It’s likely that if you are looking to get your own home sauna you’ve seen lots of information and advertisements for barrel saunas. With a bit of research, it’s plain to see why this type of sauna has taken off so quickly, as they are compact and generally very sleek. Especially for those who don’t have the choice of installing a square indoor sauna or are restrained by ta budget, buying a barrel sauna may very well be the easiest way to get you and your loved one into a good and healthy sauna habit.
But before pulling the trigger on such an investment of money, as well as time for the assembly, it is more than necessary to understand the basics as to how barrel saunas work and what you can expect out of your barrel sauna once it is installed in your home.
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What is a Barrel Sauna?
A barrel sauna by all means is an ordinary sauna that simply looks like a barrel on its side when properly assembled. Usually small enough to fit in a backyard, or home installation in bigger houses, barrel saunas are very convenient for those looking to take advantage of sauna benefits without the higher pay in infrared saunas or traditional wood-burning saunas. Because barrel saunas are generally sent as do-it-yourself kits of wood and all of the bonding agents necessary. Compared to buying a finished infrared sauna or building an entire wood-burning facility by hand, barrel saunas generally take less time and cost less as well.
Barrel saunas will often be made up of a changing room and a main hot room similar to a traditional wood-burning sauna but the addition of a changing room is often optional. Because of the smaller form factor of barrel saunas, is it more than possible to install an electric heater rather than an actual wood-burning stove. A great example of a finished barrel sauna can be found at SunHome Saunas, one of the industry leaders in complete barrel sauna kits. The pictures you’ll find here are representative of a best-case finished build. If your barrel sauna is going to be installed inside, it’s necessary that you choose an electric stove, as having the proper ventilation for a wood stove can be difficult inside the average home.
Barrel Sauna Cost
The price of barrel saunas can range widely depending on what you plan on adding to your sauna and how you plan on building it. Give or take, the cheapest barrel saunas probably cost around $4,000 to install in full from beginning to end. But there are options and configurations that fit just about any price point from that bottom point all the way up to $20,000. These figures, of course, assume that you will assemble the sauna yourself and not hire a crew. Frankly, barrel sauna kits are straightforward enough that a novice or intermediate builder could probably make their way through it without a professional team.
The biggest cost differences when buying a barrel sauna will come down to the size of your sauna and the composition of the materials you want to use to build your sauna. For example, the average barrel sauna could be approximately seven feet tall by seven feet long which will likely only fit about four people in the sauna comfortably. If you want to expand the sauna, that means that the lumber of the barrel will have to be longer. The longer your lumber gets, the higher the price your sauna becomes.
And on top of all of this, there are thousands of accessories and possible upgrades you can make to a barrel sauna after its initial installation. For example, there are many electric stoves today that can sync up to your cell phone or smart device and allow you to adjust the temperature of your barrel sauna down to the individual degree even if you aren’t in the sauna yet. This can be very helpful for preheating your sauna. If you set the stove to start running 15 minutes before you get in, you can get right into the perfect temperature sauna.
While there are limitless luxuries you can add to your barrel sauna, the key takeaway is this: Getting the most basic barrel sauna off the ground in 2023 likely will cost just about $4,000. This accounts for the lumber as well as the most basic electric or wood-burning stove.
How to Build a Barrel Sauna
One of the biggest reasons that barrel saunas are so attractive to sauna newcomers is that they are so easy to assemble. Our recommendation is to seek out a barrel sauna kit. There are several reputable companies that sell these online. Unless you are already experienced in drafting and making blueprints, building a barrel sauna completely from scratch can be very time-consuming and frustrating. The key reason why building a barrel sauna from scratch can be difficult for beginners is because of the importance of holding in heat inside the main chamber of the sauna. A novice builder is unfortunately more likely to leave air space between the lumber of a barrel sauna and without good knowledge of wood reinforcement and building benches that can support the weight of a person, you could put your sauna bathers in danger in a fully do-it-yourself barrel sauna.
With a barrel sauna kit, all of the lumber, bonding agents, and sometimes even the stove will all be shipped directly to you for a flat rate. It’s then up to you to put the sauna together. But, of course, following directions specifically made for your sauna of choice will make the whole process much easier.
While it is wholly possible to put a barrel sauna together by yourself, having a second set of hands can be very helpful especially if your sauna is made up of longer lumber. The longer your lumber is, the more difficult it will become for you to handle on your own.
Best Type of Wood for a Barrel Sauna
When it comes to choosing the wood that your barrel sauna will be made out of, there is a good chance that you will have several choices. If you aren’t already familiar with the qualities of different kinds of wood, it can be a bit overwhelming to see all of the choices without really knowing how they will eventually affect your barrel sauna. With that in mind, let’s talk about the three most common types of wood for barrel saunas and what you can expect from them.
Nordic Spruce Wood
Nordic Spruce Wood is very popular for barrel saunas for obvious reasons, that being that the name of the wood itself calls back to the Nordic origins of the sauna itself. Some of the earliest saunas were made with Nordic Spruce and for good reason. This ultra-durable wood is both generally cheaper than other options and great at holding in heat. Nordic Spruce is also a very soothing shade of lighter wood that many people prefer.
Cedar Wood
Cedar Wood may have even more going for it, as cedar naturally gives off a wonderful odor that will only get stronger in the heat of your barrel sauna. Further, cedar is extremely resistant to humidity. There are also several high quality kits already on the market that use cedar wood. This means that even if you don’t weatherize the wood, there is a good chance that it won’t warp or expand even if you regularly get the inside of your sauna humid. On top of all of this, cedar wood is also naturally insect resistant. This means that if you install a changing room in your barrel sauna, you won’t have to worry about mosquitoes getting in. All of this considered, cedar wood is generally the most expensive choice of wood by the meter.
