They say that the best way to figure out what you want in a house is to buy your first house. Then you will see all the things you like and don't like, and it will help you figure out your second house better. You have to get into a house first before you know what you really like and don't like. A good example is that in our first house, our kids' bathroom was the same bathroom guests would use when they came over. My wife and I didn't like the stress of having to make sure our kids' bathroom was picked up whenever a guest came over (we didn't even love the idea of their toothbrushes being in the bathroom). So from now on, any house we live in, we consider having a half bath guests can use that is separate from our kids' bathroom.

I think it is similar for saunas. Having bought a sauna a couple of years ago, I am a much better sauna buyer/builder. I won't mention the brand of sauna I bought, but I did get a prefabricated box sauna that was delivered and I assembled. There are things that I hate, things I don't like, and things that I do like about my current sauna. I sauna a couple of times a week (not as much as I would like—more on that later), and after having done a bit of research, I have a handful of things to consider when buying or building a sauna. I have had a handful of people ask for my advice when they have bought or built a sauna, so I thought I would write down some of the things to consider.

First, let's talk about size. The sauna I bought was advertised as a five-person sauna, but it really just fits two adults comfortably. Take the number of people it will fit with a grain of salt. I have seen other brands of similar size give optimistic capacity claims, but those claims are only if you have sweaty bodies touching, and people are sitting on your feet on the lower bench, which is not at a height high enough to give a good sauna experience. Figure that people will not want to sit on the lower bench (it's only for feet), and that you can fit a person every 2 feet on the top bench for comfort.

Related to size is height. One thing I hate about my sauna is that when I sit on the top bench, I cannot sit up straight; the sauna is not tall enough. There is a slanted roof that reaches its lowest point where you sit, causing me to have to bend my neck. I am not abnormally tall, only 6' 1", yet I am too tall for this sauna. One rule of thumb that my sauna completely misses is that the highest part of the sauna should be over your head when sitting.

My sauna loses a lot of heat at three points: the panel seams, the door, and the windows. When I pour water over the rocks, the steam only lasts about 5 seconds before it is all gone. The walls of my sauna are very well insulated (when it is at 200 degrees, the outside walls don't give off any heat), but because it is prefabricated, the seams where the wall panels are connected leak a lot of heat. My door doesn't shut well either, as the door is warped, which causes a lot of heat to leak as well. I put rope around the door frame, which helped, but it still is a major cause of heat loss. The door was originally not warped, but still had gaps, and it has warped more and more over time. This is very unfortunate. As for the windows, it has a more than average amount of windows, and the windows are single-pane and not thick. The windows get pretty hot when you touch them on the outside. If I were to do it over again, I would build a sauna so there are no seams, I could get the door acclimated to my climate before construction so it is less likely to warp, and I would do minimal windows (and have them be double-pane).

I have mixed feelings about the heater in my unit. I have a HUUM DROP heater, which is aesthetically beautiful. I do not know of a single prettier heater. I have had issues with the heater, however. The company I bought my sauna from claims that my sauna should get to temperature in half an hour to an hour. My sauna doesn't get to temperature for about two hours (a little more when it is winter, a little less in the summer). This is way too long.

The heating coils went out a year and a half after owning my sauna, which seems way too early. In talking with the sauna maker support team and reading online, it seemed that it might have been that my electrical connection was not right. The theory was that my sauna had a low power supply relative to what it required, which would require longer heating times and it would overwork my heating elements (which would cause them to fail prematurely). I had an electrician come out to check the voltage and amperage, and it all was at the right levels.

I am not sure why my sauna takes so long to heat up, but my best guess is because my sauna leaks so much heat that the heater needs to get hotter to make up for it. Because it has to get so hot, it takes longer, and the coils have to work harder; therefore, it wore out quicker. My advice to people is to get the most powerful heater you can afford to get (and fit in your sauna). The worst-case scenario is that your sauna can heat up quicker.

The rocks in the heater are a mixed bag. They are not as durable and start to flake after about a year. I would go for the traditional black sauna rocks if I were to do it again.

Vents are very important for airflow. My sauna's vents don't make a lot of sense. There should be a vent below the heater unit to pull in cold air, and another vent near the top of the sauna, on the wall opposite of the heater. The vents should allow you to open and close them. If you need airflow, open the top vent and it will let hot air escape and be replaced by the air in the lower vent being heated up. My vents are misplaced, but because there is so much heat loss in my sauna, I get pretty good airflow. Do not put a fan in your sauna to try to get airflow; air that is that hot is pretty miserable when fanned on you. You want passive airflow.

The benches themselves are another thing to consider. First is the bench height. The lower bench where you place your feet should be at the same level or higher than the top of your heater. The air below the heater is cooler, so if your bottom bench is lower (or you don't have one), then you get uneven heating. You don't want your feet to be cold and your head hot. My sauna bench height is really good.

The other thing to think about for your sauna bench is how hard it is to maintain. Your sauna needs to be maintained by regular cleaning and oiling. With all the moisture and sweat, dirt and grime will build up on the sauna benches. Hopefully you don't let it get out of hand and get mold. The only part of my sauna that is difficult to maintain is part of the bench. The bench design is two long horizontal planks with a small gap between them. Underneath, they are supported by a vertical beam. The vertical beam has dirt and grime build up, but the slat between the two horizontal boards is so thin that it is very difficult to get in there. I would recommend a wider slat, so that you can clean and oil the bottom board, and between the two main horizontal boards.

