Building an Outdoor Sauna DIY - Welcome!

Welcome to my sauna building blog. Sometime in July of 2015, I ventured on a journey of building my outdoor wood burning sauna. I am not in construction by trade—quite the opposite—software development. I do, however, enjoy working on cars, building stuff and general repair of anything that falls on my lap. The internet is my usual go to place for answers and learning how to do things. However, I learned to be careful and take all the tips I read online with a grain of salt. So, when building my outdoor sauna, I wanted to try and document as much as I could so it would help someone who’s thinking of building one too. Admittedly, I did not fully succeed, as time was tight to build the sauna and sometimes, we were so focused on getting things done, that we later realized we forgot to take photos. So, as you’re reading this how to build a sauna blog, feel free to comment or send me questions and I will try to respond. Comments are probably preferred, as answering any question you have would help anyone else having the same question.

Other names for sauna:

Bastu (Swedish)
Banya (Russian)
Jjim jjil bang (Korean)
Sweat lodge (N. Amer. Indian)
Temezcal (S.Amer. Indian)
Mushi-boro (Japanese)
Hammam (Arabic)
Caldarium or Laconium (Roman)
Schvitz (Yiddish)
Steam bath
Turkish bath
Irish bath
Sanarium.

Below are some of the links I’ve found useful one way or another while researching or building my outdoor sauna:

Building an outdoor wood burning sauna from start to finish-- a photo gallery:

purchase a sauna building e-book:










3 comments:

  1. Hi there! Thanks for sharing your journey in building your outdoor sauna. I’m considering a similar project and was wondering if you have any tips on selecting the right wood or insulation for the sauna? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading the blog! There are debates on the internet about all those topics. To me, it was the finances that drove my decisions. For the inside, I knew I had to have cedar because it survives the humidity. However, the cedar I got was what I could afford, lower quality and on sale :)
      Same for insulation. People debate what's good what's bad. I used regular house insulation, without paper because it was covered by bubble foil and cedar, so I think it's ok health wise, and it definitely works-- ask anyone that comes to my sauna ;) Good luck with your project. Come back and post photos!!

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    2. Thanks, Julian! Your tips on using cedar and regular insulation are super helpful, especially for a budget build. I'll keep them in mind and share photos once my sauna's done. Appreciate it!

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Would love to hear your comments, ideas, questions, and suggestions!