Great video! One important aspect to consider, is the potential for condensation and dew point issues. When using diffusion-tight materials against organic materials, like wood, it's crucial to include an air gap between the inner wood and the insulation. Without this gap, condensation may occur within the wood due to the temperature difference between the insulation and the sauna when in use. In the summer, a different challenge arises, particularly if the sauna is cooler at the start of the day. In such cases, water may condense into the wooden structure. However, regular sauna usage can help mitigate this issue by expelling moisture through heat by usage. In Sweden, we've developed a layered approach to address these concerns: 1. Wooden panel 2. Lath for creating an air gap 3. "Wind paper" (Tyvek cover): Provides protection to insulation but allows water vapor to migrate out. 4. Rockwool insulation (>95mm often between 200-300mm) 5. Diffusion lock (thick plastic, air/water-tight, overlapped 100mm, taped with "age-resistant" tape) 6. Thinner layer of rockwool insulation between studs (45mm, as our studs have a standard of 45mm thickness) (Not in a sauna) 7. OSB Board 8. Drywall (Not in a sauna) For saunas with high moisture content, treating the interior as if it were the exterior. We add these additional layers: 8. Sauna foil: A diffusion-tight reflective material that retains heat and moisture. 9. Sauna wooden panel (an airgap is usually not required, as the cold side is on the other side of the foil and the dew point is there) This layering approach ensures effective insulation while preventing condensation-related issues in saunas. It's a common practice here in Sweden and has proven successful. Here is a translated page with some more information about sauna construction: www-bastupunkten-se.translate.goog/infosidor/hur_man_bygger_bastu.htm?_x_tr_sl=sv&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp Here is a page about dew point and isolation: www.novagroupgbc.com/post/the-importance-of-considering-dew-point-when-increasing-insulation-in-existing-buildings
Framing lumber is heat treated and typically not all dry. Stacking and stickering it for a few weeks would have helped a bit and prevented some shrinkage. Nice project!
Thanks so much! But you underestimate my lack of patience 😂 some of these 2x6s were so wet they dripped when I screwed them into the wall! I’ll definitely keep that in mind for the next project though.
I wouldn’t worry about the cracks at all! If anything it’s actually better to have air flow. Air flow is the most important thing in a sauna. You need a vent on the bottom by heater and one on top. But with those gaps you probably don’t even need a vent now.
Thanks for the input! I put (2) vents in behind and near the stove, one by the door, and the drain holes below act like vents as well. After I put the cedar planks in, it definitely needs to be vented when in use 😅
I've also got a barrel sauna in the Netherlands it rains here like the whole year. In the summer it shrinks and need to get more tension on it. In the winter it expand so I losing it. Its natural. But i want to put i extra wooden beam on it so that the sauna is fully closed. But if i am honest, i doesnt realy matters. Sometimes if it rains verry hard , little bit of water comes in below the roofing. But its son little that if I turn in the stove its already dry and I sweat more then the rain makes it wet. 😂 BTW nice project! My Future sauna will be a little garden house with angeld roof Easy to build and more room. Keep up the nice videos.
Thanks so much for that info! Glad to hear from you and glad you liked the videos. I agree, I don’t mind if it isn’t perfect. And it was not very expensive so it is a fun thing to try to build.
As Finn I would say that I would sit on that. Great job, althou caps would make some heat escape. Anyways we make sauna's also in tents, so heat escape is in there too. It just make you more baneful to keep heat in. Anyway, I bet you get enough heat to feel all the benefits, as you have used it for so long. Pine is good, spruce is better for walls, exudes less sap. As beds we used to use Apachi or today heat treated aspen. Anyways, great job done. You would have needed to leave air barrier between isolatiom and final panel. Moisture will rot walls if not ventilated. Remove cedar and make bars between isolation and cedar and leave caps to air vent out. If you would not, rot will eat your walls away.
Not a bad idea, I'd like to know how that holds up. I don't think you need to worry about density too much. With all of those staves up against each other, it's a very sturdy structure.
I think that on the initial build I would have run a thick bead of heavy duty, waterproof / heat resistant construction adhesive along the length of each stave, and maybe even Zip Tape the seams. Considering the fact that it's relatively inexpensive pine, I would have probably just covered the entire exterior then with some sort of a stucco finish. My reasoning is that I wouldn't want water or moisture getting in between the pine and the reflective insulation and causing mold.
I hear ya.. It was always my goal to do that. But we're closing on a house in a few weeks, and I can't take the sauna with me. So I'm probably just going to sell it as-is. =(
@@Sparky_Mark That's awesome! What a deal. I have an unofficial ballpark of $1K per person for a purchased sauna so you're knocking it out of the ball park.
Wondering how much you spent on the cedar in this video and if it would have been just worth it to buy cedar in the first place to avoid line the inside and do more work
I spent just under $100 bucks. Definitely wouldn’t have been worth it for me to do it all with cedar, as cedar would have costed me many times more than the wood I used.
That reflective barrier does nothing. It works well when there is an air barrier, but there's none in your case. By stacking everything together in a sandwich you reduced any IR reflection capabilities and converted it into a thermal conductor. Reflective insulation reflects IR, but in order to work properly it should not touch surfaces you want to insulate.
Thanks for sharing your insights! I appreciate the feedback. I'll definitely take into consideration what you've mentioned about reflective barriers and the importance of maintaining an air barrier. I say over and over I don’t know what I’m doing. But I do know that the sauna is way hotter now that I have put this in, and it keeps the hot air from leaking out from between my staves.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, you started so good, last video, and then,.....NOOOOOOO! I am a Finn, and Sauna comes from Finland, this is the ungliest barrel Sauna, ever seen!!!=(((, You need 2-3 Bands outside, like barrel Saunas come, in a set!! Those tight Bands, you can tighten them always, keep boards together, no cracks !! And, nobody put that ugly "spaceship" stuff in a walls, NOBODY!! DO you have rocks on a Top of heater?? I saw the rocks, dont know if you put them there? ? Why dont you buy a Good heater, a Finnish one, comes with rocks, also, where are air vents? In wood heated sauna, air coming in should be low, behind heater, and going out, on a top, above benches! That ugly, raw cedar, is so rough for your back, sitting in there, you need some nice piece of wood, sanded, where you lean your back, on a wall !! Other than that...., Happy Sauna Time =))
