Saunas and Sauna Kits
Choices for Bathers and Builders

by Pertti Olavi Jalasjaa

If you’re thinking about buying or building a sauna for your home, you first need to determine which type of sauna will best fulfill your needs and accommodate your lifestyle. While certain similarities do exist, to assume that all saunas are the same would be a very big mistake. Therefore, the initial objective of every first-time sauna buyer and would-be sauna builder should be to be able to distinguish each type of sauna from the others.

A chief difference between modular or pre-built saunas and pre-cut saunas is usually the effort needed to assemble and install the sauna. A pre-cut sauna is basically a sauna material kit that contains the lumber and most of the parts required for constructing a sauna for permanent installation. A pre-cut sauna kit typically includes: the wood for the sauna’s ceiling and walls; sauna benches; a standard sauna heater with controls and rocks; duckboard flooring; a standard sauna door and trim; a standard sauna light; hardware and other components. As practically all of the construction of the pre-cut sauna is the buyer’s responsibility, pre-cut sauna kits are often called do-it-yourself or DIY sauna kits.

Pre-built or modular saunas are substantially less demanding of the buyer. Complete sections of the sauna, like the wall and ceiling panels and benches, come already built. The electrical wiring is already hidden inside the walls; the air vents are built-in; the sauna door is pre-hung, and no plumbing is required. A modular sauna can typically be assembled in just a few steps in about an hour. Because the structure is free-standing, it can be easily dismantled and moved from one location to another.

For a long time, most of the modular and pre-cut saunas available on the market were of the traditional Finnish sauna variety. In a traditional Finnish sauna, specially selected rocks or stones are heated on a stove to raise the air temperature inside the sauna room. Steam can then be added, elevating the temperature even more, by tossing water onto the hot rocks. The pronounced heat causes whoever is inside the sauna to perspire profusely, and that is very much an intended function of the traditional Finnish sauna bath, for sweating has long been believed to be a very cleansing, rejuvenating experience for the human body.

While the centuries-old tradition of the hot Finnish sauna bath still thrives throughout the world, modern technology has helped to bring a decidedly different type of sauna to the fore – the far infrared sauna. Also known as infrared heat therapy rooms, radiant heat saunas and soft heat saunas, these innovative inventions utilize far infrared energy emitters to heat the sauna bather’s body directly and at lower, more tolerable temperatures than those characteristic of traditional Finnish saunas. Proponents of far infrared sauna bathing often cite the research finding that the volume of sweat produced during a far infrared sauna session can be as much as three times greater than the amount of perspiration that typically results from a comparable Finnish sauna bath.

Thanks mostly to the modern conveniences of the Internet and worldwide web, saunas and sauna kits for buying and building are quite easy to find. As well, a plethora of online information exists on prefab saunas, pre-cut sauna kits, Finnish saunas, and far infrared heat therapy rooms. As you continue your research, be sure to familiarize yourself with the many health benefits regular sauna bathing offers as well as the countless lists of longtime sauna enthusiasts’ helpful recommendations on how to properly prepare for and enjoy a sauna bath.