Saunas

Three kinds of sauna

A traditional sauna heats air with a stove and stones, with steam when you ladle water over them. If you want a dry sauna or Finnish sauna, start here. Golden Designs stove heat reaches 170 to 185 degrees, and Finnmark stove heat reaches 190 degrees. Check the manual for your model.

An infrared sauna warms you directly without stones or steam. A hybrid sauna has both systems, though Golden Designs runs one at a time and Finnmark allows both together. Our guide to hybrid heat explains the choice.

Where will your sauna go?

An indoor sauna can fit a basement, spare room or home gym. An outdoor sauna gives you a separate place in the yard. SaunaLife uses thermo-spruce and a shingle roof on outdoor kits, while Golden Designs offers weather built cabins and Sweaty Yeti uses insulated buildings for all year use. The outdoor infrared collection holds Golden Designs hybrids.

Compare round barrel saunas with the square, glass fronted SaunaLife Cube line. A cabin sauna can include a porch or changing room, while a finished building arrives in one piece. The portable sauna tents use three layers of insulation and a propane heater made for those tents.

Sizes from one person to twelve

A personal sauna can be a one person infrared room, while 2 person rooms and cubes seat two people. Compare 3 person barrels and cabins with 4 person rooms and kits for four people. You can choose from outdoor rooms for five with benches at two heights. Larger choices seat six people or eight people, and the commercial sauna collection reaches twelve. Consider bench layout alongside floor space, and use our guide to choosing a room for home for a shortlist.

Kits, built rooms and finished buildings

A sauna kit comes in parts or panels you assemble. SaunaLife barrels take two people about a day, cabins about two days and its indoor kit an afternoon. Golden Designs says two adults can assemble its cabins in about an hour with two screwdrivers and a ladder. Browse kits for home use, outdoor sauna kits and barrel sauna kits, then read our guide to kit assembly and building from scratch.

One SaunaLife cabin arrives built, and Sweaty Yeti sets each finished building on your level gravel or concrete pad. You can find every room that arrives built on our prefab saunas page. Your electrician connects its power. SaunaLife heater packages are chosen on the page and are not in the kit. Use our guide to planning your room at home to think through the whole wellness setup.

Heaters, stoves and power

Browse all sauna heaters, then compare electric heater options with wood burning stoves. An electric sauna needs its heater wired on its own circuit by a licensed electrician. A wood burning sauna needs no wiring, with chimney parts chosen on the page. Install every heater as its manual says, and use the electric heater sizing guide to match the sauna room.

Finnmark one and two person infrared rooms plug into a standard household outlet. Its infrared rooms reach 170 degrees in about an hour, so check the manual for your model and read our temperature guide. Find buckets, ladles, thermometers and stones among the sauna accessories.

Common questions and guides

A long running Finnish study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that men who used a sauna more often had a lower risk of dying from heart disease over the years of the study. A later study in the journal Age and Ageing found a link between frequent sauna bathing and a lower risk of dementia. These studies show a link, not a cause, and our sauna benefits guide goes through the research. Read our guide to hot rooms and weight loss, or explore how often to cold plunge when planning to pair hot and cold.

The brands

SaunaLife makes traditional rooms, including barrels, cubes and cabins. Most kits offer a natural or black finish. The light bar dims from your phone or a remote.

Golden Designs offers outdoor traditional and hybrid cabins. Each comes with a Harvia stove and stones. Color lighting, Bluetooth speakers and a control panel are included.

Finnmark makes indoor infrared and hybrid rooms from finished panels. If you want a cedar sauna interior, these rooms use Western Canadian cedar. They also have a glass door and touchscreen controls.

Sweaty Yeti builds finished buildings in Spanish Fork, Utah, with HUUM heaters fitted. Options include a changing room, cold plunge or workout room. Tell us about access to your yard when you call.

Harvia and HUUM make electric heaters and wood burning stoves. Saunum uses a fan to mix warmer ceiling air with cooler floor air. Narvi designs and builds wood burning stoves in Finland.

Why buy from My Cozy Outdoors?

We are an authorized dealer for every brand here. Every listing carries the full manufacturer warranty. Call us and we will talk through the kind, size, location, heater and power your setup needs.

Frequently asked questions

What are the different types of saunas?

Traditional rooms heat air with a stove and stones, with steam when you add water. Infrared heaters warm you directly without steam, and hybrids combine both systems. Then choose indoor or outdoor, with barrel, cube, cabin, finished building and tent shapes available.

Are indoor or outdoor saunas better?

Choose by where you have space and power. Indoor rooms suit a basement, spare room, garage or home gym, and the smallest infrared rooms plug into a household outlet. Outdoor rooms are built for weather and offer a separate place to relax.

How much space do I need for a home sauna?

The one person infrared room takes about 37 by 38 inches of floor space. A two person indoor kit takes about 59 by 57 inches, while large finished buildings reach 8 by 17 feet. Allow for the door swing and, outdoors, the roof overhang.

Do I need an electrician to install a sauna?

Every electric stove needs its own circuit, wired by a licensed electrician, including the connection for Sweaty Yeti buildings. Finnmark one and two person infrared rooms plug into a standard household outlet. Wood burning stoves and propane heated tents need no wiring.

What is the difference between an infrared sauna and a traditional sauna?

Traditional rooms heat air with a stove and stones, making steam when you add water. Infrared heaters warm you directly at a lower air temperature without steam. Hybrids offer both, and our comparison of infrared and traditional heat explains the choices.

How long should I sit in a sauna?

It depends on the room, heat and your experience. Many people start with ten to fifteen minutes, step out when too warm and drink water. Cooler infrared rooms tend to suit longer sessions. Read our guide to session length for more.

Can I bring my phone into a sauna?

Leave your phone outside because traditional heat exceeds what it is made for, and steam can get into it. Several rooms have Bluetooth speakers, so music can come in while your phone stays outside. Keep your phone out of the sauna.