sauna benches
B. Borg
construction. The sauna will be 4'x6'x7', framed with 2x4s @ 16" o.c.
I've gleaned that the approach with the benches is to have them supported
from the walls, to make removing them (for cleaning purposes) easier.
Whats the best way to do this? I have little experience with carpentry.
Also, what is the best wood to use? Any info greatly appreciated, and I
will summarize.
TIA,
Brent
Spring Lake Michigan USA
Tom Huxton
great.
Usually saunas are built as small as possible to minimize energy usage, so
the span of the bench would likely not be too great. I would probably
just bolt a 2x4 around the wall so the bench would be supported on 3 edges
and merely rests on the supports. You may want to devise a notch or pin
arrangement to hold the bench securely on the supports. Don't allow any
screws, bolts or metal attachments to project above the wood, as the metal
could be quite uncomfortable because of the heat. Also, use fittings which
are not subject to rusting in moist environments. There are several ways to
tie narrow bench boards together to prevent bowing in the middle of the
bench, the best way would depend on the design, dimensions and your own
esthetic sense. Try to locate and review a few drawings, plans or
commercial advertising photos to come up with the best design for your
installation. Maybe you should make yourself knowledgeable concerning the
heating unit dimensions and its placement requirements before planning the
layout of your sauna. Remember that these things produce a LOT of heat, so
insulation and ventilation requirements should be considered and calculated
for your layout and cost analysis.
Good luck; it sounds like a nice project. It should enhance the value of
your home. Of course the tax man will take that into consideration....haha
Thomas
"B. Borg" <bl...@novagate.com> wrote in message
news:20020214.140001...@novagate.com...
Ari J.
> Usually saunas are built as small as possible to minimize energy usage, so
> the span of the bench would likely not be too great. I would probably
> just bolt a 2x4 around the wall so the bench would be supported on 3 edges
> and merely rests on the supports. You may want to devise a notch or pin
> your home. Of course the tax man will take that into consideration....haha
> > I've gleaned that the approach with the benches is to have them supported
> > from the walls, to make removing them (for cleaning purposes) easier.
> > Whats the best way to do this? I have little experience with carpentry.
> > Also, what is the best wood to use? Any info greatly appreciated, and I
> > will summarize.
This may help (sauna bench = laude):
http://www.saunasite.com/index-en/size.htm
--
Ari J.
Frank McVey
Simple gallows brackets plugged and screwed to the wall will support the
bench tops and are easy to make. Use cranked shoot bolts underneath to hold
the top safely to the brackets, but allow easy removal. They need to be
galvanised or brass, similarly with your other hardware, otherwise it will
rust.
Pine is fine, but remember that fixtures, fittings and lining should be left
unfinished. Another thing, if you do use knotty pine, organise things so
that there are no large knots where you're going to sit, because they get
farkin' hot! (As Phil the Oz might say)
I was that man....
Cheers
Frank
Slowhand
B. Borg wrote in message <20020214.140001...@novagate.com>...
I built a sauna/shower in my last spec house. Here's what I did:
Framed walls, insulated, tongue and groove clear cedar on walls and ceiling.
For the bench, I constructed a two tier bench 19" off the floor and the
second tier being 38" off the floor. For the framing, I used 2x4 cedar. My
bottom bench had two legs that were two feet in from each end. I might add
that the lenght of the bench was 8 feet. I used cedar 2x2's for the legs
running down to the floor. From the bottom bench, I post up from to support
the upper bench. This framing was also used to install horizontal cedar for
beauty purposes. The bench itself was made from cedar 2x2's spaced 3/8"
apart. The bench framing was on 16" centers to support the 2x2's. I can
elaborate more if you have more specific questions on construction of the
bench. Make sure to use stainless fasteners for all of your connections.
Hope this helps.
SH
daiku
As one poster already suggested: clear, untreated cedar is great.
Water resistant, doesn't get too hot, and not sappy. Pine will get
sappy, and many hardwoods will get too hot. Bench design will depend
on a lot of factors, but you may get some ideas from our suana
project:
http://www.wood-workers.com/users/daiku/Sauna/sauna.htm
Good Luck to you!
daiku
"B. Borg" <bl...@novagate.com> wrote in message news:<20020214.140001...@novagate.com>...
George
doesn't splinter, and in a room full of wood, it will feel coolest. Walls
are good places for cedar.
"B. Borg" <bl...@novagate.com> wrote in message
news:20020214.140001...@novagate.com...
barbi doll
hot to sit on. red wood is often used, guess because it doesn't rot. but it
is some what high in tannic acid and will get some what hot to touch,cedar
is better and I think the best price wise for the average home sauna. Poplar
is very low in tannic acid and some of the better builders use it stays cool
and is a good price.But the greenish gray color turns some people off and
you can't even think of staining in a sauna.
But remember when you decide how to build this you cant have any nails screw
heads ect. any place that they can be touched. they will be very hot and
burn your butt.
B. Borg <bl...@novagate.com> wrote in message
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Jukka Aho
> The sauna will be 4'x6'x7', framed with 2x4s @ 16" o.c. I've gleaned
> that the approach with the benches is to have them supported from
> the walls, to make removing them (for cleaning purposes) easier.
