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Dreaming of a lakeside sauna? You're not alone – many of us wonder how nice it would be to enjoy proper löyly and relax in our own lakeside sauna next summer.
To make your dream a reality, we've compiled everything you need to know about acquiring a lakeside sauna in this article. Below you will find a comprehensive package covering the following topics:
- What are the different options for getting a lakeside sauna?
- Modern or traditional lakeside sauna?
- How much does a lakeside sauna cost?
- Does a lakeside sauna need a building permit?
- What does a turnkey lakeside sauna include?
- What kind of foundations does a lakeside sauna need?
Getting a lakeside sauna – weighing up the options
How you go about getting a lakeside sauna depends largely on how much work you are willing to do yourself.
The easiest way to get a lakeside sauna is to order it ready to use. You then get the sauna as a turnkey service, and all that is left for you is to obtain the building permit and build the foundations.
At Ehta, we specialise in ready-to-use lakeside saunas, so you can have time to enjoy the sauna's soft and steamy heat.
It is second easiest, if you order a self-assembly sauna kit. The building materials for the kit and the building instructions are then delivered to your plot. Self-assembly sauna kits often do not include absolutely everything you need; for example, you almost always have to buy at least the sauna heater yourself, and often the outer roofing material too.
The third way to get a lakeside sauna is the most hands-on and demanding. You can source all the building materials yourself and build everything on your own. This option requires not only time but also skills, so it helps to have experience of building projects.
Modern or traditional lakeside sauna?
Different suppliers offer a wide variety of lakeside sauna models. Broadly, however, they fall into two groups: modern and traditional lakeside saunas.
On the outside, they often differ in that a traditional lakeside sauna has a classic gable roof, whereas a modern one has a sloping mono-pitch roof. Modern saunas also often favour features such as large panoramic windows.
The choice of sauna mostly comes down to personal taste. The fact is that whether you choose an Ehta sauna cabin or garden sauna, you can count on good, moist löyly.
Lakeside sauna price – or what does a lakeside sauna cost?
The price of a lakeside sauna is influenced by the following factors, among others:
- how ready-built your lakeside sauna is
- a ready-built lakeside sauna delivered turnkey
- self-assembly sauna kit
- a lakeside sauna built with your own hands from materials you source yourself
- the equipment level of the lakeside sauna
- the size of the lakeside sauna
As always, there is no upper limit on price. So if you want to make even your wildest sauna dreams come true, it will cost you. Most people buying a lakeside sauna, however, end up with fairly basic solutions with a few custom touches.
The most important thing is that the lakeside sauna has a heater, benches and soft löyly. You can customise things like the sauna's colour, the size and fittings of the changing room, the bench material or a possible deck.
Here are a few examples of what different lakeside sauna options might cost:
1. Ready-built lakeside sauna, price approx. €15,000–20,000
- Size: 10–20 m2
- Work involved: A ready-built lakeside sauna requires no work from the buyer. The buyer is responsible for the building permit and for getting the foundations ready.
- Equipment: A ready-built lakeside sauna is delivered ready to use, including the sauna heater and benches. For this price you get a modern sauna cabin with a spacious sauna room, a changing room of about 10 m2 and a nicely sized deck.
- For whom: Those who value time to themselves and quality löyly
2. Self-assembly lakeside sauna kit, price approx. €10,000–15,000
- Size: About 15 m2
- Work involved: The buyer assembles the sauna and takes care of the building permit and getting the foundations ready.
- Equipment: Besides the walls, a self-assembly sauna kit usually includes items such as benches, ceiling, windows, doors, fittings, locks, floor and gutters. Buying the sauna heater, for example, is the buyer's own responsibility. Outer roofing material is not always included in the kit either.
- For whom: A hard-working builder who is handy with a hammer and has plenty of free time.
3. Small barrel sauna, price approx. €3000 – €10,000
- Size: 4–8 m2
- Work involved: A barrel sauna is usually delivered in parts, so the buyer does the assembly.
- Equipment: A barrel sauna kit usually includes the building materials, doors and windows, roofing felt, benches, floor etc. The sauna heater is not usually included in the price.
- For whom: Someone with some building skills who doesn't need much space or anything fancy from a sauna.
4. Lakeside sauna built from raw timber, price ???
- Size: Entirely up to you.
- Work involved: Building from raw timber means a traditionally built garden sauna: the builder brings the building materials to the site and treats, works and installs them personally.
- Equipment: You can decide on the equipment entirely yourself.
- For whom: A construction professional or at least a very experienced hobbyist. It takes a lot of time and effort, so it's good to have skilled volunteer helpers among family and friends.
Building permit for a lakeside sauna – do you need one?
For the time being, a lakeside sauna always needs a building permit, at least until the end of 2023.
Changes to building permits for lakeside saunas are on the way, however, as on 15.9.2022 the government approved a bill under which a lakeside sauna of less than 30 square metres could in future be built without a building permit. The new laws are intended to enter into force at the beginning of 2024.
If you can't wait for the permit requirement to go, here's some good news: building a lakeside sauna before then is unlikely to be held back by the cost. At the moment, a building permit for a small sauna cabin costs only about €200–800, depending on the municipality.
Read more about the building permit in our article: Building permit for a garden sauna – does a garden sauna need a building permit?
What does a turnkey lakeside sauna include?
A lakeside sauna bought as a turnkey service means you get your sauna delivered to your plot ready to use. So a ready-built lakeside sauna includes not just the building but everything needed for bathing, such as the benches and the sauna heater.
The only things a ready-built turnkey lakeside sauna does not include are:
- building permit
- foundations
However, we at Ehta, like other beachfront sauna suppliers, also help with matters related to building permits and foundations.
Buying a ready-built lakeside sauna also makes the project easier because you get the building drawings and dimensions from us, which make the building permit and foundation work simpler.
Ehta's ready-to-use lakeside saunas include these products and features:
- Walls of solid laminated log, at least 90 mm
- Modern Harvia 16 sauna heater with glass door and round 25 l water tank
- Simple and stylish spruce plank sauna benches
- Comprehensive drawings for a building permit
- 100 mm Finnfoam insulation in the changing room floor
- Exterior door with a window and lock
- Harvia protective wall behind the sauna heater
- Insulated and safe Jeremias chimney
- Fixed double-glazed insulated windows
- At least one openable window in every room
- Insulated roof structure (100 mm)
- Black felt roofing and flashings
- Water channel in the sauna for draining wash water
- Glass inner door to the sauna
- Durable and sturdy 28×95 tongue-and-groove floorboards
- Sauna floor oil-treated for excellent moisture resistance
What kind of foundations does a lakeside sauna need?
The foundations are an important part of getting a lakeside sauna. The right kind of foundation ensures that the sauna will stand the test of time and will not, for example, sink.
The location of the sauna and the soil on the site have a major effect on the choice of foundation method.
- Screw pile foundations are well suited to soft clay soil
- For bedrock and moraine soil, a traditional pier foundation is usually chosen, and
- On ground that is not susceptible to frost, a sauna can be founded very lightly
The foundations of a lakeside sauna must be dimensioned carefully so that the sauna can be lifted into place as planned.
You can build the foundations yourself or have a specialist company do them. Bought ready-made, foundations cost about €1000–3000.
Read more in our article: Foundations for a garden sauna – a guide to choosing foundations for your garden sauna
Interested?
Would you like to know more about Ehta's lakeside saunas? We build and deliver ready-to-use lakeside saunas all over Finland, with experience from over 1,600 log buildings.
Ask us more – we are happy to help – and take a look at our range here!
