We design your sauna around your actual space. Your local builder builds it. Build-ready 3D models, drawings, specs, and materials lists — wherever you are.
Most people who want a custom sauna don't have a sauna designer nearby. That's the problem we solve. We design saunas remotely for clients across the United States and internationally — backyard builds in Texas, basement conversions in Virginia, a lakeside sauna with a changing room in Wisconsin, and a sauna for a client in the United Kingdom.
The whole process happens remotely: video calls, photos, measurements, and shared documents. We deliver build-ready plans that a competent general contractor or experienced DIYer can execute. The design principles are the same everywhere — what changes is how we handle your climate, your site, and your local codes.
15 minutes on video or phone. Your goals, space, budget range, and timeline. We tell you what's realistic and what it'll take.
Photos, measurements, and any drawings you already have. A tape measure and a phone camera are usually enough — we tell you exactly which shots and dimensions we need.
3D model, dimensioned drawings, heater and ventilation specs, materials list, and construction instructions — built around your actual space, not a standard kit size.
Your contractor (or you) builds from the plans. Questions during construction come straight to us so nothing gets lost between the drawings and the job site.
Not a napkin sketch — a design package your contractor can price, order, and build from.
A SketchUp model you and your contractor can rotate and measure — interior, exterior, and cutaway views before any lumber is cut.
Plan view and elevations with wall framing, bench heights and depths, door placement, and ceiling height — specified to the inch (or millimeter).
Heater sized to your room volume and glass, plus the circuit, breaker, and wire requirements your electrician needs to rough in.
Intake and exhaust locations, vent sizes, and fan spec — so the air stays fresh and the heat stays even from floor to ceiling.
Every stick of lumber, roll of insulation, vapor barrier, fastener, and finish — with quantities and pricing your builder can order from.
Build sequence and the details contractors usually get wrong — vapor barrier lapping, bench blocking, vent placement, and heater clearances.
These are real deliverables from past projects — the same format you'd get for yours.
Every design comes with a full materials list like this one — itemized, quantified, and priced so your builder can order directly and you can budget before construction starts.
| Item | Qty | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation & framing | |||
| 2x4x8 (walls & roof) | 85 | $3.82 | $324.70 |
| 2x6x8 pressure treated (floor joists) | 10 | $11.78 | $117.80 |
| Deck blocks (footings) | 9 | $11.68 | $105.12 |
| Insulation & vapor barrier | |||
| R-13 fiberglass insulation (walls & ceiling) | 8 | $27.97 | $223.76 |
| Aluminum foil vapor barrier | 1 | $49.88 | $49.88 |
| Aluminum tape (vapor barrier seams) | 1 | $18.99 | $18.99 |
| Interior & benches | |||
| Cedar T&G 1x6x12 (walls & ceiling) | 50 | $21.85 | $1,092.50 |
| 2x4x8 redwood (benches) | 22 | $10.78 | $237.16 |
| Heater & ventilation | |||
| 9 kW electric sauna heater | 1 | $1,817.34 | $1,817.34 |
| Inline vent fan | 1 | $89.99 | $89.99 |
| Exterior vent covers (2-pack) | 2 | $18.99 | $37.98 |
| + siding, roofing, door and hardware, lighting, drain, fasteners… (37 line items in the full list) | |||
| Estimated materials total (full list) | ~$5,600 | ||
From a 6x8 outdoor electric sauna design. Prices are from the time of design and vary by region; electrical work is priced separately by your electrician.
Remote design only works if the plans are clear enough to build from without us on site. Along with the 3D model and materials list, your builder gets diagrams like these that show how each phase goes together.
Schematic examples drawn on one sample sauna (8' × 12' with a changing room) so the numbers stay consistent. Click any diagram to open it full size.
Trusted by homeowners across Tahoe and beyond
We've designed a sauna for a client in the United Kingdom, and the process works the same anywhere in the world. Send architectural drawings, exact dimensions, and photos, and we design around the space you have — including rooms already built to the shell stage, before finishes.
