Saunas are becoming more common in homes, and you do not necessarily need a huge bathroom or a luxury-home budget to add one.

There are options ranging from compact infrared units that can fit into a home gym or basement to full traditional Finnish-style saunas designed as part of a dedicated wellness space.

At Grabill Plumbing & Heating, we have started seeing more interest in saunas as homeowners look beyond the traditional bathroom and think about wellness spaces in the home.

We can supply premium sauna systems from manufacturers such as KOHLER and ThermaSol, but those are only one end of the market. Depending on your space, budget and what you want out of the sauna, there are several different ways to approach it.

Traditional Sauna vs. Infrared Sauna

One of the first decisions is what type of sauna you want.

Traditional Sauna

A traditional sauna heats the room itself, usually with an electric heater and sauna stones.

The temperatures are generally higher than an infrared sauna, and water can typically be poured over the heated stones to create a short burst of humidity.

For many people, this is what they picture when they think of a sauna.

Traditional saunas can be built as:

• A custom room
• A prefabricated indoor cabin
• An outdoor sauna
• A small two-person sauna
• A larger family-sized sauna

Infrared Sauna

Infrared saunas work differently.

Instead of heating the entire room to the same degree as a traditional sauna, infrared heaters use radiant energy to warm the person inside.

They typically operate at lower air temperatures and are often sold as compact, prefabricated units.

For someone who wants to add a sauna to a basement, home gym or spare room without undertaking a major construction project, an infrared sauna can be one of the simpler and less expensive options.

Some people strongly prefer the traditional sauna experience, while others like the lower temperature and simplicity of infrared.

There really isn’t one answer that fits everyone.

What Is a Traditional Finnish-Style Sauna?

When most people picture a classic sauna, they are usually thinking of a Finnish-style sauna.

Traditional Finnish-style saunas use a dedicated heater with sauna stones and typically include upper and lower benches. Because heat rises, the upper bench gives you a hotter experience while a lower bench provides a slightly cooler place to sit.

Water can be added to the heated stones to create a temporary increase in humidity and produce the traditional sauna experience many people are familiar with.

Wood selection is also a big part of the design.

Common sauna woods include:

• Nordic white spruce
• Hemlock
• Cedar
• Aspen
• Abachi or obeche, particularly for benches and backrests

The goal is to use woods that handle heat and humidity well while remaining comfortable to sit or lean against.

Different woods also give the sauna a very different appearance.

Cedar tends to be darker and has a noticeable natural aroma. Spruce gives more of a traditional Scandinavian appearance. Hemlock and aspen can create a cleaner and lighter contemporary look.

For someone building a custom traditional sauna, the wood, heater, insulation, bench layout and ventilation should all be designed together rather than simply converting an existing room and adding a heater.

You Don’t Have to Spend a Fortune

Saunas cover a very wide price range.

At one end, there are small prefabricated infrared and traditional sauna cabins that can be purchased for a few thousand dollars.

Moving up from there, you can get larger and better-built sauna kits with higher-quality wood, better heaters, improved controls and more attractive glass and finishes.

Then you get into the premium end of the market, where the sauna is designed to become part of the architecture of the home.

That is where manufacturers such as KOHLER and ThermaSol come into the discussion.

The important thing is deciding what experience you actually want before deciding how much you need to spend.

The Entry-Level Approach

For someone who simply wants the benefits and experience of using a sauna, a compact prefabricated sauna may be all that is needed.

These are commonly available in one- and two-person configurations and can work well in:

• Basements
• Home gyms
• Finished garages
• Large bathrooms
• Bonus rooms

This can be a good way to get into sauna use without designing an entire room around it.

The main things we would want homeowners to pay attention to are the quality of the heater, electrical requirements, manufacturer reputation and whether the unit is listed and approved for residential use.

A very inexpensive sauna may look similar to a better-quality one online, but the heater, controls, construction and long-term serviceability can be very different.

The Midrange Option: A Better Sauna Kit

The next level is a higher-quality prefabricated or custom-cut sauna kit.

Instead of simply buying a freestanding box, these systems give you more flexibility with:

• Room dimensions
• Bench layouts
• Wood selection
• Glass doors and panels
• Lighting
• Heater size
• Controls

This is a good option for someone who wants the sauna to feel like it belongs in the home rather than looking like another piece of equipment sitting in the basement.

A well-designed kit can also make sense when finishing a basement, adding a home gym or remodeling a larger primary bathroom.

Premium Saunas

At the top end, sauna design has become much more architectural.

KOHLER offers dedicated indoor and outdoor residential saunas in several sizes, ranging from smaller personal spaces to larger family-sized designs.

Their systems combine premium wood construction, insulated walls, glass, integrated lighting, ventilation and purpose-built heaters.

These are designed to become a major part of the room or outdoor space rather than simply being another piece of equipment.

ThermaSol also offers premium sauna products and custom sauna solutions with higher-end heater and control options.

Depending on the system, homeowners can incorporate custom layouts, upgraded wood selections, lighting, glass fronts, premium heaters and smart controls.

These types of systems make the most sense for someone designing a dedicated home wellness room, high-end primary suite or outdoor wellness area.

What About Red Light Therapy?

Another feature beginning to show up in residential saunas is red light therapy.

Some infrared and wellness-oriented sauna systems now incorporate dedicated red or near-infrared light panels directly into the sauna cabin.

It is important to understand that red light therapy and infrared sauna heat are not the same thing.

