A barrel sauna has a curved shell, which heats quickly because there is less dead air above your head, and it sheds rain and snow well. A cube sauna gives you a flat roof and straight walls, which suits a modern garden and makes better use of a tight corner. A log sauna uses thicker solid timber, feels more traditional and holds heat longer. Beyond that it is mostly about how it looks in your garden.

Spruce is the traditional choice and the more affordable one. It performs perfectly well and can be treated or painted. Thermowood is timber that has been heat treated, which makes it more stable, more resistant to moisture and gives it a deeper colour that weathers attractively. If the sauna is going somewhere exposed, or you want the least maintenance possible, thermowood is worth the difference.

Outdoor is the more common choice and the easier one, because there is no ventilation or moisture to manage inside your house. Indoor saunas suit people who want daily use without walking across a cold garden in January, which genuinely affects how often you use it. An indoor sauna needs a water-resistant floor, proper ventilation to the outside and a room that can take the humidity.

Not necessarily, but it changes how it behaves. An insulated sauna heats faster, holds temperature better and costs less to run, which matters if you use it several times a week through winter. Solid timber saunas are not insulated in the conventional sense, though thick timber has reasonable thermal mass of its own. If you plan to use it year round rather than in summer, insulation earns its keep.

Fewer than the number on the label, in practice. Quoted capacity assumes everyone sitting upright with shoulders touching. For comfortable use, halve it. A six person sauna is a relaxed sauna for three or four, and a two person sauna is really a sauna for one person who wants to lie down. If in doubt, size up one step.

Heater size is measured in kW and comes from how much air is inside your sauna, not how many people use it. Glass, wall thickness and sitting outdoors all push the figure up. Our heater size calculator works it out for your exact model and shows every heater we sell that fits.

Heaters up to around 9kW will usually run off a normal household supply, provided your fusebox has capacity spare. Above that, most heaters need a three-phase supply, which is a heavier duty connection that most UK homes do not have. If you are considering a larger sauna, check this before anything else, because arranging a supply upgrade takes far longer than any other job in the project.

Yes. A sauna heater cannot go into a plug socket or an extension lead. It is wired into its own dedicated circuit, in the same way an electric shower or oven is, and the final connection must be made by a qualified electrician. If you are near us in Leicestershire we can arrange this for you as part of your order.

Most people say yes. A wood stove usually carries a larger mass of stones and heats them harder, which gives a softer, heavier steam when you throw water on. Electric heaters with a big stone basket get very close to it. The bigger difference is the ritual: lighting a fire and waiting changes how the whole session feels.

It is possible, though a sauna heater is a heavy load and needs a decent array plus battery storage to run without drawing from the grid. Wood-fired needs no electricity at all, which is often the simpler answer off-grid. Our solar calculator works out the panels, battery and inverter you would need for your sauna and your part of the country.

Usually not for a detached garden sauna under 15 square metres with no sleeping accommodation. Between 15 and 30 square metres it can still be exempt if it sits at least one metre from a boundary or is built from non-combustible materials. An indoor sauna inside an existing room is a different matter, particularly where electrics and ventilation are concerned. If you are unsure, your local building control team will tell you quickly.

A hot tub itself is normally treated as a garden item rather than a building, so permission is rarely needed. It becomes more complicated if you build a permanent structure or enclosure around it, or if you are in a conservation area. The more common issue is noise and privacy rather than planning, so think about where it sits relative to neighbouring windows and gardens.

Yes, and it is worth doing. A sauna, hot tub or cold plunge is a substantial addition to the property and most insurers want to know. The premium change is usually small, and failing to declare it can affect a claim later, even an unrelated one. A quick call or email is all it takes.

There can be. Some areas are smoke control areas, where what you are allowed to burn and which appliances you can use is restricted, and some have rules about chimney height near neighbouring buildings. It varies by council, so a five minute phone call before you order is worth far more than an assumption. Our wood-fired setup guide covers this in more detail.

