Growing up on the shores of Lake Superior meant that a traditional Finnish sauna was a part of your life. In fact, some houses did not have a shower or bathtub in the home. Instead, a Finnish sauna with its tap or cold water shower took its place. Most of the saunas were built by the home owner using local designs. A cedar sauna was the most common type to be built. However, some were also built with Eastern Hemlock.
A northern white cedar sauna was the construction of choice. For more than 300 years, white cedar was used to line the cedar chests in which people keep their clothing. When she took her clothes out of the trunk, they had that great fresh cedar smell that we all liked. A cedar sauna also provides the same great aroma as it heats up. The sauna stove was often fed with white cedar firewood. A cedar fire will break out hard and quickly give a hot fire that will heat up your cedar sauna in a matter of minutes, even in the dead of winter.
Once the cedar sauna was heated, water was poured over the stove rocks releasing moisture that further heightened the cedar aroma. A white cedar sauna had more benefits than just a great scent. White cedar is a soft wood that is very easy to work with, but probably one of its best features is that it resists rotting even in the wettest conditions. A sauna built with white cedar will last a long time despite the recurring cycles of high heat and humidity that would cause most wood products to decay and rot. The sauna benches, buckets, front door, and ladle were also constructed of cedar.
In most cases, sauna walls were double-sided, and early saunas had cedar logs on the outside and cedar walls on the inside, all of which gave the cedar sauna great insulation. Floors were also frequently constructed of cedar boards that were spaced to allow water to naturally drain through them. A cedar floor is also much warmer during the winter months. In some places that have poorly drained soils, a drainage system should be built under the sauna to remove excess water. A good sauna should also have a good door that insulates and seals the heat inside. Because cedar is a good insulator and is a very light wood, it is ideal for building a sauna door.
Choosing a good sauna stove is essential for your sauna to work to its full potential. A good waterproof firebox is important to make sure that when you pour water on the stove rocks it doesn’t put out the fire. A good sauna stove will have the strength to hold enough rocks to provide the radiant heat that gives a cedar sauna all of its great health benefits. If you live in an area where a wood-fired sauna isn’t feasible, you can still build a traditional sauna that uses an electric sauna heater. There are a number of manufacturers that build good quality electric sauna stoves.
A cedar sauna is the best type of sauna no matter what type of heat source you use. There is nothing better than the smell and look of a Northern White Cedar. No matter what type of sauna you build and operate, there is no better way to totally cleanse your body and improve your physical and mental well-being. Start checking out sauna sales and plans today and build your sauna.