Increasingly popular in the UK, installing a sauna at home has never been easier. What’s more it’s never been clearer that this age old ritual is a must have wellness accessory that every home should have.
Costs have come down and there’s so much information on the internet that DIY sauna enthusiasts are designing and building their own saunas right across the UK. If you’re considering a home sauna read this article and understand why it’s a mistake you haven’t got one already.
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Pre-fabricated sauna kits such as the Tylo Evolve led the revolution in home sauna bathing.
Why you can’t afford not a have a sauna at home
The benefits of regular thermal therapy and more importantly sauna bathing are widely understood. However, a more detailed study has revealed regular saunas can even offset an early impoverished death. What does this mean in reality? It means that even if you come from a low socioeconomic background and are a middle-aged low earner you can offset your increased likelihood of an early death with frequent sauna bathing.
It was shown in this study that taking a sauna bath anywhere from 4 times a week to once a day can reduce the risk of high blood pressure by up to 50%. Other discoveries show widening of blood vessels and parallels between the effects of sauna and exercising regularly.
Consider you are already in good health. Getting a sauna at home is going to optimise your health even further. Installing a sauna not only means you are investing in your home, it also means you are investing in you.
It’s now possible to have sauna at home bespoke built for a much lower cost.
Genuine health benefits of regular sauna bathing
Many spurious claims have been made about the health benefits of regular sauna bathing, but how many of these are verifiable facts? Genuine health benefits that regularly pop up include:
- Helps reduce pain
- Reduces stress levels
- Improves cardiovascular health
- Help with skin conditions
- Can reduce asthma symptoms
- Lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s
- Reduces the risk of psychotic disorders
Some of the claims that are indeed false include:
- Clears the body of toxins
- Helps with weight loss
Countless studies have been done to confirm and debunk sauna bathing myths, and turn them into facts or pseudoscience.
How much does a home sauna cost?
You’ll appreciate that there are many variables involved in the cost of a home sauna. Furthermore, a better question to ask might be; what is a reasonable price to pay? If you’re someone who has an extra bit of space and fancies putting in a 2 person sauna then somewhere in the region of 5k should get you a reasonably well-made sauna kit.
We certainly wouldn’t recommend spending anything less as the quality will always be incredibly poor. Examples of cheap saunas will be anything infrared from China. The wood is rarely alder or aspen, almost never properly insulated, thin, flimsy, badly glued and in many instances downright dangerous.
If you need a recommendation we would suggest you budget at least 8-10k for a 2-3 person home sauna from a reputable brand. Brands such as Tylo or Harvia offer a minimum of a 5 year guarantee on both saunas and sauna heaters. What’s more, these are international wellness brands with long histories steeped in sauna tradition, not some fly-by-night sauna website that won’t even exist in 2 years let alone 5.
Beyond your typical home sauna kit
An alternative would be getting a bespoke sauna, or a custom designed sauna kit. For example we have the Tylo Harmony 3D sauna designer that allows you to design your own sauna and then provides a PDF document of the specifications and a complete list of all the parts that make up the finished sauna kit.
This is slightly more expensive than a pre-fabricated sauna kit but you will end up with a sauna room that is much more in line with your needs aesthetically, functionally and dimensionally.
Of course you could go even further with a bespoke sauna designed and installed to your exact specifications. This can cost anywhere from 8k right up to 30k or more. We can even provide you a bespoke DIY sauna kit that you can install yourself.
What are the running costs of a home sauna?
The costs for enjoying a sauna at home are front loaded. Almost all the costs are up-front. Running a sauna can cost as little as a few pence a day. Yes there will be maintenance costs but you can maintain your home sauna yourself. What’s more, it will take up very little of your time with a quick sandpaper rub down a couple times a year, cleaning and oiling with paraffin.
Otherwise all you need is electric and a bucket of water. With an infrared home sauna you don’t even need water. Pound for pound a sauna at home is an excellent investment and can be enjoyed by all the family.
How easy is it to build a sauna at home?
The answer to this is dependent on whether you are building a sauna from scratch or from a pre-fabricated kit. Modern sauna kits such as those from Harvia or Tylo are extremely easy to assemble. Sauna kits such as the Tylo Impression Square are nailless and modular in design. So you just configure the final design and clip it all together. This can be done in only a few hours.
Of course, if you are building a sauna at home from scratch it could take the novice weeks to install. Every part would need to be cut perfectly and the assembly would undoubtedly become a 2 person job. The Tylo Harmony modular sauna kit is a much better option that building your own sauna from scratch.
Where should you put your sauna in the home?
As long as your sauna is sufficiently insulated you can put it just about anywhere in the home. That really does mean in garage, at the bottom end of the bathroom, even in your bedroom or en-suite. Sometimes with a traditional home sauna you may need to ventilate it. As a result it you might have to put a hole through an external wall. In most installations that is not the case, especially with an infrared sauna.
How long should you stay in the sauna?
The recommended maximum time you should stay in a sauna is 15-20 minutes. Be smart about this and don’t overdo it. Furthermore, wait a while after exercise before taking a sauna bath. If you’ve been using a sauna for some time then perhaps you can stay in there for up to 30 minutes. However, if you’re just starting out try it for 10 minutes. This is not an exact science, and no people are the same, so just be careful, and don’t fall asleep!!!
About the Author: Kenton Mann