An infrared sauna uses infrared energy primarily to create heat. Red light therapy uses specific wavelengths of visible red and near-infrared light for a different type of treatment.

The two can be incorporated into the same space, but they are separate technologies.

For homeowners who are already building a dedicated wellness room, it can be an interesting feature to consider because it allows several wellness functions to share the same space.

I would also be careful when shopping for this feature.

Decorative red lighting is not the same thing as a purpose-built red light therapy system. If red light therapy is important to you, look at the actual equipment and specifications instead of simply seeing “red light” on a feature list.

Like many wellness technologies, there is ongoing research into red light therapy, and I would treat it as an optional wellness feature rather than a reason by itself to choose one sauna over another.

What Does a Home Sauna Require?

This depends heavily on the sauna you choose.

Unlike a steam shower, a traditional sauna generally does not require a water supply or drain inside the room.

What it usually does require is electrical power.

Traditional electric sauna heaters can require a fairly substantial dedicated electrical circuit, particularly as the room gets larger.

The heater needs to be properly sized for the cubic footage of the sauna, and glass, insulation and room construction can all affect the load.

This is something to look at before buying the sauna.

It is much easier to determine that your electrical panel has enough capacity before the sauna arrives than afterward.

Ventilation Matters

A sauna needs proper airflow.

Good ventilation helps control heat distribution, allows fresh air into the space and helps the sauna dry out between uses.

Purpose-built systems are engineered with ventilation in mind.

On a custom sauna, vent placement becomes part of the design and should follow the heater and sauna manufacturer’s requirements.

This is one area where simply converting a closet into a sauna without proper planning can create problems.

Where Can You Put a Sauna?

One of the nice things about saunas is that they can work in a lot of different areas of the home.

They can be incorporated into:

• Primary bathrooms
• Basements
• Home gyms
• Pool houses
• Finished garages
• Dedicated wellness rooms
• Outdoor patios and backyards

If you already have a shower nearby, that can make the overall experience even better.

Personally, one of my favorite combinations is a sauna followed by a cold shower.

I don’t have a dedicated cold plunge at home, but finishing a sauna session with cold water gives you a simple way to incorporate that hot-to-cold contrast without requiring another large piece of equipment.

We’ll get into cold plunges and cold-shower options more in another article.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Sauna

Outdoor saunas have become especially popular because they allow homeowners to add a larger sauna without giving up interior square footage.

They can work well near:

• Pools
• Patios
• Outdoor living areas
• Detached garages
• Backyard wellness spaces

However, an outdoor sauna needs to be designed for the climate.

In Northeast Ohio, that means paying particular attention to insulation, weather resistance, electrical installation and how the structure will handle freezing temperatures, snow and moisture.

Purpose-built outdoor sauna systems are specifically designed around those conditions.

What About Health Benefits?

This is one of the main reasons people become interested in saunas.

There is research suggesting that sauna use may have benefits related to relaxation, stress reduction, muscle recovery and cardiovascular function.

I would still keep the claims simple.

A sauna is not medical equipment, and it should not be treated as a cure for anything.

For most homeowners, one of the biggest benefits is also the most obvious one: sitting quietly in a warm room for 15 or 20 minutes can be a relaxing way to slow down.

There are also some precautions.

Saunas can contribute to dehydration, and anyone with cardiovascular, blood-pressure or other significant health concerns should speak with their physician before making sauna use part of their routine.

Don’t Forget About the Shower

If you are building a sauna from scratch, I would strongly consider what happens when you step out of it.

Having a shower nearby makes a lot of sense.

That could be as simple as a normal shower, or it could be incorporated into a larger wellness space with:

• A steam shower
• Digital shower controls
• Rainhead
• Body sprays
• Cold-water shower settings
• Heated floors
• Cold plunge
• Red light therapy
• Sauna

This is where planning the room as a complete space rather than buying individual products can make a big difference.

Which Sauna Is Right for You?

I would look at the decision in three basic levels.

Simple

A compact infrared or prefabricated traditional sauna. Good for someone who wants the experience without doing a major remodel.

Upgraded

A quality sauna kit or custom-cut Finnish-style sauna built into a basement, bathroom or home gym. This gives you more flexibility in appearance, wood selection, heater and layout.

Premium

A fully designed indoor or outdoor sauna from a manufacturer such as KOHLER or ThermaSol, incorporated into a larger bathroom or wellness space.

There is nothing wrong with any of the three.

It comes down to how often you expect to use it, how much space you have and how important the sauna is to the overall design of your home.

Plan It Before You Buy It

Like most specialty equipment, the time to work through the details is before the sauna shows up.

Before purchasing one, we would recommend looking at:

• Where will it go?
• How many people need to fit comfortably?
• Traditional or infrared?
• What type of wood do you want?
• What size heater is required?
• Does the electrical panel have enough capacity?
• How will the sauna be ventilated?
• Is a shower nearby?
• Do you want features such as lighting, smart controls or red light therapy?
• Is this a standalone sauna or part of a larger wellness space?

You don’t have to build a $40,000 home spa to enjoy a sauna.

But whether you are installing a compact two-person unit or designing a complete sauna and shower suite, a little planning at the beginning will make the finished product much better.

At Grabill Plumbing & Heating, we can help homeowners and builders think through the plumbing, electrical coordination and wellness products that go along with these spaces, including premium sauna options from KOHLER and ThermaSol.

And if you’re thinking about what comes after the heat, we’ll cover cold plunges and cold-shower options next.

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