You are not usually obliged to, but it is worth doing if you are going wood-fired. Think about where the chimney will discharge relative to their windows, garden and washing line. Moving the sauna two metres at the planning stage costs nothing, and it avoids a conversation that is much harder to have once it is built.

Most saunas are delivered flat-packed and go together in a day with two people and basic tools. Larger multi-room models or those with a terrace take a weekend. Barrel saunas tend to go up faster than you expect. The instructions are clear, but a second pair of hands is not optional, as the panels are heavy.

Yes, and many customers do. Self assembly is the default and includes free delivery to mainland UK. You will need a qualified electrician for an electric heater, and a competent installer for a wood stove and flue, but the structure itself is designed for two people to build without specialist trades.

Yes. Our team can deliver and assemble the sauna on site, secure it to your prepared base, fit the accessories you have chosen and check everything over before leaving. You can add it when you order and choose your preferred date. See our installation service for what is included.

Deliveries come on a pallet by lorry and are kerbside only, so you will need clear access for a large vehicle and somewhere to receive the pallet. From there it is your responsibility to move it, so have help arranged on the day. If access is tight, tell us before you order and we will work out the best approach rather than discovering it on delivery day.

It can, provided the decking is properly built and rated for the load. A sauna is heavy, particularly once the stove, stones and people are in it. Standard garden decking on light joists is often not enough. If in doubt, strengthen the section underneath or use a concrete pad instead. Our sauna build checker will flag base and drainage issues before you build.

Not to heat the water. That is the appeal for a garden with no supply. You may want power for lighting or for a filtration system, and some models offer an electric heater or filter pack as an option, but a basic wood-fired tub runs entirely without it.

An internal heater sits inside the tub and heats faster because it is in direct contact with the water, but it takes up some bathing space and needs a guard. An external heater sits alongside, leaves the whole tub clear and looks tidier, but takes a little longer to bring the water up. Both are proven arrangements, so it comes down to whether you would rather have speed or space. Browse our hot tubs to compare.

Without any filtration or chemical treatment, expect to change the water every few uses. With a filtration system and appropriate treatment, water can be kept for weeks. How often really depends on how many people use it and how heavily. Always keep it covered when not in use, which keeps out debris and holds the heat.

Three things: a cover to keep debris out, filtration to keep the water moving, and a sensible treatment regime to control bacteria. Shower before you get in, keep it covered between sessions, and check the water regularly. A wood-fired tub used occasionally by a couple of people is far less demanding than a spa used daily.

Absolutely, and that is when they are best. Sitting in hot water in cold air is the whole point. Winter means longer heat-up times and you should never let the tub freeze when not in use, so either keep it in use or drain it fully in a hard frost. An insulated cover is essential rather than optional in winter.

Far less time than people expect. Two to three minutes is plenty for most, and even 30 seconds does something when you are starting out. The current thinking is that a total of around 11 minutes across a whole week is where most of the benefit sits, so several short sessions beat one long, grim endurance test. Get out while you still feel in control.

It depends how you plan to use it. Without a chiller you are relying on ambient temperature and ice, which works well through a British winter but becomes impractical in summer. A chiller holds a consistent temperature year round and removes the faff of buying ice. If you intend to plunge all year, a chiller is what makes it a habit rather than a novelty. Have a look at our cold plunges.

Contrast bathing, hot then cold, is the traditional Nordic approach and most people find it far more enjoyable than cold alone. A typical round is 10 to 15 minutes in the sauna, a short plunge, then rest until your breathing settles, repeated two or three times. Finish however you prefer. Our sauna impact calculator gives you a picture of what a regular routine is doing.

Cold water grows far less than warm water, which helps, but it still needs managing. Filtration, a cover and a sensible treatment routine will keep water usable for weeks. Shower before you get in, keep it covered, and change the water when it stops looking and smelling fresh rather than to a fixed schedule.

