Wood For Sauna Walls

Don t be tempted with compromising on wood species.

Wood for sauna walls. This greatly reduces warpage and shrinkage of boards once installed. The most popular sauna wood paneling types are tongue groove white aspen and western red cedar. Spruce is a white wood with fine grains and light small knots in its design. First and foremost when constructing a sauna choose a softwood as it will better absorb heat released from steam.

It allows heat to dissipate so that it doesn t get too hot to the touch and it is a beautiful reddish color with very few knots. While many people like the scent of cedar there are plenty of people who don t. Hardwoods on the other hand heat up quickly. Tongue groove paneling paneling for walls and ceilinga are cut to fit rough opening of your custom sauna room.

Additionally softwood will not be too hot to the touch. Wood sauna walls are heat resistant specifically softwood varieties and do not bend warp or splinter under high temperatures. Spruce will darken slightly over its lifetime but will generally remain a light wood. An effective stain and varnish ensures that the sauna wood is able to resist cracking warping and overdrying.

First measure the dimensions for the wall base plate and mark the measurements accordingly with snap chalk lines. Superior sauna woods are kiln dried to 6 8 moisture to lock and stabilize wood fibers greatly reducing board shinkage warpage and cracking after installation. As a result sauna bathers do not burn their skin when they lean. Additionally cedar gives off a pleasant natural aroma.

Spruce is amongst the more cost effective wood used for building a sauna. Cedar is the best all around wood for sauna construction. Next lay out the triangular base plate using 2 4 pressure treated wood. Proper sauna tongue and groove paneling woods are typically kiln dried to 8 moisture which stabilizes wood fibers for sauna use.

Both these species are not cheap but definitely definitely stay away from pine. A sauna is a small bathhouse intended for wet or dry heat sessions. I will fill you in why another day. Continue reading below our video of the day.

Because its wooden surfaces are constantly exposed to moisture and extreme temperature changes they require the proper finishing. In scandinavia many saunas are paneled with white spruce.