Wood For Sauna Walls

Because its wooden surfaces are constantly exposed to moisture and extreme temperature changes they require the proper finishing.

Wood for sauna walls.

A sauna is a small bathhouse intended for wet or dry heat sessions. This greatly reduces warpage and shrinkage of boards once installed. Wood sauna walls are heat resistant specifically softwood varieties and do not bend warp or splinter under high temperatures. Cedar is the best all around wood for sauna construction.

Next lay out the triangular base plate using 2 4 pressure treated wood. Once the plans are set it s time to begin installing your sauna. First measure the dimensions for the wall base plate and mark the measurements accordingly with snap chalk lines. An effective stain and varnish ensures that the sauna wood is able to resist cracking warping and overdrying.

Spruce is a white wood with fine grains and light small knots in its design. Proper sauna tongue and groove paneling woods are typically kiln dried to 8 moisture which stabilizes wood fibers for sauna use. Ideal varieties of softwoods are spruce pine and cedar. 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.

Don t be tempted with compromising on wood species. Tongue groove paneling paneling for walls and ceilinga are cut to fit rough opening of your custom sauna room. Additionally cedar gives off a pleasant natural aroma. I will fill you in why another day.

Spruce will darken slightly over its lifetime but will generally remain a light wood. 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. It is crucial to use pressure treated wood to prevent moisture issues. Both these species are not cheap but definitely definitely stay away from pine.

While many people like the scent of cedar there are plenty of people who don t. As a result sauna bathers do not burn their skin when they lean. In scandinavia many saunas are paneled with white spruce. Continue reading below our video of the day.

First and foremost when constructing a sauna choose a softwood as it will better absorb heat released from steam. The most popular sauna wood paneling types are tongue groove white aspen and western red cedar.