The cedar barrel sauna on its deck at the back of the garden

The sauna

The sauna sits wherethe garden meets the forest.

Out back

The sauna is an eight-foot Nootka barrel in western red cedar. It sits on its own deck at the back of the garden, and you reach it up a short path through the ferns. Tall firs stand on every side, and a glass window at the back looks out into them.

It runs on a 9 kW electric heater, so there’s no fire to build. Touch the screen and press Start, and in about twenty minutes it’s hot. It switches itself off after an hour, and you can add more time on the screen if you’re not done.

“Drinking coffee on the patio and sauna/cold showering is so much better surrounded by nature in their backyard!”

Ben · Saint Paul, Minnesota

It’s shared with us, and you can use it whenever you like. Ladle a little water over the stones and the steam rolls off the cedar, which the Finns call löyly. When it gets to be too much, the cold shower is right beside the deck.

Take a look around

Turn the sauna aroundand step inside.

Drag to walk around it, then step inside to see the benches and the heater. The numbers explain each part.

3D model of our Nootka barrel sauna in cedar with a black metal roof, seen from the porch end — Outside
Touch the screen and press Start. It takes about 20 minutes to heat up and turns itself off after an hour. The Lights button is at the bottom left.
The staves run past the front wall to make a little porch, with a cedar seat on each side. It's a good place to sit and cool down between rounds.
Close it behind you to keep the heat in, and leave your shoes outside.
Every stave is about 4 cm thick, which holds the heat through a long session. Cedar's natural oils keep it from rotting out in the West Coast rain.
Cedar swells and shrinks with the seasons. The bands keep the joints tight all year.
It's galvanized aluminum, and Nootka says it also helps the barrel heat up faster.
It's 76 cm across in 10 mm tempered glass, so you can watch the forest from inside.
Inside
Ladle water slowly onto the stones, a little at a time. Never hang anything on the guard around the heater. It will catch fire.
Each one is about 53 cm deep and 1.9 m long, so you can lie down. Please sit or lie on a towel.
The back window sits above the heater, so the firs are right in front of you.
Switch them on with the Lights button on the screen. They light the floor and keep the glare out of your eyes.
There are no corners for hot air to hide in, so it rolls over the curve and back down the walls.
Add about five drops of the essential oils from the bench outside, then ladle gently. Water is the only thing to drink in here, and no glass.
Sauna Monthly built this model from Nootka’s drawings and photographs, so a few small details differ from ours out back.

How a round goes

A round takes abouthalf an hour.

20 min
Heat it up
Touch the screen and press Start. It takes about twenty minutes to come up to temperature.
15–20 min
Go in
Sit on a towel and stay fifteen or twenty minutes, or less if you start to feel off.
2–5 min
Cool off
Step out to the cold shower, or just stand in the mountain air for a few minutes.
10 min
Rest, then repeat
Sit under the trees until your breathing settles, then go back in. Two or three rounds is plenty.