Sauna Build - Finishing the Hot Room the Right Way?

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Finishing the inside of the hot room with clear aspen. #Sauna bench build using hidden fasteners and hidden storage. Follow the series for more #DIY #off-grid Sauna build.
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Sauna Stove: Harvia Linear 22 LS

[@ianham]

3:10 I love this comment about making a series of decisions not knowing if they’re right or wrong. I so feel that. I no longer feel alone. Thank you.

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thank you for commenting this. I thought I was alone too on this too 😀

[@tomixnieminen]

Pronouncing was surprisingly good. It was easy to understand. Usually when nativie english speaker try finnish they use same pronauncing rules what you have in english. Lady of the house (or sauna) really nail it.

[@mathewli530]

Thanks so much. I've enjoyed your videos and found them to be quite helpful for my build, so thanks!

[@nicklamart643]

I love this build and I love your attitude sir

[@lukeolson9338]

Thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. Excellent work for someone who said they had no idea what they were doing! Keep up the great work, I look forward to your future projects!

[@villel6542]

The finish is top quality even by finnish standards (pun intended). Smart thinking adding drainage between the bench frame and the wall. In Finland however we usually insert small peaces of a few millimeter thick plywood between the frame and the wall every half a meter or so to ensure even better air flow and drainage around the frame. Don't think there's a huge difference in practice though. Enjoy your accomplishment! Ps. the finnish pronouniciation of your spouse(?) was actually not bad at all!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thank you for your kind words! Oh I really like the plywood Idea! My wife appreciates your comment about her pronunciation 😀

[@suzanneparker1799]

Could you explain this again. I'm trying to visualize the construction. Thank you.

[@1qazandrew333]

Nicely-done!

[@michaelbourquin9814]

Fantastic build series. Love the whole look and feel of your sauna. I am so looking forward to build a sauna of my own.

[@carson12345]

Thank you for making all of these episodes. I am just now finishing my own outdoor sauna build and couldn't have done it without you and r/sauna of course. Quality content sir

[@JonathanKuhn]

Incredible! Congratulations on finishing the sauna! I’m honoured to have played a part in your build.

[@aidarg1822]

Amazingly!

[@ericlaukkanen]

Love it. Would love to see a walk through the inside to see some more details of the finished change room!

[@idahows]

What an amazing build, very inspiring! Congrats on your new little helper too.

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks David!

[@TeppoHaapoja]

Yes JON! I could watch your building journey for daysssss... Keep making videos!

[@TeppoHaapoja]

Ps. you could have a career in sauna building, haha your making them higher quality than in Finland

[@JonathanKuhn]

You are too kind Teppo. You will have to try the sauna in person to really give it the Finn stamp of approval.

[@simbamai]

This makes me want to build stuff. Awesome work! That sauna is🔥

[@JonathanKuhn]

Building stuff is so satisfying.

[@ianham]

Jonathan, it’s beautiful! Love seeing your family as well. I am following your lead. I hope I can keep the quality as good as yours. It’s raining now in Seattle. I blew my window. Time to buck it up. :)

[@JonathanKuhn]

Good luck on the build!

[@FatFingerFoods]

The quality of this content is obscene keep it up man love your videos.

[@JonathanKuhn]

Aaaah thanks!

[@RyanTuller]

Dude your bench designs are great, totally going to use these. Thanks!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks! Best of luck on your build.

[@SpringbokCraftCo]

sounded perfect Katriina!

[@SpringbokCraftCo]

also it looks so good guys!!

[@GreenmarkBuilders]

Very impressive! Love your attention to detail Jon!!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks brother

[@photent]

Looks great! I like removable top on the bench, I might do that with mine.

[@JonathanKuhn]

Love it! I’m going to secure mine with a handful of screws since I have access through the bench back but it will still be quick to remove.

[@SigmaOctantis]

Wow espectacular!!! Me encantó 😍

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thank you!

[@suzanneparker1799]

This is fabulous. We are building a sauna in our old pool house (pool is gone). I was researching sauna floors and came upon your video and you solved our problem about how to do the floor. We can easily put a drain in our floor and route a drain pipe out the side of the building since it sits up from the ground. I loved your idea about the sloping and then the cement and cement board with that stuff you put on afterward. Then the duck boards. Excellent ideas. Also, you convinced me to use Aspen for the walls. I love the esthetic of it. Thank you. I am of Finnish descent and loved hearing your wife speak Finnish. Its been a while for me.

