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.1. Buy a sauna material or D-I-Y Kit
Buying a pre-cut sauna material kit makes it easier for any DIY person to build his own sauna over several weekends if you’re a busy person. In all, it takes around 16 to 24 hours to build your own sauna from pre-cut material. You will need to assemble sauna benches, floor boards and wall boards.
DIY sauna kits are definitely cheaper than pre-built or prefabricated sauna because you will do most of the work. If you’re building a 5'x7' sauna, it will cost you $2,400 to 3,200 US$, which is $1,600 to $2,600 CHEAPER than a pre-built sauna.
You will need a hammer, saw, 24-inch level, measuring tape, sanding block, chisel, trimming knife, screwdriver, stapler, pliers, nail punch, circular saw, and an electric drill to do this DIY job. When buying a DIY kit, check to see what it includes, some packages exclude the sauna heater or the floor boards, so it’s important to check you have all the materials before buying
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2. Decide on the sauna’s location
Do not feel restricted about your choice of location. Sometimes it is more fun to have the sauna outdoors. However, you should be careful not to put your sauna too close to the property line, or that you don’t build your sauna larger than the legal limit, if there’s any.
Outdoor saunas tend to cost more to install if you include the cost of running plumbing or electrical wiring to the sauna’s location, and the added cost of building a protective outdoor sauna roof. You will also need to build a foundation below your sauna to avoid damage from heaving when the ground thaws after winter.
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3. Set the size of the sauna
Before building your own sauna, draw a line on the floor where you want to build it. This will give you a better idea of how the room will look once the sauna kit is installed. Make sure the location is level and has access to 240-volt electrical supply. The electrical hook-up is similar to a 240-volt clothes dryer or electric stove with circuit breakers sized at 30 amps or 40 amps for most home size saunas.
Sauna sizes come in different size, 3'x4' sauna for one person to a large 10'x14' sauna for six to eight people. The most popular sauna sizes are 5'x7' and 6'x7'. A sauna height of seven feet gives off the best levels of soft, even heat in the entire sauna room.
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4. Build the sauna flooring
You can use the existing concrete floor of your house as the base of your sauna, however, if you’re installing it outdoors, you will need to build a separate concrete foundation. Your DIY kit will come with a flooring section where you can put in a wooden duckboard floor over the concrete foundation.
Many of the saunas today are not built with a floor drain, although you can install it at an additional cost. Small drops of water evaporate quickly from a sauna floor, however, if your sauna doesn’t have a floor drain, you must take care not to drop large amounts of water over the sauna heater all at once.
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5. Wall framing
The stud frame for each sauna wall can be constructed on the floor outside the sauna. You need to build the sauna walls in such a way that they allow air intake and exhaust vents, and any windows in the sauna walls. When complete, the wall section is raised and anchored to the concrete floor with anchor bolts or concrete nails. A drop ceiling is then added. You should not build your sauna beyond 7'. A larger sauna will not give off as much heat.
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6. Sauna wiring and insulation
You will need to hire an electrician to install the electrical circuits for the sauna heater, sauna controls, thermostat and sauna lighting. It is recommended that the sauna controls be placed on the outside of the sauna for convenient access. The wiring needs to be rated for 90°C (194°F) and must be located along the cooler side of the sauna wall.
After the sauna wiring is installed, install the aluminum foil vapor barrier and the insulation to keep the heat inside the sauna. The aluminum foil vapor barrier (with the shiny side facing inwards towards the sauna) must be used to prevent moisture from collecting in the sauna walls, and to reflect heat back into the sauna.
Saunas are usually insulated with conventional fiberglass insulation batts that come in 15" widths. The sauna insulation should be chosen according to its "R" value which defines its ability to keep heat in. An "R13" rating is fine for sauna walls while "R22" to "R26" is required in the sauna ceiling.
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7. Build the sauna doors and windows
Sauna doors always open out for safety reasons. A standard size sauna door measures 24"x72" to minimize the amount of heat lost when the sauna door opens. The sauna door should have a handle made of a matching wood and a non-metallic friction door catch. Factory made sauna doors are available with regular and full height windows.
Windows can be installed in the walls but they should be made of single glazed tempered glass. Avoid double glazed glass units often "fog up" from moisture collecting inside the panes of glass. Allow enough room in the window frame to allow the glass to expand slightly when it heats up, this prevents the glass from cracking.
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8. Build the sauna walls
Interior sauna walls can be lined in a horizontal or vertical design using tongue and groove cedar boards of 1"x4" or 1"x5" nominal widths. Cedar boards should be attached using 1.5" rust-resistant galvanized nails angled at the base of the tongue of each board so the next board will fit over the tongue and the nail head to hide it from view.
Surface nails in the sauna are always countersunk with a nail punch to prevent the nail head from contacting sauna bathers.
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9. Build the sauna benches
Sauna benches should be long enough to allow the bathers stretch. Benches are usually built with an air space of one half inch between the 2x4 bench planks to permit air to circulate through the bench. Lower level sauna benches should be installed about 18" above the sauna floor, while the upper tier sauna benches should be installed 46" from the sauna ceiling for adequate head space.
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10. Install the sauna heater
Sauna heaters are available in electric, gas as well as wood burning sauna stoves. It is important that all sauna stoves use hard granite rocks or other types of igneous rocks that will not explode when heated.
The sauna heater must be installed by a certified electrician and must be properly sized to heat your sauna room. If the heater is too small, it won’t be effective at all. If it’s too big, you’ll experience shearing heat that’s not fun at all.
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11. Install the lighting
The Lighting in the sauna is essential to relaxation and enjoyment. A single light fixture in the sauna is sufficient with usually a 60 watt light bulb in it. The sauna light must have a heavy-duty glass globe and an aluminum base. A cheap light bulb will not last in the heat of the sauna.
The location of the light is also very important - the sauna light should never be directly in front of your eyes or in your normal line of sight. Light installed on the side works best.
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12. Install vents for air circulation
Sauna venting creates an air circulation system that evenly distributes the heat in the sauna and the air odor-free. A sauna vent must include an intake vent near the floor under the sauna heater and an exhaust vent on the other side of the sauna room to create air movement.
After your sauna has been installed, clean it of all debris. Let the sauna run for two hours at 80 °C (180°F) to burn off the coatings on the new heater and to ensure that the sauna rocks don't crack later.
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