Drawings and materials lists in whichever units your builder works in.
We spec heaters, controls, and vent fans your installer can buy — and get serviced — in your country, rather than something that has to be imported.
Heater and electrical requirements are written for your supply voltage and handed to a licensed local electrician for final connection.
Video calls, email, WhatsApp, and shared documents. We schedule calls at a time that works for you.
How international projects work: we're a design firm, not a manufacturer. We don't ship saunas. We give your local builder everything they need to source materials and build it right — including exactly what has to be in place (electrical, ventilation, insulation, blocking) before the final finishes go on. Pricing is in USD.
General contractors know how to frame walls and run electrical. What they usually don't know is sauna-specific design: how hot air moves in a small room, where the intake needs to sit relative to the heater, why standard vapor barriers fail at sauna temperatures, and how bench geometry changes the heat you actually feel.
A sauna built without that knowledge usually works — just poorly. Cold feet and a scorching ceiling, moisture damage behind the paneling, benches too low to get real heat, a heater that's over- or undersized, or ventilation that either stalls or drafts. Our job is to handle the sauna-specific engineering so your builder can focus on building.
Every project gets a fixed quote after the free intro call. These are starting prices — size, number of rooms, and site complexity move the number.
Starting at
$600
For straightforward single-room saunas where the layout is mostly settled.
Starting at
$1,200
For projects where you want to iterate on the layout and have backup during the build.
Starting at
$1,500
Scoped and quoted after the intro call.
Payment is 50% to start and 50% on delivery. Additional on-call build support is available at $75/hour. Building a common size and don't need anything custom? Our ready-made sauna plans start at $49.
Yes. All of our design work is delivered remotely — plans, specs, materials lists, and build support happen over video calls, email, and shared documents. Your contractor builds from our plans. We've designed saunas across the U.S. and for a client in the United Kingdom.
Yes. The process is the same anywhere: photos, measurements or architectural drawings, and video calls. We can deliver in metric, spec heaters and controls that are available and serviceable in your country, and write electrical requirements for your local voltage. A local builder and a licensed local electrician handle construction and final connections. We're a design firm — we don't manufacture or ship saunas.
Photos of your space, measurements (a tape measure and phone camera are fine), and any architectural plans you have. If the room is already framed or at the shell stage, that's ideal — we design around the exact dimensions. We'll tell you exactly what we need on the intro call.
Design packages start at $600 and include a 3D model, dimensioned drawings, materials list, construction instructions, and heater, ventilation, and electrical specs. A Supported package with two revision rounds and on-call build support starts at $1,200. Multi-room, steam, or commercial projects start around $1,500. You get a fixed quote after the free intro call; 50% is due to start and 50% on delivery.
Yes. The deliverables are written for builders — dimensioned drawings, material specifications, heater electrical requirements, and ventilation details. Build support means your contractor can reach us with questions during construction.
Typically 1–2 weeks from receiving your photos and measurements to final deliverables for a standard project. Multi-room builds or unusual site constraints can take 3–4 weeks.
Any licensed general contractor with framing experience can build from our plans, with a licensed electrician for the heater circuit. You don't need a sauna specialist — that's what the plans and build support are for. We can also help you compare contractor bids.
Permit requirements vary by municipality and country. We design to code-compliant standards and adjust plans for your local requirements. Your contractor typically handles the permit application — our plans give them what they need to submit.
Climate changes insulation, ventilation sizing, exterior materials, and foundations:
We're based in South Lake Tahoe, California and also offer in-person design and full design-plus-build in the Tahoe region — South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Tahoe City, Incline Village, Reno, and Carson City.
12 decisions that determine how well your sauna performs — insulation, bench height, heater sizing, ventilation, and more.
Have questions about your project? Send us a message or schedule a free 15-minute intro call.
Schedule a free 15-minute intro call or send us a message about your project.
We'll learn about your space, goals, and timeline — and recommend the right next step for your project.