What You Need to Know About Building an Outdoor Sauna (2026)

Last winter, my hubby and I received a Sun Home Luminar 5-Person Sauna to test. I unrecorded successful grey and rainy Portland, Oregon, which has a beauteous robust sauna civilization to combat the February blahs.

Not lone was I ecstatic, but astir everyone I knew was too. For the respective weeks that I had the Sun Home container successful my driveway, I received a changeless watercourse of texts from friends. “Do you person a sauna?” they each asked, hoping to get invited implicit soon.

Since then, I’ve had respective friends physique their ain backyard saunas, and I recognize my acquisition whitethorn person been atypical. Still, I gleaned a fewer utile learnings that you tin instrumentality distant if you’re looking to instal 1 of your own. If you’re considering dropping respective expansive connected an outdoor sauna, present are a fewer things you mightiness consider.

Lesson #1: Choose Your Sauna Type

There are respective kinds of saunas. Traditional Finnish saunas usage a wood stove and stones to vigor the interior.

If you’re looking astatine modern electric-powered saunas, determination are 2 types here. You tin either take an electric sauna, which has a azygous electrical vigor source, oregon an infrared (IR) sauna, which uses airy panels to vigor the body. If you opt for a sauna with an electrical heater, you tin besides take a adust oregon bedewed model. Pouring h2o implicit the heated rocks creates what the Finns telephone “löyly,” the steam that tin assistance marque a blistery country much comfortable.

Devotees of 1 oregon the different tin reason backmost and distant forever. Traditional wood-burning saunas are much apt to drawback connected fire. A adust sauna is much sanitary and truthful easier to maintain. The wellness benefits of a accepted sauna person been much wide studied, and truthful on.

Most radical I cognize who person chosen to instal saunas person opted for an electrical bedewed model. This is the astir akin to the nationalist sauna that you mightiness find astatine a gym. An IR sauna is usually cheaper. However, you mightiness find aggregate heat-emitting airy panels much uncomfortable than a azygous vigor source, wherever you tin debar nonstop interaction much easily.

Lesson #2: Choose Your Location Wisely

When it comes to deciding wherever to instal a sauna, determination are a fewer common-sense nonnegotiables. Sun Home details these successful its installation manual (which has been revised since I tested the sauna). You request a tile, concrete, carpet, laminated, oregon wood surface; depending connected which sauna you prime from Sun Home, it indispensable beryllium capable to enactment 870 oregon 1,270 pounds.

You indispensable prosecute an electrician to modify your 240-volt, 30-amp powerfulness proviso and usage a NEMA L6-30P outlet; converting it yourself volition void the warranty. The institution present notes that it should besides beryllium installed successful a dry, weather-protected area, though I person aggregate friends who person installed outdoor saunas connected graveled areas that are not nether cover.

In sum: Although it is marketed arsenic an outdoor sauna, you should dainty it arsenic if you're installing an indoor sauna.