One possible idea is described here: <http://www.saunatalo.fi/uppi.htm>.
You might also want to take a look at <http://www.sauna.fi/> (the
website of The Finnish Sauna Society) and <http://www.saunasite.com/>.
-- znark
Kari Yli-Kuha
> "Frank McVey" <frank...@btinternet.com> writes:
>
>>Pine is fine, but remember that fixtures, fittings and lining should be left
>>unfinished. Another thing, if you do use knotty pine, organise things so
>>that there are no large knots where you're going to sit, because they get
>>farkin' hot! (As Phil the Oz might say)
>>
>
> Aspen (Populus tremula) is widely used for sauna benches in Finland
> because of its porousness, which makes it comfortable to sit on even
> when it's hot. Some people, on the other hand, prefer to use a small
> cloth to beware their stern.
Also Apache Pine (Pinus engelmannii) is (was?) widely used.
We've had Apache benches since '69 and they look almost like new.
/Kari
Jukka Aho
> Also Apache Pine (Pinus engelmannii) is (was?) widely used.
> We've had Apache benches since '69 and they look almost like new.
Yes, it is a good choice. I have been sitting on apache pine wood
sauna benches since '85. (Though at the moment I'm sitting on my
recliner, not in a sauna! :) No problems whatsoever, and it looks
nice too. Apache pine does not change its color much, whereas other
kinds of wood may darken quite a bit over the years.
-- znark
Daryl Drome
> will summarize.
Not that I've seen this in a sauna, and I have no idea how it would
work out, but how about cork on the top of the benches? I don't think
cork will get too hot to sit on. You can get unfinished cork tiles for
$2 a square foot at http://www.thecorkstore.com. I suppose you could
even consider using cork to cover the walls. Just a thought, no idea
if it's at all practical.
D.D.
PM6564
"Daryl Drome" <drome...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:bfee19e2.02021...@posting.google.com...
The adhesive would fail. Go with cedar for benches, walls, ceilings and
floor.
Scot McDermid
"PM6564" <pm6...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:IAYb8.8170$BR3.4...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> The adhesive would fail. Go with cedar for benches, walls, ceilings and
> floor.
Yep. Saunas are made out of cedar.
I vaguely remember my dad saying that someone tried some other
kind of wood. The benches became too hot to sit on unless you had
a soaking wet bathtowel to sit on. I don't know why but I do know
that every sauna I have ever been it was made out of cedar.
Markku Grönroos
"Scot McDermid" <sco...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:LkZb8.18219$P21.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Jukka Aho
> Yep. Saunas are made out of cedar.
Cedar seems to be popular choice in the US, but is virtually
unknown in Finnish saunas. It might do the job nicely (for all
I know), but I have never been to a sauna made out of cedar.
Most Finnish saunas are probably made out of spruce, although
I know several people who prefer abachi (also known as obeche,
or Triplochiton scleroxylon.) See <http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/
TechSheets/Chudnoff/African/htmlDocs%20africa/Triplochiton
scleroxylon> for more information.
> I vaguely remember my dad saying that someone tried some other
> kind of wood. The benches became too hot to sit on unless you
> had a soaking wet bathtowel to sit on. I don't know why but I
> do know that every sauna I have ever been it was made out of
> cedar.
Heavy types of wood get hot and slippery more easily whereas
lighter, more porous ones (such as abachi) do not have this
problem. Don't know how cedar ranks in this sense.
-- znark
Mikko Silvonen
Have you checked these sites?
Kalle Hoffman's Sauna Building FAQ
http://www.armory.com/~kalle/sauna_faq.html
The Sauna Site
http://www.saunasite.com/
--
Mikko Silvonen <silv...@iki.fi> http://www.iki.fi/silvonen/
J H
Jukka Aho kirjoitti viestissä ...
>
>Cedar seems to be popular choice in the US, but is virtually
>unknown in Finnish saunas.
>
>I know several people who prefer abachi (also known as obeche,
>or Triplochiton scleroxylon.)
Aspen or abachi.
Jaana
Tapio
> Aspen
Yes. In a small sauna everything gets hot and aspen feels better. In a big
sauna it doesn't matter so much. By the way, it's quite easy to make a
intoterable small sauna. No fresh air or humidity just hurting löyly.
--
Tapsa
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."
Marx
Dave L.
Any light weight, read low density lumber should do. Avoid wood with sap in in
because it oozes out with the heat and you'll really remember that spot when you
set your testicles on it. Don't finish the lumber with any sealer, it doesn't
have to be sanded too fine or it'll be too slippery to stand on safely. Some
woods stink more than others, I don't like red cedar in a sauna. Check out what
you have locally if price is an object.
Dave
In article <a4ptg0$1p$1...@news.kolumbus.fi>, "Markku Grönroos"
HWM
>
> Just on the tail of this thread...
>
> Any light weight, read low density lumber should do. Avoid wood with sap in in
> because it oozes out with the heat and you'll really remember that spot when you
> set your testicles on it.
In addition to that, avoid it in paneling, atleast in the roof. A drop
of hot sap on your head feels almost as good as on any other place. Also
the back wall where you lean on is quite good to use wood with no
branch-spots. And remember to embed the nails...
--
Cheers, HWM
hen...@sanet.fi