Replies

1. 
   bobtim | Dec 01, 2003 08:30am | #1

   My very limited experince with in house saunas. Never saw a cedar door, lots of fir doors with tempered glass in them.  When building benches &walls watch out for exposed nail or screw heads , they will burn you.  Also be wary of knots, they can burn you to a lesser degree than the metal fasteners.

2. 
   dthodal | Dec 01, 2003 04:31pm | #2

   I have always built my own saunas including doors. But I have used these folks to buy electric stoves and they do sell doors. A friend bought one of their sauna kits; it wasvery nice but expensive.

   http://www.saunasauna.com/#DOORS

   There are several other companys selling saunas. Try doing a search on Google

   walk good
1. 
   USBrit | Dec 01, 2003 05:09pm | #3

   Is it possible to use 16 gauge finish nails, to hold the tongue and groove? Also, must the nails be galvanised or if only the tongue is nailed, will the moisture not be able to get at the nail in enough quantity to cause rust runs?

   Scooter

1. 
   Sphere | Dec 01, 2003 06:02pm | #4

   If ya have 3/4" t&g..fin. nails are fine..get Stainless..cedar can eat up galvinized...hand nailing or gun?...ya might want ss screws (trim head) sunk for any face screwing..

2. 
   dthodal | Dec 02, 2003 06:45pm | #7

   Scvooter, I have always used hot dipped galv nails (hand drives) with no problems. For T&G, I use a 6d finish, blind nailed. But I have also face nailed boards; just be sure to set your nails or you will brand your skin.

   I realize there is the potential for nail degradation due to cedar, but even checking back 20 years or more on past projects (siding, decks and saunas) have seen little if any staining or corrosion in hot dipped galv hand drive nails.

   The project is small enough, use your hammer and enjoy the process.walk good

2. 
   kestrel | Dec 02, 2003 06:01pm | #5

   Hi DTHODAL,

   Do you build your own sauna stoves?  It will be quite a while before we do it, but will be building an outdoor sauna and doing the stove.

   A long time ago my Dad made a sauna stove out of a 55 gal. drum.  It worked great and looked a lot like many that are sold now.  Of course now the steel in most drums isn't what it used to be so we will be using plate.  Converting an already made wood stove looks possible.  I was wondering if there would be any unexpected problems.

   kestrel

1. 
   dthodal | Dec 02, 2003 06:40pm | #6

   I have nevet built my own sauna stove. However I have used a number of standard woodstoves in saunas; one sauna even used an old Franklin stove which was nice in that we had an open fire view if we wanted, but it was a slow heater.

   My current sauna stove is an old UPLAND scandinavian style stove. By scandinavian, I mean it has the baffle plate to achieve a secondary burn and is/was airtight. It has heated my saunas well but after 20years or more of use is pretty much burned out.

   I like small stoves and let them run hot for a more efficient burn and rarely damper them down. On the top I use a stainless steel cookie sheet with non-fracturing river stones (about 2-3" in size) for the steam generation. Unless I am sloppy, water very seldom hits anything but the hot rocks, thus no damage to the stove.

   Remember to allow for fresh air intake by the stove. I use a piece of 3" sch40 tthru the wall by the stove draft and cap the ends with metal venting to keep out the little ones.

   saunas are great. don't wait to build onewalk good

1. 
   kestrel | Dec 03, 2003 05:22am | #8

   Hi DTHODAL,

   I suspected a woodstove could be modified to work.  If it's too slow to heat, I've thought that some type of heat exchanger could increase heat to the stones.  Thanks for confirming that.

   I do hate waiting to build it, but now we're building the house and that has to stay first.

   Thanks for the advise.

   kestrel

1. 
   dthodal | Dec 03, 2003 07:08am | #9

   Traditionally in Finland, the sauna was the first building completed on the farmstead...it provided shelter at night as well as a place to get clean while building the house.

   Even a plain American style box stove will heat the stones on top quite nicely. The key to a hot sauna is part stove, but also good insulation and proper size of room matched to the stove.walk good

2. 
   SRCrane | Dec 04, 2003 12:03am | #10

   i designed a sauna for my next door neighbor who is a finn, so he had very specific requirements for the design and materials. it has been up for about a year and they use it year round. i use it on occasion as well, so i've been able to see how it has held up.

   they one area where i wish i detailed it differently was at the door windows and window sills. the standard window sills, and the window frame at the door are relatively flat and allow the condensate from the window to pool on them so they are constantly wet and just now starting to get mold.

   he also used a cheap door for the exterior and usually comes over every few months to ask me to plane it so it can close.

3. 
   kestrel | Dec 04, 2003 03:11am | #11

   Hi DTHODAL,

   I know the Finnish tradition well, though having been away from Finn country for a long time, I've no doubt become slack.

   I just posted photos of the house we are building in the Photo Gallery.

   kestrel