I've seen some posts on here about not using oil based stain on the exterior of a barrel sauna. They mentioned having smells and fumes in the sauna. This seems dubious to me. My work is in refinishing outdoor wood structures like decks, fences, or pergolas. Testing this for science, I'll check back in a few weeks.
Hey Leute,
ich muss das einfach loswerden, weil ich gestern Abend etwas erlebt habe, das mich immer noch beschäftigt.
Ich bin in eine traditionelle russische Banja gegangen. Kein Wellness-Tempel mit sanfter Musik, sondern richtig oldschool. Schon als die Tür aufging, knallte mir eine 95-Grad-Wand entgegen. Der Dampf war so dick, dass man kaum die Hand vor Augen sah – schwer, würzig, nach Eukalyptus und frischen Birkenblättern.
Dann kam der Aufguss. Und danach die Veniks.
Als die heißen, nassen Birkenzweige auf meinen Rücken und meine Schultern geklatscht sind, dachte ich für einen Moment wirklich: „Das war’s, ich sterbe hier.“ Die Hitze ging nicht nur auf die Haut, sie ging direkt in die Muskeln, in die Knochen, in den Kopf. Alles wurde zu viel. Der Puls raste, der Kopf dröhnte, der ganze Körper schrie.
Und genau in diesem Moment ist etwas passiert.
Ich habe aufgegeben. Komplett losgelassen. All der Stress, die Gedanken, der ganze Mist der letzten Monate – der ist einfach mit dem Schweiß rausgeflossen. Ich war nur noch da. Pure Präsenz.
Danach das eiskalte Tauchbecken. Der Schock war brutal. Aber danach diese unglaubliche Stille im Kopf. Als hätte jemand den Reset-Knopf gedrückt.
Ich saß danach mit völlig fremden Leuten zusammen (alle nackt, keine Handys, keine Fassade) und wir haben richtig geredet. Über Leben, über Druck, über das, was wirklich zählt.
Ich war noch nie so leer, so sauber und gleichzeitig so lebendig aus einer Sauna gekommen.
Das war keine Wellness.
Das war ein Reset auf Russisch.
Hat von euch schon mal jemand eine echte Banja mit Veniks und richtigem Aufguss erlebt?
Wie war euer intensivstes Erlebnis dort? War es auch so krass oder sogar noch heftiger?
Ich bin echt gespannt auf eure Geschichten.
I wanted to share a recent project I’ve been working on, these handcrafted barrel saunas just got loaded up and are now heading to Germany.
They’re built from solid wood, designed for durability and good heat circulation, and made to handle different climates. Each one is put together with a focus on both function and a clean, traditional look.
It’s always a cool feeling seeing them leave the workshop and head off to a new home!
Happy to answer any questions if anyone’s curious about the build, materials, or process
Here you see a Finnish self made doll house sauna. It is a traditional genuine Finnish sauna, where your toes are not in the cold zone, because they are 20 cm above the heater stones. The only mistake is that drying clothes is not allowed inside sauna. (My daughter didn't know that and she had no other place to dry them.
I have roughed in space for an indoor sauna. It is plumbed for a floor drain. Is sloping the floor to the drain absolutely critical?
The sauna will be in the basement and with a concrete floor and we will put duckboard down. I’m planning to follow many of the other design features of this group and Trumpkin such as mechanical ventilation and air gaps
My contractor said without sloping, roughly a gallon of water on the floor will naturally dry with the ventilation plan. I’m not sure I believe him.
If it’s not critical, omitting the sloping would save about an inch of ceiling height. I’m planning on an Iki short heater, at 36” height. We will be tight for bench height even with a 8’ ceiling
No prior experience, lots of research. Had to fit it in corner space and wanted the bench 4ft off ground, 8ft height. Step width is small, but it works amazing.
Was going to get a nice kit that was $8k. Thought I could build it myself for less. Still spent $8k on all materials but it’s worth it.
Found this gem on fb marketplace, now I feel I wasted 10x his asking price while I could just get it for $1500 ;( /s
Hello all, I am currently in the process of framing out/ building a new sauna. The size, bench and general framing is all done. It is butt up to a basement foundation wall corner so I sprayed the foundation wall with a flash layer of closed cell spray foam. All the actual sauna walls and ceiling are insulated with rockwool. Few questions so far - I see most wall build up diagrams online show just wrap the studs with foil insulation paper. If I need to build up the wall a bit thicker, and would prefer to have let’s say plywood installed onto the studs first and then the foil, and then my t&g cedar, would that be ok? Since it is framed with metal stud, it will be hard to get nailers with the metal and finish cedar. I rather have something like a plywood to act as a nail and also a continuous run for the foil. Also if plywood is fine, what type of plywood?
"A sauna which the show, together with an Estonian NGO, sent to Ukraine earlier in the summer, can accommodate over 500 personnel through the course of a week, and also provides a compact washhouse for soldiers to wash and dry kit and carry out other admin.
One Estonian volunteer, Olli, formerly with the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) and who has been serving in Ukraine for two years now, confirmed that the sauna is very important for his current unit in Ukraine.
"Previously, we were on the Pokrovsk front for a long time—over half a year. We found an old man there who had his own sauna. Each person paid him 100 hryvnias (about €0.02 – ed.) so we could go to the sauna there three times per week. While there was no operation, we were in the sauna and grilling — a peaceful life," Olli recounted.
"Every place where we've had a so-called safe house during an operation; we've always had a sauna at hand, and the first thing always built is a grill corner and a smoke oven. These are the kinds of things I've tried to preserve in my team," Olli added.
While it might seem counter-intuitive in hot and arid climates, a sauna was a must for the EDF deployments in Afghanistan and in Mali Olli had been on in the past. EDF troops deployed to Iraq have similarly placed the sauna at the heart of rest and recuperation activities." https://news.err.ee/1609742214/estonian-sauna-gifted-to-ukraine-volunteers-remains-an-essential-bit-of-kit
Hey,
I am slowly getting closer to realizing my dream of having a sauna..... Too excited really.
Anyway, I have a question about the controller setup. Do I need a dedicated controller or would a 240v switch and a thermostat work? I have a fairly good handle on residential electrical, but I can't get my head around how all of these components work together.
For anyone worried about it, I'll be getting it inspected :) just trying to get the right stuff.
Many thanks!
Here's the thermostat I was looking at:
I’m going to be starting my build very soon, and question about furring strips. Indoor sauna, full DIY build
Obviously the ideal would be to use 1x2, but my build is very tight on space. I’m considering using lathe as my furring strips. Actual dimensions are 1/4 thick on the lathe as opposed to 3/4 on the 1x2. Might seem crazy but the extra inch of gain would help me a ton. I cannot expand the footprint, it’s at its absolute max
Worth it or a dumb idea?
I know the general stance on these saunas in this group. However it will be at least a few years before I build one. It would equal out to about .33 cents per use and save me a ton of time running to the local gym sauna which is just a hot room, designed wrong and dirty anyway. Could I get some honest feedback:
Hello. My friend is soon to get a new outdoor sauna. What are some thoughtful gifts I could give him that would complement the new sauna? I was considering Robe? Sandals? Is there a higher end store in the USA that you would recommend for these types of products? We are located in New Jersey USA.
I will update you as the process unfolds.
Just getting a new outdoor sauna set up!
What three essentials do I need to get to fully enjoy the experience?