Site Prep Guide
Whether you're still in the planning stages of your sauna build and want to know how site preparation may impact your design choices, or you're ready to prepare your site for installation, our site prep guide provides all the considerations and requirements to help make the day of installation seamless. On the day of delivery, our team will arrive on site to unload and place your sauna in the location you’ve selected and prepared using the information in this guide. Following the installation, it is possible to get your sauna up and running the very same day upon the final wiring step being completed by your contractor.
Due to the complexity of coordinating of site preparations, this is a service our team is not offering at this time. With the help of this guide, our team will ensure you and your contractor have everything needed to get started.
01
Finding A Contractor
Upon placing your order, it’s important to locate either a local site prep company or contractor who can assist in getting your property ready for your sauna. Using this guide, you will be able to provide them with all the necessary information to prepare your site. We highly recommend having this professionally done in order to avoid any costly mistakes, but it is possible to do this yourself with the proper knowledge and equipment.
02
Selecting A Site On Your Property
We intentionally designed our saunas with expansive glass windows to be able to take in any views on your property and disconnect with the elements around you. When selecting the site for your sauna to be installed, carefully consider the view and any neighboring homes for desired privacy. You may want to consider which porch direction will provide a more natural entrance based on the path to your home, as well as existing and future landscaping. It is also important to consider proximity to your home, as that may be more preferable in harsh weather, and can provide easier access to electricity and WiFi.
An additional consideration may also be the path of the sun and direct exposure to UV. As our saunas are exposed to the sun, the exterior cladding will age and form a weathered patina. We believe our saunas will look just as good, if not better, as they age over time, but this is still an important consideration. This may also help inform exterior materials and treatment selections as you design your sauna. Based on the exterior materials and treatments you select, as well as your desire for optional treatment upkeep and reapplication over the years, exposure to the sun may be an important consideration when choosing your site location.
03
Choosing A Recommended Site Design
The Lighthouse Sauna requires a site footprint of at least 10 feet x 12 feet.
The Iska Sauna requires a site footprint of at least 9 feet x 9.5 feet.
Based on your aesthetic and functional preference, there are several options you can choose from to ensure a properly prepared site. The most cost efficient option for site preparation is a stone foundation consisting of 4" to 6" of 3/4" clean stone leveled and compacted. Beneath the stone, you will want to use a geo-textile woven fabric to separate the stone from the ground, provide increased stability, ensure faster drainage, and prevent weed growth. It is not necessary to build a perimeter around the stone foundation, but you may want to do this to provide additional stability or for aesthetic purposes. We recommend using pressure treated 4” x 6” or 4” x 4” lumber, driving 1/2" x 24" rebar stakes through to maintain stability. The top of the 4” x 6”s or 4” x 4”s should be set approximately 1" above ground level where the porch and entrance door is located.
If you want to install sonatube concrete supports along with the stone foundation, we recommend 8’’ diameter, frost depth concrete sonatubes. Once installed, bring the stone foundation up level to the top of sonatubes.
If you wish to pour a concrete foundation to support your sauna, this can match the required site footprint for your sauna, ensuring concrete is poured 3’’- 4’’ thick.
04
Electrical Requirements & WiFi Considerations
Our saunas arrive ready to hook up to electricity, but your contractor or an electrician will need to assist in providing your prepared site with proper power supply.
The Lighthouse Sauna requires a 240V power supply, using a 6/3 gauge wire protected by a 60 Amp breaker.
The Iska Sauna requires a 240V power supply, using a 8/3 gauge wire protected by a 40 Amp breaker.
After placement on site, a final step by either your contractor or electrician to wire your sauna to the power source will be necessary. Once wiring is completed, your sauna will be ready for use.
If you want to take advantage of the HUUM WiFi controller for the ability to start your sauna remotely using the HUUM app, proximity to your home WiFi network is an important consideration. If placing your sauna out of range of your home network, you may need to install an outdoor WiFi extender or a hotspot in order to connect your sauna controller to a network.
05
Precarious Installations
We designed our saunas to be the perfect addition to any property with a secluded space or view. While our team is capable of delivering and installing our saunas across a wide range of terrains and distances, some installations may require the use of more intricate placement methods, such as a crane. While determining the location you want your sauna to be placed, be sure to take into account the potential difficulty of the installation, such as steep hills, narrow paths through dense trees, or close proximity to water. Our delivery team must have a path at least 10 feet wide by 13 feet high to install your sauna ourselves. If this is not possible, we are able to deliver the sauna to your property and assist in seamlessly handing it off to a crane service capable of navigating this final step.
If you feel your location may be out of our normal scope of installation, please reach out to our team directly to talk through solutions to prepare for the day of delivery.
06
What Happens If My Site Isn’t Prepared?
If our delivery team arrives for delivery and your site is not prepared and ready to place your sauna, our team will work with you to locate a space on site to deliver the sauna until your site is ready for installation. Unfortunately, our team will be unable to help move your sauna once delivered. Moving it again to your prepared site will be the responsibility of the owner. We want to make this process easy from beginning to end, and highly encourage you to make sure your site is prepared prior to your delivery date.
Still Have Questions?
If you still can't find what you're looking for, schedule a consultation or drop us a line - our team will be happy to help answer any questions you couldn't find the answers to.