Saunas

15 years ago, anyone wishing to enjoy a sauna had to visit a club, Spa, or leisure centre. Home saunas were new and very expensive. Today though, a home sauna is affordable and practical. There are different stoves and heaters and they are very affordable provided that you have the room to fit one.

In other parts of the world you can buy a sauna kit that takes the form of a material component sauna kit, or a prefabricated sauna kit with walls and a roof. Both types can be fitted into a room, or built into an outbuilding, loft or cellar. These kits are flexible and easy to assemble and adapt to any space. You can buy them off the internet or from shops and stores.

The cheapest and most popular sauna kit is called a “material component kit” and it is made up of timbers that are cut to size. These components are then trimmed and they fit to the walls, ceiling and floor. Kits of this type include everything required to assemble the sauna plus a stove or infrared heater.

It is necessary to have some wood working or DIY skills to undertake a sauna building project, but the self-build tasks are simple ones.

An alternative to stove heaters are the new infrared heaters. These are low energy (cheap to run) heaters and they use infrared rays to heat up the skin.

Sauna material kits can be built in two or three days. Prefabricated saunas can take little more than a couple of hours to put together. Both need a power supply, but ventilation is rarely necessary.

The cost of a sauna kit will vary depending on its area, number of seats and type of heater (or heaters). Enhance the sauna with features like bench backrests, towel rails and lighting etc will add to the cost.