A Pre-Fab sauna room differs from a DIY sauna kit in that there is no framing, insulating and siding that needs to be done. All the boards including the seats are the exact size for the sauna room and no cutting is needed. With a DIY sauna kit, you receive a material list to build your own sauna. You will need to first frame a room, then insulate and vapor seal the room. Once this is complete you will add the cedar tongue and grove siding to the interior and ceiling of a sauna. Finally, you will then build the seats based on the dimension you have chosen.
A Pre-Fab sauna room can easily be installed in a matter of hours. A DIY sauna room will take at least a weekend and if you are not familiar with carpentry can take weeks to assemble. The draw back of a Modular Sauna room is that it will cost extra. You will pay for the extra work done at the factory so they will be slightly higher in price. However, if you plan to hire someone to build your sauna room then a Pre-Fab kit will save you on labor costs and ultimately can be less expensive to complete considering labor costs.
When choosing the size of the sauna room you must first have a suitable location for the sauna. This includes a minimum of 7’ for the ceiling clearance. Corner module Pre-Fab saunas are popular as they make great use of space. Most sauna rooms come with dual height benches to allow you to select the temperature range as the higher seat will always be hotter than the lower bench. Also, when selecting a Pre-Fab sauna you might want to have L shaped benches as this will allow more seating capacity.
There are many different materials that are available for modular sauna rooms. Cedar, Aspen, and Pine are typically available. Cedar will most definitely be the highest price, but it has the best characteristics for a sauna environment and will outlast pine or aspen as it is naturally rot resistant. We only use cedar in our Pre-Fab sauna rooms as it will outlast other woods and does not warp or twist like pine will.
When buying any sauna kit, it is usually ‘electrical code’ to wire the sauna directly to a dedicated breaker. Most saunas are 220 VAC and come with heaters that very in size from 3 Kw to 9 Kw. So, before you invest in any sauna room you should ensure your existing electrical panel can handle the capacity needed to power the heater. A 3.0 Kw heater will need a 15 Amp breaker whereby a 9 Kw will need 40 Amp breaker (consult your electrician).