Close to the sauna, if you have one. Every extra step between hot and cold is a step you will eventually stop taking. Beyond that it needs a level base that can take the weight of a full tub, a way to drain it, and somewhere to stand afterwards that is not slippery.

Most of the research points to three or four sessions a week as the level where benefits become meaningful, with more frequent use associated with better outcomes again. That is precisely why having one at home changes things. Daily use is fine for most healthy adults provided you are sensible about hydration and session length.

Ten to twenty minutes per round is the usual range. Most people do two or three rounds with a cool down in between rather than one long stint. Listen to your body rather than the clock, and get out when you have had enough instead of pushing through. Beginners should start at five to ten minutes.

A traditional Finnish sauna runs between 70°C and 100°C, with 80°C to 90°C being the sweet spot for most people. Humidity matters as much as the number: throwing water on the stones raises the perceived heat sharply without changing the reading on the thermometer. If it feels harsh and dry rather than deep and soft, more stone mass usually helps more than more heat.

Anyone who is pregnant, has heart or blood pressure conditions, or takes medication that affects circulation or heat regulation should speak to their doctor first. Alcohol and saunas are a genuinely bad combination. Children should have shorter sessions at lower temperatures with an adult present. If you feel dizzy, unwell or unusually uncomfortable, get out.

Hydration is the main thing, because you will lose a meaningful amount of fluid. Water before and after is usually enough, though replacing minerals matters if you are doing longer or more frequent sessions. Avoid a heavy meal immediately beforehand and avoid alcohol entirely. Our sauna nutrition tool matches sessions to sensible food, drink and minerals.

Less than you would think. Leave the door open for twenty minutes after each session so the room dries out, which is the single most effective habit for preventing mould and dark staining. Wipe the benches down once they have cooled. Sand the interior lightly once or twice a year where contact is heaviest, and leave the inside untreated, because sauna timber needs to breathe. Outside, treat or oil as the manufacturer recommends.

Usually a few years with regular use. They break down gradually with repeated heating and cooling, and once they start crumbling they restrict airflow through the heater, which makes it work harder. Check them over once a year, discard anything cracked or crumbling, and stack them loosely rather than packing them tight.

The chimney needs sweeping, typically once a year with regular use, and the ash needs emptying once it has cooled fully. Beyond that it is checking the door seal and the stones occasionally. Burn dry, seasoned wood only, as wet wood tars up the flue and makes far more smoke.

A well-built sauna is an attractive feature and garden wellness has become a genuine selling point. As with any structure, it helps to have the paperwork in order, so keep any planning confirmation, the electrical certificate for the heater and your warranty documents together. If you are putting one into a holiday let or business, our ROI calculator models the payback.

That mostly comes down to insulation, glass area and heater choice. An insulated sauna with a well-matched heater reaches temperature faster and holds it with far less input than an uninsulated one with a big glass front. It is worth running the numbers before you decide, and all of our calculators are free to use.

Production typically takes between seven and twelve weeks depending on the model, plus one to two weeks for pallet haulage. The exact lead time is shown on each product page. If you have a date in mind, tell us early and we will be straight with you about whether it is achievable.

Free delivery applies to mainland UK addresses on qualifying orders. Deliveries are kerbside on pallets, so you will need suitable access and help on site to move things into position. Very large or heavy orders may need additional pallets, which we quote separately by postcode rather than surprising you at checkout.

Our saunas come with a five year warranty for residential use and two years for commercial use, covering the structural timber, glazing and hardware. Claims are assessed case by case and we supply replacement parts wherever possible rather than replacing a whole structure. Heaters carry their own manufacturer warranty.

We would rather have a proper conversation than sell you the wrong thing. Get in touch and we can talk through your space, show you the options and arrange a call or consultation. If you send a photo of where it is going and rough measurements, we can give you genuinely useful advice rather than a generic answer.

Then start with the free calculators. They will size your heater, estimate running costs and check your build without you speaking to anyone. When you want a human, get in touch and tell us what you are trying to achieve rather than which product you think you want. That usually gets to a better answer faster.