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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Oracle
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OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
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I plan to build one this summer.
Looking for ideas on materials methods size etc from those that have one or build their own.
Thanks.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2012
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I think mostly they are made out of cedar.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 7,968
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2001
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PM me built one last fall and love it. Bought a 8 X 8 shed used, moved it, then insulated , it 5' x 8 ft sauna area, rest changing area. Used comercial sauna stove. 3 small pieces of wood will hold it over 165 F for 3.5 hrs. Kurt
kk alaska
Alaska 7 months of winter then 5 months of tourists
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2001
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Got T&G cedar on Craigs list local ER guy has it you can sort through it and it mostly clear. Insulated, then wrapped it in a mylar envelope. Used Nylon rope for trim set in Silicone. I googled for plans and ideas and built it. Heres a site http://www.saunaplanning.com/
kk alaska
Alaska 7 months of winter then 5 months of tourists
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2010
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I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
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Yeah... but imagine looking at KK nekid while taking a sauna!
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,681 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,681 Likes: 3 |
The ones out here on the AKPEN are slightly different. Most are built big enough to accommodate a a barrel stove and they are tied into a water source.
I have a 12x12 foundation on my up north property that I'm going to build into a sauna. I'll be heated with a barrel stove and my water source will be a handpump on a hand-driven well. There are even pyramid to the side that I'm building a sheltered deck on as part of the sauna for a wood-fired hot-tub.
Z
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,697 |
KK, that looks great, very nice! I'm currently building my 2nd sauna. The first one was 6X8 and heated with a 30 gal barrel stove. I ran the barrel through the wall so I could load it from the outside. It was lined with T&G Alaskan cottonwood from Poppert's mill, in Wasilla. The cottonwood is actually very nice. Light in color and did not darken after 8 years of steady use. Floor was cork. Bench was 2X6 hem/fir with 1X6 verticle grain cedar on top. I made the door from 2X6 decking. The current sauna project has a 55 gal BBL. It is lined with tight knot cedar with clear on the benches and backrests. Hot room is 8X8 with a 6X8 dressing room. For a smaller sauna I think insulation is optional. You certainly will burn less with it insulated. They are fun and I think very healthy, too.
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683 |
Yeah... but imagine looking at KK nekid while taking a sauna! Lord have mercy I was more thinking if i could rent the place out and have a celebration for some of my overworked young ladies
I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,252 Likes: 25 |
Do your saunas have floor drains or is there not enough interior water to be a concern?
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 7,968
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2001
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No floor drain in mine but do not rinse off inside. All water is gone with residual heat. Floor is not insulated. My 5 ft by 8 ft area required a very small stove and BTU output is sized to sq ft. A stove that you could load from the outside would be nice mine uses so little wood no issues. Heat shields were necessary as I had no clearance. The benches are removable. I went with online size, bench height, and ceiling height recommendations. Wired for lights just went with a RV male plug HD cord for power supply, 2 lights. Cedar contact https://anchorage.craigslist.org/mat/6007803198.html Sorry Art prefer to Sauna with the wife! Amazing health benefits had lung issues with 40 years being around chlorine, had Pneumonia 2 times last year, physicals always showed lungs were congested. After sauna use it went away. I felt so much better after using one, I built mine.
kk alaska
Alaska 7 months of winter then 5 months of tourists
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,252 Likes: 25
Campfire Oracle
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OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,252 Likes: 25 |
I have a small box stove that looks to be the right size for a small sauna. I want to be able to take it when I move. Standard lumber framing? Extry VB? Treated lumber for floor? False floor to get above stratified cold air? Lights inside? I'll think up more questions over time!
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,635
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,635 |
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,252 Likes: 25
Campfire Oracle
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OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,252 Likes: 25 |
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,697
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,697 |
Since my saunas are detached I did not put in a vapor barrier. As KK stated, the residual heat dries 'er right out. I do not add water to my sauna preferring a dry sauna. Probably one of the best benefit from the sauna is your body adapts to the heat adn this really hepls when you go to a hot climate.
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,960
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,960 |
Jeez, and here I thought it meant virgin birch.
Mark
NRA Life Member Anytime anyone kicks cancers azz is a good day!
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Oh The Drama!
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683 |
I like a floor drain, but it's extra work when building it.
Put a big pot on the stove, a high shelf with a 5 gal. bucket on it, good sized bilge pump with a shower hose and head attached to it and voila, shower in the sauna.
Mix the hot water on the stove top with cold rainwater in the 5 gal bucket to your tastes
Feels so good to rinse off afterwards
I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 25,528 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 25,528 Likes: 4 |
Probably one of the best benefit from the sauna is your body adapts to the heat adn this really hepls when you go to a hot climate. But you freeze your ass off if it's less than 90 degrees. 😄
�Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.� �General George S. Patton, Jr.
--------------------------------------------------------- ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,858
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,858 |
Had an old shed moved/skidded in. Installed cedar on walls, benches and lid. We fiberglassed the floor and added a drain. Found an old bathtub, and it now sits in the opposite corner from the stove, which is mounted through the wall that creates a hallway/changing room. Sauna room ended up about 9'x12'.
It is a must-have without running water.
I retired from the Johns Manville asbestos pop tart factory in ‘59, and still never made the connection.—-Slumlord
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,122 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,122 Likes: 2 |
Careful there, Mike. Them things are dangerous! My friend in Hope built one 10X12, concrete floor, no floor drain, many years ago, out of either 6 or 8 inch , 3-sided squared cedar. Don't ask where he got it... but he was working for a government agency at the time, and they had some leftovers. The wife and I were over visiting and he fired up the sauna. True, we'd been into the banana Daiquiris for awhile... and I'd never been in a sauna before. I was advised that if I started feeling weak I should go outside (it was down around zero) where there was a half barrel filled with cold water, and douse myself over the head until I recovered and could re-enter. "The pitcher is right there".... So it came to pass. No one told me his wife had brought out the pitcher of Daiquiris as well... I just thought someone had thoughtfully pre-filled that pitcher. It took another half dozen pitchers of cold water to get all that stuff out of my hair. I not only remember it well, I'm frequently reminded of it....
The only true cost of having a dog is its death.
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