[@JonathanKuhn]

That will be a great project! I’m glad you found the video to be useful. Best of luck with your build!

[@carlsandersen2604]

What a great series to watch as you got to the finished product! This thing is beautiful and well thought out. Can we get an episode 7 final show-off video soon?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks Carl! That’s the plan. I’m working on finishing up the change room too. Not sure which will come first.

[@BorysBuild]

Amazing work. Can’t wait for a new episode. 😊

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks! Can’t wait to share more!

[@BYOTools]

Love your video style Jonathan. Keep up the great work on your channel!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[@PeeterJoot]

Love how you ended up with a drill press and router table on a remote lakeside build!

[@JonathanKuhn]

I’m a sucker for the right tool and the Facebook marketplace “rental”

[@m6studios]

Sawnahhhh 😍

[@gregburns6636]

That’s awesome! It looks so good. Love the small design touches on the benches. Can you tell me what the electrical set up is? Solar? I will be doing this in my sauna a year from now and your videos are so helpful but I know nothing about electrical, electronic stuff. Cheers!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks Greg. Maybe I’ll touch on the electrical setup in another video. It’s a simple solar setup (100W panel, 12v marine battery, charge controller). The lights are 12 volts but I’m wiring the sauna up with standard 120v rated AC wires in case I change it down the road. The solar setup just runs the sauna lights, some string lights, and a pump in the lake to fill our hot tub. It works really well. I’m an electrical nerd but there are simpler all-in-one setups available.

[@briannewberry8713]

Great video! Any chance you can share your sketchup file for your benches like you did with the sauna in your other video? I'm trying to put mine together and this could really help. Thanks!

[@gregburns6636]

Johnathan, I see how you used each successive wall of siding to hide the fasteners of the previous wall. Looks great!! Did you do anything to fill the 16 gauge nail holes that were eventually exposed on the final trim pieces like the door and window trim?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thanks! I used an Elmers wood filler product for the holes with a natural wood colour.

[@jortimant]

We sell that conpert product- definately a good choice for aspen.

[@JonathanKuhn]

That’s good to know! I’m sure I’ll need more next year b

[@vitalijusstonys]

Amazing work Mister! I was struggling with bench design, I appreciate your ideas! I am pumped. BTW, my Sauna layout inside is almost identical to yours! Window! 🙏

[@JonathanKuhn]

Bench design was a struggle for me too but it worked out and yours will too!

[@vitalijusstonys]

@@JonathanKuhn what is the size of the aspen plank that you used for benches? Is it 1”x 5” or so? Initially I planned on buying thicker planks, but your setup has a nice sturdy base! 😉

[@JonathanKuhn]

I think the killed measurement was 0.7”by 3.5”

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thicker and wider planks are certainly nice for benches! Less base building and a wider plank creates a nice separation from the wall paneling.

[@vitalijusstonys]

@@JonathanKuhn thanks so much!

[@sergiyrudenko905]

Great build! Are you happy with this glass door? What is the brand or model? Thanks!

[@JonathanKuhn]

Yea the glass door is great! I got it from sauna.ca but any tempered glass door is the same really. A thick shower door would do the trick if you are looking for something without the sauna markup and want to frame it yourself.

[@Porschenut13]

Loving your sauna. How deep are your benches?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The top one is 22.5 inches I think and the next one down is around 19 inches if I remember correctly.

[@rachelari1271]

It’s beautiful! Which wood fire stove did you get?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Thank you! The stove is a Harvia Linear 22 LS. (The LS stands for Left Side which contains a water tank that heats up with the sauna for washing)

[@TomDuncan-gu2hf]

nice sauna - is the finish floor with the deck boards higher than the floor in the changing room? im contemplating how to build up my floor inside the sauna vs the height of the changing room. thanks

[@JonathanKuhn]

Hi! It would have been higher but I ended up building up the change room floor with some 2x4s on their side and more subfloor. Now both rooms are the same night which is not necessary but gives it a premium feel

[@ruslankh5104]

nice video

[@JonathanKuhn]

Shine decor from Amazon. I have a link in the description

[@big9304]

How have the benches held up? I am building something very similar soon. Wondering what types of screws you used for the benches/supports?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The benches have held up really well. I used structural deck screws for the bench assembly. For the bench tops I used stainless

[@civicfire99]

Awesome build! Any suggestions on where to source the wood? I'm just not finding much in my area besides knotty cedar tongue and groove.

