How to Build a Home Sauna

LESLIE: Claire in Alaska, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

CLAIRE: Hi. I want to build a sauna at my home.

TOM: OK.

CLAIRE: And I’ve been to the home shows where they sell these very expensive, $7,000 packages and they – we can’t afford that. So, might there be a problem with using several of the clear or red infrared bulbs that are sold at the hardware stores? And how can we tell what wattage is enough for our sauna space?

TOM: Yeah, I don’t think that you’re going to get enough heat with those infrared bulbs. It certainly would make it warm but it’s no sauna. You have to have a sauna heater, at least. If you’re going to build the room yourself – and that’s fine but I think you have to start by selecting a proper sauna heater.

For me, I want to just look for a good, electric heating coil and that has sort of rocks that surround it, because I love to throw the hot water on the hot coils and have it steam up.

CLAIRE: OK, thank you very much. I appreciate your help.