Hemlock Fir Wood
Now, let’s talk about the ‘old reliable’ sauna wood option. Hemlock Fir is one of the most common types of wood available in North America and for this reason, it is generally the cheapest per meter compared to other woods. If you are planning on setting up your barrel sauna outside, you may want to consider another option, as Hemlock fir has a tendency to decay in normal weather conditions. But, if you are setting up an indoor sauna, Hemlock Fir is a great way to save on cost compared to other wood choices and still have a very sleek barrel sauna.
What Heaters Work Best for Barrel Saunas
There are truly just three options when it comes to barrel sauna heating. First, there are traditional wood stoves like those found in old-school Finnish saunas. Next, we look to electric wood stoves which emulate the same dry heat style as the previous option but don’t require any actual wood to heat. Lastly, it is actually more than possible to install a functional and feasible infrared sauna in a barrel sauna.
Generally speaking, if your barrel sauna is going to be installed outside, there is a good chance that a traditional wood-burning stove is the right choice for you. Keeping an electrical or infrared sauna plugged in outside is generally a bit taxing. And further, in events of extreme weather, it is more than possible for these mechanisms to get damaged. For the inverse, however, if you are installing your sauna inside, it is essential that you use an efficient electric heater or an infrared set-up. Unless your home is already equipped with very serious ventilation systems, there is a good chance you could cause soot damage to your home or worse.
How Big Should Your Barrel Sauna Be?
Barrel saunas are measured by their overall length and height, as it would be very difficult to explain the dimensions of the sauna based solely on their circumference. With that in mind, a barrel sauna that is seven feet long and seven feet tall is likely just about right for three people to sit on the one bench in the actual hot room. Because of the curve of the walls, there can really only be one height of bench in a barrel sauna. A barrel sauna of about nine feet by nine feet is likely great for four to five people who don’t mind sitting fairly close together.
So, when choosing the size of your barrel sauna, all you really need to consider is how many people you think will be sitting on the bench at one time. That maximum number should guide your choice for the length and height of your sauna. Luckily, many barrel sauna kit providers actually lay out a size-to-occupancy guide – and of course, you should always keep the size-to-cost relationship in mind!
Barrel Sauna Maintenance
Taking care of a barrel sauna is luckily quite straightforward. Especially if you are using an electric or infrared heating system, the most you will have to take care of for maintenance is disinfecting your benches and watching for mildew. But if your barrel sauna is permanently outside, there are several weather conditions that could affect the durability of your sauna. Specifically, if you are in a region that has particularly strong winters, it may be essential to watch for ice dams or other ice build-ups.
If you are using a wood-burning stove in your barrel sauna, this means that you will have to pay close attention to the soot build-up in the stove’s main chamber as well as the flue that goes out into the open air. A good practice is to clean your flue after every five to seven uses of your sauna so be certain that you won’t have any smoke build up in your barrel sauna.
Barrel Sauna Frequently Asked Questions
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of buying a barrel sauna, it’s cost, and how to set up on your property, let’s touch on the most common questions that may come up later in your barrel sauna journey
Can You Install Multiple Benches in a Barrel Sauna?
Because of the shape of barrel saunas, it is just about impossible to install two different height rows of benches. Further, most barrel saunas are just over ten feet tall. This means that if you put a bench above the standard centered bench, most people would probably have to bend their back just to sit comfortably. While there may not be options for multiple benches, there is a good amount of choice when it comes to how long you want to make your barrel sauna. This means that even though you may only have one bench, it is more than possible to make a barrel sauna that can accommodate up to seven or nine people. But that would mean that your barrel sauna would be quite large, of course.
What Climates Work Best for Barrel Saunas?
It may sound obvious, but barrel saunas last the longest in moderate climates. Of course, if your barrel sauna is inside, this is one of the most agreeable climates possible! But as for outdoor barrel saunas, regions that don’t go over 40 degrees Celsius in the hotter months and don’t go below negative ten degrees Celcius is the sweet spot for keeping a barrel sauna outdoors at all times. A level of heat that extreme is more than capable of warping the wood or even drying it out to the point of cracking. Further, if you live in a region that regularly gets snowfall, there is another unexpected problem that may get serious if you keep a barrel sauna outdoors year-round. Many parts of the world keep snowfall on main roads under control with large amounts of salt. Even if your barrel sauna is fairly far from a salted road, it is more than possible for that salt to travel in the snow and bond to your barrel sauna which can discolor your wood or even warp it beyond repair.
It is more than possible to keep a barrel sauna outdoors but in those climates where weather can get more extreme, it’s simply important to keep a close eye on the condition of your sauna.
Can You Move a Barrel Sauna?
Moving a barrel sauna is quite difficult. Installing a barrel sauna inside basically confirms that it will remain in that room until it is fully taken apart, that is unless you have a garage door or other wide opening in the room with your barrel sauna. Despite the roundness of barrel saunas, they are unfortunately not built to survive a full roll. So if you want to move your barrel sauna, the safest way to do it is to fully take apart the sauna and reassemble it at its new home.
Conclusions on Buying a Barrel Sauna
Barrel saunas have filled a very large market gap in the world of sauna fans. There are so many of us out there who want all of the aesthetic and health benefits that come about from a sauna but either don’t have the space or the budget to build out an entire traditional sauna. A barrel sauna, then, is the perfect entry-level sauna solution in terms of size, price/ cost, and ease of assembly. On the point of ease of assembly, however, this is specifically on the consideration that you are working with a barrel sauna kit.