[@JonathanKuhn]

I got this wood from sauna.ca in Montreal. Not sure where else it’s available unfortunately.

[@civicfire99]

@@JonathanKuhn Thanks!

[@bhatesaim]

I’ve probably watched this 15 times to help me along my build plan for an 8x12 sauna. Love your videos, they’re done very well. With the stove and the glass door, does it still easily get to 93-94C after an hour or so? Would you do the glass door again though? Considering it for my build

[@JonathanKuhn]

It actually gets the that temp much quicker. Closer to 30-45 minutes. I would certainly do the glass door again and even consider doing a full glass wall to make the space feel bigger.

[@bhatesaim]

@@JonathanKuhn Thanks for the response! What type of glass did you use and how much was it?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The door came as a unit from the sauna wood supplier. Any tempered shower glass door would work though. There are sometimes some great deals to be found on shower doors on Facebook marketplace. If I were to do it again I’d go that route to save $$

[@barryfraser2231]

Hey! Great build and detail, thank you for posting the process. I am looking into the same LED light install for my own sauna build. Are they holding up in the heat? They are technically not rated for sauna heat but I’m basing my decision on the same probable assumption you did that the silicone will allow them to operate at higher than rated temps without issue. Thanks for any feedback you can provide

[@JonathanKuhn]

Hey thanks for the feedback. The lights have been holding up perfectly. Even in 100C sauna heat. I bought a few different models with similar specs but the ones I ordered were an obvious notch above the others in quality so check out the brand in the link description.

[@nuno2200]

Cool, our sauna suppliers refuse to use leds cause it often dies on them cause the heat. Great work btw.

[@user-hh4jr1od1u]

Where did you mount the rgb controller for the led lights? Extend the wires and mounted in the wall?

[@JonathanKuhn]

These are not RGB. They are simple 12v outdoor rated strips. I just extended the wire to a switch and it’s on a 12v battery solar system

[@joeygenochio6024]

Loved these videos! exactly what I was looking for, great job! CURIOUS: how much did this project cost you? if ya dont mind sharing

[@JonathanKuhn]

I didn’t keep track since it was over a long period. I wish I did. It was probably 10k-15k CAD and most of it during inflated pricing.

[@joeygenochio6024]

@@JonathanKuhn really appreciate that! thanks and good luck with all your other projects

[@user-hh4jr1od1u]

For the skirting did you cut 2x4s or 1x4s in half? doing something similar but leaving the benches floating so I can slide the lower bench back if I want. Worried about the weight of the skirting if using 2x4s cut in half since it will only be secured at the top to the bench framing. I know the skirting is set back from the face of the bench but do you ever find you are putting weight on it/ leaning against it when sitting on the lower bench?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The skirting is 1x4 ripped in half and routed. Because it’s set back we don’t really lean on it. If you are worried you could also secure it to the side walls and put an additional support to the back wall to keep it from deflecting. That would still allow for the lower bench to slide under.

[@henrysilver2134]

I might have missed that part but did the duck board flooring go directly overtop of the skim coat? Or was there a layer over top of the skim?? Thanks. Awesome build

[@JonathanKuhn]

I put the duck board right on the skim coat. You could do some sort of sealer if you want but this seems to work for me. I bake the sauna after a sauna session with a couple logs in the stove and it dries right out.

[@henrysilver2134]

@@JonathanKuhn 👍👍

[@johnkretschmer4933]

how did you set up your light switch for the LED's? I know that wiring and transformer are not to be in the sauna so i assume you drilled a hold and ran all wiring outside?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The wiring is in the wall and exits into the change room wired to a 12v dimmer and up the the attic above the hot room to the solar battery. The same applies if you are using household power. Run the low voltage cable in the wall and to the LEDs, keep the transformer and switch in the cool environment of the change room. If you don’t have a change room maybe a switched exterior receptive would work.

[@jannikgoebel2642]

Nice Job! Looks really amazing. I have a question about the LED light. Do u have all the electric cables inside the sauna? Doesnt it get to hot? Is it a special sauna LED Light? Best regards!

[@JonathanKuhn]

The electric cable runs in the wall to the bench where there is some exposed cable and the wires are soldered to the lights. The led lights are just outdoor rated 12v silicone strip lights. I linked them in the description. I tried a few before finding that these were the best quality. For wiring it’s not hard to find wires rated for 120c or so which is above what the sauna should experience.

