Sauna Under The Stairs

Recently I worked with a customer to put a sauna under the staircase in their home. This is a great use of space and makes for a cozy sauna. Saunas under the staircase or in an attic are great but you have to pay attention to clearances needed above the heater, especially with slanted ceilings. You will most likely have to place the heater where your ceiling height is at its highest. In this case we used Saunatec's Junior 3kw heater. The minimum height requirements for the sauna are 73.5" (Recommended height is 84" and maximum allowed is 96"). The heater we used was 21" high and had to mount a minimum of 5" off the floor which leaves the minumum required 47.5" above the heater. Once you figure out where you will place the heater then you can layout the rest of the room. The larger manufacturers will tailor pre-cut kits to your specifications but if you have angled ceilings or walls there may be some field cutting required. As stated previously, the sauna under the staircase is a great use of space and it really illustrates how versatile the pre-cut kits can be and how creative you can get in planning a sauna for your home.

How to plan your Sauna Layout

1. Plan the room size

DECIDE THREE LAYOUT COMPONENTS

• DOOR: Choose a location for the 24” wide door and determine the swing. The door swings out of the sauna. As you stand outside the sauna looking at the door, determine which side the hinges should be on.
• HEATER: Choose a location for the 24” wide wall area for the wall heater. This includes the necessary air space required for heater guardrail. The best location for the heater is on the door wall.
• BENCHES: Choose the location for the benches. High and low benches can be standard 18” wide or wider or narrower in 2”-3” increments. A low bench can be the optional double-wed and continue under the high bench for complete comfort. Bench facing or duckboard under benches are optional.

2. SHEETROCK

Check local code to determine if required.

3. VAPOR BARRIER

Thermo-foil or equivalent is suggested to control moisture and condensation.

4. VENTING

Venting is suggested and necessary for the operation of some heaters. Check specifications before purchasing.

And so it begins

Welcome to the Saunas.com blog!

We are starting this blog to bring to light a lot of important facts, features, news, stories, histories, and much more concerning the use of Saunas and the Sauna Lifestyle. In this blog we hope to give you ideas, insight, and inspiration to give the idea of a life rich in sauna usage for health and just everyday fun.

Consider that the sauna is as common as a daily bathing ritual in many other countries, its surprising to find it is still somewhat in infancy in the United States. But we hope to turn this around!