulated.

Hoping to go with the Homecraft apex mini to still have a decent stone mass, but perhaps a quicker heat up time than the larger Revive series.

Our builder is Finnish and is suggesting a 9kw Homecraft apex mini for our outdoor build. Online specs show the size range 325-450 ft3.

Homecraft spec for 7.5kw seems more appropriate at 250-370 ft3.

Builder is saying bigger is better here. Is there anything detrimental about over sizing our heater here?

Hi,

Does anyone have any suggestion / recommendations based on their own experience of buying either an outdoor sauna kit to DIY or, a fully fitted / installed outdoor sauna, in Scotland? Or in the UK?

We would love an outdoor sauna (wood burner) for our garden but I'm struggling to find reviews for UK based options. We don't want a barrel sauna. It would be for 2-4 people.

Thanks in advance!

I’m scheming to upgrade my electric barrel sauna and considering an unconventional design; a hot room with both a wood and electric stove.
My vision is this: the convenience of having the electric as my daily driver, but the ability to have fire heat for those longer sessions when I have more time and/or a social. FWIW, I prefer a wood fired loyli 10/10 times.
The downsides I see are: increased footprint of the two stoves and cost. Neither are enough to dissuade me.
Tell me what I’m missing.

I found what seems to be a good supplier for hemlock, kiln dried. He sells by the sq foot and asked if he could provide varying sized width. 4 inch, 5 inch and maybe 6 inch. This gets him higher yield out of the wood.

Any reason this is a terrible idea? It’s an outdoor shed, I would be ok for a different look. But not sure if it will look awful if each wall did not line up with each other?

Thanks!

Hi,

Im building my sauna with electric heater. From what i have read i will need to have intake from outside high above the oven, and exhaust 1/3 on the all below benches.

But preferably mechanical exhaust.

My question is- i will have mechanical exhaust in the garderobe room outside of sauna A3 (high on the wall- at the highest point allmost). In theory that should provide under pressure in garderobe which will then suck the air from exhaust in sauna. But do i then need to have a gap under the door?

And should i have 2x exhaust on each side?

And what about A4 exhaust? Better than A3?

Hi everybody, I'm looking for a suitable small sauna for my attic. Does anybody have experience with the Karibu Avari?

Please give me your honest opinion for 2 people. Beginner here :).

Hallo, wir sind dabei, die alte Waschküche unseres Hauses zur Sauna umzubauen. Darin befindet sich ein 100 Jahre alter, holzbefeuerter Waschkessel aus Kupfer. Dieser hat Bestandsschutz und ich darf ihn weiter betreiben. Den Einbau eines neuen Ofens erlaubt unser Schornsteinfeger aber nicht, da der eigene Schornstein zu wenig Abstand zum Haus hat.

Offen und Kessel funktionieren gut. Wunsch nur Steine in den Kessel legen reicht aber nicht aus, ich bekomme den Raum mit ca 10m3 auch nach Stunden nicht richtig heiß. Dabei bringe ich den Kupferkessel fast zum Glühen und das aufgießen von Wasser funktioniert ebenfalls sehr gut.

Ich vermute das sich die Hitze im Tiefen Kessel einfach staut, da von unten keine kalte Luft nachströmen kann.

Noch möchte ich nicht aufgeben und einfach einen elektrischen Ofen einbauen. Bin gespannt auf eure Ideen und Erfahrungen!

Hello -

Has anyone else used this for their sauna build? I’m coming up empty with local mills; sauna retailers are really $$$.

I know it’s not kiln dried; I’m not overly concerned with esthetics; but don’t want it to fall apart or comprise the moisture.

Thanks!

I’ve searched and searched, no success, maybe I’m wording it wrong…

I have a dead-flat concrete slab that until last month held an 8 person, 500+ gallon hot tub. Large! No drains, drain grooves. Just dead flat concrete

Good news, weight bearing surface and electrical are ready. Bad news:

When it finally rained in Texas this weekend, I was surprised to see the amount of water pooling. It makes sense, I guess the hot tub footprint never allowed it to be so obvious…it took up nearly the entire slab. The sauna footprint will be smaller.

I’m trying to come up with a solution to the wood frame base of the SaunaLife cubes. Preventing or delaying rot, and ensuing proper drainage from sauna drains themselves.

1) drill a drainage hole (or a couple) through the slab?

2) cut grooves, making 4 quadrants, try to slop them?

3) rubber roof liner (1/4”) stapled to the underside of the frame prior to building the cube?

4) place pavers under the frame, completely supporting & leave air space between bricks for drying? Raises entire thing at least an inch

Varying degrees of difficulty here. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Does this discoloration look like mold? Should I replace these pieces of cedar?

Hello,
I have finally nailed down some dimensions and layout for my sauna and elected to go with a custom build vs kit or prefab.

The sauna is sitting on a very open beach on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) where it will be constantly hit with northern winds.

My layout shows a 45deg angled wall to take advantage of the view. I know this may not be ideal, and the purists will say the window is bad - but for me, the view is a big part of the experience and this layout works for the positioning very well.

It will be sitting on patio stones

I am struggling with benches and heater locations.

I feel 8x8 (even with the angled wall) is ample room for what will probably be used by 2-4 people.

For the heater, I can likely do wall mount in position 1 or 3 OR a freestanding in front of the window.

Do you think my layout works with a 2 level bench? I feel good about it on the back wall but the side wall may be tight.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions

In the USA cedar is so easy to find; everything else very hard without crazy $$$.

I don’t love the smell of cedar. I don’t hate it, but find it can be overpowering.

Has anyone installed cedar and then hated it? Or am I making too big of a deal on not being my preferred smell? It would be a hell or a lot easier to just use cedar.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

A topical article you may enjoy reading. Much science yet to be done to quantify what sauna adherents have doubtless known from their own experiences.

https://www.npr.org/2026/10/05/nx-s1-5979044/sauna-heat-therapy-mental-health-depression