[@jannikgoebel2642]

@@JonathanKuhn I have another question to the led stripes and all the connections. My own sauna project got already started and i try to figure out the light connections. In minute 4:36 of your video we can see your wooden base for the led installation. Where is this now? Is it under the benches inside the sauna or outside? Best regards from Germany:)

[@JonathanKuhn]

@jannikgoebel2642 that wasn’t very clear now was it? That whole DIN bar and wiring is in the attic of the sauna. Most of that stuff is for an automated lake pump for our hot tub. The touch switch is now in the sauna change room shown in pet 7 of the build. I pre ran low voltage cable behind the sauna pane long and insulation for the lights to the switch.

[@adamwolfe2947]

Where did you get the aspen from?

[@JonathanKuhn]

I got it from sauna.ca in Montreal but if you are stateside check out saunamarketplace.com.

[@brianjohnson5663]

Duck board ?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Mallard plank

[@tobiaslindvall2635]

Hey man, great video! What thickness of the aspen did you use?

[@JonathanKuhn]

The Aspen is milled to 3/4 inch thick

[@tobiaslindvall2635]

Thank you. My cedar is 3/4 inch thick too but I'm worried it's not thick enough? @@JonathanKuhn

[@JonathanKuhn]

@tobiaslindvall2635 nah that’s pretty standard. Strapping and foil favour barrier will help keep the heat too. 3/4 is better than some super thin paneling I’ve seen people go with and I’m sure even their saunas are great.

[@tobiaslindvall2635]

sorry I didn't ask the qustion properly. I was referring to the aspen you used for the benches?

[@JonathanKuhn]

@tobiaslindvall2635 ah. Same thickness but it’s build on a 2x4 SPF frame so it’s really just slats for the benches that are Aspen.

[@mathewli530]

What type of screws did you use to secure the bench panels?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Stainless steel ones

[@mathewli530]

Any chance you remember what size? Thanks

[@JonathanKuhn]

I believe they were 1.25 inches because the total thickness of the wood came to 1.5 inches. I might be wrong. It all depends on how thick the wood is that you are trying to secure.

[@jacobkoski5094]

Where did you source the Aspen paneling????

[@JonathanKuhn]

I bought the paneling from a place in Montreal. Sauna.ca

[@jacobkoski5094]

@@JonathanKuhn Thank you!!

[@mikemuniak4711]

Is aspen a good wood to use? ,I'm looking into building a sauna

[@JonathanKuhn]

I’m a fan of it for sure! Many people like cedar in North America due to its rot resistant properties but Aspen is virtually scentless, knot free, easy to work with and cool to the touch.

[@GWhittleAL]

And Aspen is hypoallergenic. Stains a bit easier, so more frequent sanding. But does not get as hot to the touch either. Many people make their benches out of Aspen even if they use cedar or spruce for the walls.

[@Noold]

@@JonathanKuhn Where are you located? I cant find aspen anywhere in the southeast. A shipping quote I got from WI was almost $600.

[@JonathanKuhn]

I’m located in Ontario Canada. I’m not sure how available Aspen is everywhere.

[@Noold]

@Jonathan Kuhn aahh ok. Makes sense. We ended up going with Western red cedar for the wall paneling, and benches.

[@robzaccaria3358]

What is the height of each bench?

[@JonathanKuhn]

24” and 41”

[@chelseyledoux5366]

Do you know what your build cost was?

[@JonathanKuhn]

I haven’t actually tallied that. The build took place during inflated pricing so it wasn’t cheep. If I had to guess 20k CAD in material. We didn’t go with the cheapest option though on some stuff like the siding/roof which could shave a bunch off the price. The goal is to keep this for many many years.

[@WoodnessGoodness]

Fit and Finnish could be the name of your channel. It is kaunis.

[@JonathanKuhn]

Hahah. That’s a great name!

[@WoodnessGoodness]

Would your wife be interested in narrating one of my videos in Finnish?

[@JonathanKuhn]

Ha. She said no. She sounds convincing but is out of practice.

[@dewafelbakkers]

"If i can do it, anyone can" How much money have you spent on this lol.

[@JonathanKuhn]

A lot of money for sure! I saves soooo much doing it myself though. I definitely couldn’t afford to buy this. I’ve seen some really cool projects made from reclaimed materials too but that involves some hunting around