How to Build a Sauna Door (6 Steps)

For any steam room, a sauna door is an essential component. A sauna door should invite you into the area, just like a front door does in a house. It should also be attractive and functional. Because of the interior’s heat and humidity, the door needs to be built to last and not modify.

A sauna door can be made entirely of wood with an insulated core, or it can be made with insulated glass. Building a sauna door is relatively easy if you have the necessary equipment and instructions. Here are the procedures for constructing your sauna door.

Table of Contents

How to Build a Sauna Door

Measure and prepare a preliminary aperture that is 26 inches wide by 82 inches tall before starting to build a sauna door. Select materials such as glass or wood, then cut chipboard to the exact size of your door. Install a window if you’d like, and insulate the entrance with fiberglass or paper. Install hardware, hang the door, and make sure it is level and aligned before applying tongue and groove cladding. A sauna door that meets your needs and is both physically beautiful and functional will be the result of this approach.

Needed Instruments

The following instruments are needed to build a sauna door:

Goggles for safety
A pair of gloves
Hammer
Measurement tape
Level Square Cutter
Router-saw
Wood glue
Hinges, screws, magnetic locks, and so forth.
Impact gun or screwdriver.

Sauna Life

Similar to the entrance of your house, the door into your sauna needs to be both attractive and practical. Sauna heating technology has advanced throughout time to fit a range of household and commercial applications, despite saunas’ reputation as luxurious fixtures.

If you’re not ready to commit to larger walls, you can simply utilize a sauna blanket for personal home use. Resorts, fitness centers, day health clubs, and wellness centers are just a few locations that include saunas. Surprisingly, there seems to be an increase in demand for private saunas. More than 50% of people in Finland own a personal sauna.

Electric heaters and wood-burning stoves continue to be popular even though conventional heating techniques changed over time. In Finland, family life depends on the sauna culture, to the point where if too much time goes by between sauna trips, one may feel disconnected.

A Step Into Perfect Peace

Although your sauna door’s design isn’t a legendary creation, it must conform to some rules. You want to give your DIY sauna project a unique touch, so you’ve chosen not to use prefabricated doors. It’s crucial to understand which materials work best for sauna doors, even with the infinite design possibilities.

The best materials to use when building a sauna door are usually glass, wood, or a combination of these. It should also be constructed to be warp-resistant in the face of heat and moisture. Constructing a sauna door is not very hard, even with these fundamental needs. The appropriate tools are required, and if this is your first construction, the guided list of tasks in this article will be helpful.

Safety Factors

A sauna door should, first and foremost, open from the interior of the room. This will make it easier for you and the other people to leave the room quickly in an emergency. It is equally crucial to avoid installing any locking gear on the outside of the sauna door since this poses a direct safety risk.

A little wooden bar that fits or rotates into place on the inside may help keep the door closed, even though bolts, locks, or hooks shouldn’t be utilized. Wood is the best material for any exposed hardware on your sauna door, such as door handles, because it has a low heat capacity. If metal were used instead, there would be a burn risk.

Key Points to Remember

A sauna door’s typical dimensions are 24 inches wide by 80 inches tall, while the majority of American front doors are 36 inches wide. Effective heat retention in your sauna is dependent upon this reduced length. Practically speaking, it makes no difference which way your sauna door opens—left or right—but the orientation usually comes down to personal taste and locational convenience.

To ensure that the door closes quickly when a bather arrives or exits, Cedarbrook Sauna has a spring-loaded explosive pin. A two-way self-closing hinge, such as the Colcom Biloba hinge, is another option you may want to think about.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Sauna Door

The following Step-by-Step Guidance to Build a Sauna Door are given below:

Step 1: Basic Opening

Make sure the sauna door’s basic opening measures 26 inches wide by 82 inches tall. This allows you additional room to work with when installing the door and door frame.

Place the door in the roughly formed opening.
Make sure it is level.
Apply shifts if required.
Fasten it firmly.

Before you set the door frame, insert some shifts there, making sure to mark the locations of the hinges. Usually, there is a half-inch of shifting on each side of the rough opening.

Step 2: Selection of Materials

A wooden door or a wooden door with a glass window is your option. Although it looks stylish, a borderless all-glass door needs to be installed by a specialist. When it comes to glass doors, take into account prefabricated choices from businesses like Finlandia Sauna or Finnleo, who provide whole kits including hardware, locking systems, and handles. Consider wood species like larch, birch, linden, aspen, alder, or cedar that can withstand moisture and heat.

Step 3: Measure and Cut

Measure the approximate aperture, which is 26 inches wide by 82 inches tall, before you start making your door so that you can get the right supplies. Cut a sheet of wood to 24 inches wide by eighty inches tall to create a solid door.

To allow for airflow, space the bottom of the door two to three cm above the floor. Next, trim the wood covering to size for the wood door, allowing for the addition of a window if needed. If you want to keep your wood from cracking cut tongue and gap ends with a router blade.

Step 4: Insulation

Use fiberglass or heavy-duty foil to insulate the inside side of your sauna door. Leave a space for a window, if you plan to install one, and cut the insulation to fit it. A minimum of 8mm (millimeters) of tempered glass should be present in the window.

Step 5: Install the Cladding and Windows

When installing the window, if you choose to do so, you could want to cover the installation border edges with covering tape strips. Cedar panels with tongue and cuts should be firmly secured to both sides of the wood door by applying glue between them.

Step 6: Hang the Door and Install Hardware

Take accurate measurements and drill installation holes in advance for accuracy when installing the hardware on your sauna door. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions if you plan to use specialized locks. At last, hang your handmade sauna door and fasten the wooden door lock in a relaxing spot.

Conclusion

In conclusion, creating a sauna door is a fulfilling activity that blends creativity with practicality. You can build a unique sauna door that improves your sauna’s appearance and functionality by taking precise measurements, choosing the best materials, insulating appropriately, and adhering to specific instructions. You can have a door that endures heat and humidity with care and the appropriate equipment, guaranteeing a comfortable and joyful sauna session.

How to Build a Sauna Door (6 Steps)