Another thing to consider is the materials the sauna is made from. I am veering from my expertise here (although I used to woodwork as a hobby), so take this with a grain of salt, but I tend to want more natural things in my sauna. I don't want chemicals inside the sauna, so no chemically treated wood and as few plastics and caulking as possible. Plain cedar or redwood planks on the inside with some oil is preferred. These woods will hold up to the heat and moisture the best, and they have the most traditional sauna feel and smell. If the wood has too much moisture in it, when you heat up your sauna it will get burn marks, so ideally it is kiln-dried before you start building. But so that it doesn't warp, ideally the wood gets to acclimate to your climate after it is kiln-dried.

If I were to get my perfect dream sauna, I would have heat-resistant tiles below and on the walls where the heater sits. It is some additional peace of mind that the wood won't combust if there is some type of failure. The tiles can also help retain heat, which makes the sauna more efficient. Plus, the most aesthetically beautiful sauna I have seen has tiles/stones around where the heater is.

Last thing to mention: can you turn on your sauna remotely? My sauna does have that option, which is nice—to be able to turn it on when you are cold skiing, knowing you will have a warm sauna to come home to. I have been in other home saunas that do not have this feature, but it wasn't a big deal because the saunas heat up quickly. For me, because my sauna takes so long to heat up, I almost exclusively turn it on with the app.

If I were to do it again, I would not buy my sauna. While my sauna ultimately gets the job done, there are enough frustrations that I would build and not buy. Like I mentioned in the introduction, I have learned a lot as a sauna owner that I could not have commissioned the right sauna build when I made the decision to buy a sauna, but now I could get a much better sauna. If I were to build, I would have to do a lot more research on building a moisture barrier and how to tile, and many other things, but I would have the design much more down.

I do not sauna as much as I would like; I probably get two or three saunas in each week. This is mostly because it takes so long to get the sauna going. Because it is not part of my normal routine, it requires a bit of planning. If at lunch, for example, I want to sauna, it will not be ready in time to enjoy before I go back to work, so I don't turn it on. I typically will sauna at night before bed. During dinner, I will turn it on, so that when dinner is over and we put the kids to bed, I can go sauna. Sometimes I will turn it on thinking I will do it, but then things come up and I am not able to hop in. It is frustrating to waste that electricity like that.

For regular saunas, I will go in for about 20 minutes. Sometimes my wife and kids join me. For solo saunas, I have a few books that I read (The Almanack of Naval Ravikant and The Bed of Procrustes by Taleb). I will either meditate or read. Reading materials should be thoughtful material where you can read a few lines and sit and think on it, and those two books are the materials I have found to do that.

If I am using the sauna with a friend, I like to do three or four 15–20 minute sessions, with a cold plunge in between.

I set my sauna at 190 degrees (Fahrenheit), although it is much hotter when you sit next to my heater as opposed to at the end of the bench (thanks to all the heat loss).

Water on the rocks is a must. The steam from pouring water on the rocks does not last in my sauna. I find that my sauna will produce an intense steam, but it dissipates quickly. I tend to like more intense steams.

Oil in the water is a big one for me as well. The best scent is tar (thanks to my friend Scott Thatcher for showing me that one). It is fun to experiment with other oils, but I always go back to tar.

Drinking plenty of liquids is important in the sauna as you sweat so much. My favorite drink in the sauna is a hop-flavored sparkling water, and my go-to is Hop Drop, made by RoHa Brewing Project, a local Salt Lake City brewery. It is non-alcoholic and has a very good floral hoppy flavor. 

While it looks funny, I also strongly recommend a sauna hat. These are felt hats that help keep your head cooler, which helps you last longer in the sauna. Also, the heat can be hard on your hair, so the felt hats help protect your hair. It is also nice because you can dip your hat in cold water, which helps keep your head even cooler for longer.

I typically have on a light swimsuit, but sauna in the buff is preferred. It really depends on if I am with someone or if it is just me. I know some are cautious about natural vs. synthetic fibers, both for skin health and the longevity of your sauna. I don't worry about that too much. Either way, I have felt mats I sit on to protect the sauna benches and reduce how much of my sweat others have to sit on if they come into my sauna.

Cold plunging is a great addition to the sauna routine. Some people are really serious about cold plunging and will do it solo without a sauna. For me, I rarely will cold plunge without the sauna. I read a really good book by Susanna Søberg called Winter Swimming, which includes the Søberg Rule of always ending on cold. Because I usually sauna at night, when I end on cold right before going to bed, my sleep that follows is always really good.

When I travel, I try to find places to sauna. New York City is the best place to find saunas because they have a lot of good and fun options. Some places, like Sydney, are surprisingly hard to find a good sauna. In Utah, if I am going to a place I really like, FlowHaus in Pleasant Grove. Utah has a lot of places to sauna. Although they do not have a sauna, the most luxurious bathing/steam room experience is Aires (in most major cities; I recommend London). Aires has a lot of baths at different temperatures, plus air and salt baths, and they have a steam room and plenty of area to lounge around.

Lastly, for me, sauna is an experience. It seems like the trend is that people try to make it like working out, where you do it a certain amount of time, x days per week. They have a prescription, like what they would get from a doctor. While I am aware of the health benefits, and it helps motivate me to do it more, for me it is meditative. When doing it with family and friends, it is a bonding experience. Sauna has soul to it. It is sad to see people approach it so clinically.

After writing this post, I realized that this only applies to traditional saunas (some call them wet saunas or steam saunas). Not to start a fight with the infrared sauna community, but I do not really consider them saunas. They do not get good heat and are incapable of getting any löyly (Finnish word for the steam/heat you get when you throw water on the hot stones). Infrared saunas are just oversized microwaves.