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There is no single number for what a sauna costs — the path you choose sets the range, and every advertised price is missing at least one of the line items that shows up later: the 240V circuit, the foundation, delivery, and labor. A precut kit is the cheapest path, a factory prefab lands in the middle once fully installed, and a custom build spans the widest range of all. We band the tiers (entry through flagship) instead of quoting a figure — see why below.

Plan benches as a two-tier system: upper seat about 36–48 inches high, with roughly 42–51 inches of clearance up to the ceiling so your feet aren’t stuck below the heated stones; lower bench about 18 inches high; both 20–24 inches deep. Use tempered glass for any door or window, and hang the door to swing outward with no lock — every manufacturer that publishes a door spec agrees on that last point.

There's no single best wood — it's a tradeoff. Western red cedar is the aromatic, rot-resistant standard, but its scent is its resin, so it's the opposite of hypoallergenic. Hemlock and aspen are near-scentless and better for sensitive users; aspen is cheapest and splinter-free but least rot-resistant. Thermally-modified aspen, alder, and spruce trade aroma for stability. Never seal interior wood.

Insulate the stud cavities (mineral wool or fiberglass), then staple a foil vapor barrier to the warm side — directly behind the tongue-and-groove cladding, reflective face into the room, on walls and ceiling but never the floor. Overlap seams 2–3 inches and seal with foil tape. Placement gets genuinely contested on shared-shower and all-wood outdoor builds.

There are two defensible schools. The mechanical-downdraft camp argues electric saunas lack a chimney's draft, so a fan should pull fresh air from above the heater down past bathers and out below the foot bench. The passive camp argues heat-expansion positive pressure suffices in smaller or outdoor builds, and that exhaust fans pull make-up air from bad places. Neither is code.

An outdoor sauna needs a level, well-draining base — not necessarily concrete. Manufacturers bless four equals: a concrete pad, a wood deck, compacted crushed gravel, or patio stones/pavers. Level is the real constraint, because an out-of-level base misaligns staves and stops doors latching. Never set a sauna directly on bare ground. Weight matters for rigging, not soil, and permit rules vary enough by jurisdiction that no single number here applies to your build.

Building a home sauna means sequencing seven decisions: choose kit vs. custom, prep a level base (concrete, deck, gravel, or pavers — all manufacturer-blessed equals), confirm permits, take curbside freight delivery and offload it yourself, frame and insulate behind a foil vapor barrier, clad in resin-free wood, then have a licensed electrician wire the heater.