Barrel sauna: 7 tips for choosing with instructions for assembling, installing and maintaining a round sauna structure + reviews from owners

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Barrel sauna: reviews from owners

Before purchasing a mobile sauna, many people start reading reviews and watching YouTube videos from real owners. Indeed, a barrel sauna is not quite a standard solution for Russians, but nevertheless it is already loved by many for its ease of operation and beautiful appearance. Next, using reviews as an example, we will consider why such a steam room is good and what its disadvantages are.

The owner of a round barrel sauna writes after a year of use:

“We bought a barrel sauna a year ago, we didn’t install any special drain, everything runs directly into the ground. The neighbors began to complain that a lot of water was running towards them, so they had to move the bathhouse to another place. Ours is small - 3.5 m in length, so it was not particularly difficult to throw it from one place to another using a manipulator.

The bathhouse consists of two sections, plus another one on the street - a small porch, by the way, regarding the porch - you can easily do without it, while increasing the locker room or steam room by half a meter. This is my advice to future owners of such a round bathhouse. The size of our steam room is 2 meters. It can comfortably accommodate 2 adults at the same time or, for example, one adult and two children.

In summer we heat for about 30 minutes, in winter we need to heat for 45-60 minutes so that it becomes hot and the water in the tank has time to warm up.

In winter, I personally steamed only a few times, and it took no more than an hour to kindle.

For my family, I have so far only noted the positive aspects of such a round design: original appearance, mobility and efficiency in terms of firewood and preparation time for soaring.”

Another owner of a cedar barrel sauna writes about her first impressions:

“We ordered a bathhouse with an internal firebox, fired the stove outside in advance, it took about two hours to burn it, but then when they fired it up, there was no burning or smoke in the steam room.
If you do not burn the stove outside, but do it inside the bathhouse, then you will have to ventilate the steam room for a long time, so it is better not to rush, but still carry out all these operations outside. Next, I was pleased with the consumption of firewood: a couple of armfuls and in 30 minutes the bathhouse was ready for steaming. 5 adults calmly enter our 5-meter-long barrel at the same time, two are steaming, two are washing, one is drinking tea in the locker room, where we have a folding table. Everything to make everyone comfortable: both those taking a break from steaming and those just starting their bathing procedures. The company gave us a 3-year warranty on the structure; we ordered it with coatings inside and outside. As for the downsides, I don’t see them yet, perhaps something will be discovered in the future, but for now I like everything!” An expert on our products writes (formerly, .

A lover of noisy companies and feasts talks about his experience:

“To be honest, I didn’t read the reviews, I was bought by the appearance of the design, I really liked it, and immediately with the purchase of such a bathhouse I want to warn you that the number of guests and those who want to take a steam bath in such a wonder will increase significantly. When I installed it on my site and tried it out, I was absolutely delighted, but when a bunch of friends came to visit me and everyone piled into the sauna (6 m long) at the same time, I had to group somehow: if 4 people are in the steam room at the same time, then they only sit, if someone got up and started to hover the second one, then the other two are better off sitting on the shelves in this case, because There is no longer much room for two people standing in the steam room. The same applies to the washing room. One is rinsing, and the other two, for example, are sitting and waiting. But this is all, I think, a matter of habit; my friends and I got used to this group a couple of times and understood what and how to do, and who and where to be, so as not to disturb each other.

We were most struck by the speed of heating: literally 6-8 logs and in the steam room 80 degrees in 20-30 minutes, if you want to bring it to 100 degrees, then we heat it for another 20 minutes and in the steam room you can
steam in black. I myself am a very mobile person and bought a bathhouse for myself so that in case of emergency I could take it with me and transfer it from one place to another or even to another city. Overall, I am satisfied with the configuration and operation.”

Pros and cons of a mobile barrel sauna

To summarize, we can say that most clients note the original appearance, the speed of preparing the bath for steaming, its efficiency, and the ability to transfer it. Among the disadvantages of actively using a barrel in winter, we can note the fact that you need to think carefully about the drain, so that no leaks form under the steam room. Some owners note that the barrel cools down quickly in winter, but everything is known by comparison: for some, within an hour is fast, but for others, it’s quite normal. At the very least, if you keep the stove running continuously for 3-4 hours, the sauna will cool down within two hours. During this time, all rooms can be cleaned of broom remnants, ventilated, dried, and put in proper shape for the following procedures.

On our own behalf, we can add that when purchasing a barrel for 1-2 people, it will be enough to choose a structure length of 2-3.5 meters, and for 3 or more people it is better to choose a length of 4-6 meters.

We wish you and your loved ones good health and light steam!

Why you should buy a barrel sauna

Baths have long been in the service of people - they improved health, treated ailments, looked after beauty, or simply relaxed. Medicine today still recommends visiting the bathhouse as often as possible for physical cleansing, while not forgetting about spiritual saturation.

To save time and money, today it is possible to buy and install a barrel sauna at the dacha and on the site of a country house.

Advantages of this design:

• There is no need for a foundation or construction itself - the bathhouse is installed very quickly;
• Reasonable price;
• The barrel sauna is manufactured in compliance with Finnish technology;
• Warming up occurs in just half an hour;
• The maximum acceptable dimensions for placement anywhere in a summer cottage;
• The sophistication of the structure will fit perfectly into the various landscapes of the garden yard;
• Special wood impregnation guarantees a high level of safety;
• The raw materials for the manufacture of sauna barrels are coniferous trees;
• The kit can be equipped with different types of stoves (wood-burning, electric, and stone).

When setting yourself the task of purchasing a sauna, you should not buy a “pig in a poke.” You definitely need to study all the market offers, as well as get as much information as possible about this product.

Liquidity

A distinctive feature of the barrel bath is its compactness and the absence of a foundation. Therefore, it is 100% mobile and easily transportable. If desired, it can be transferred to any place.

Capacity

The product with a diameter of two meters creates a comfortable stay for up to eight people. Tall height should also not confuse the visitor.

Installation

When buying a turnkey barrel sauna, you don’t have to worry - after all, the selling company takes care of all the worries. The entire installation will take no more than 6 hours.

Interior decoration

The inside of the room is carefully treated with persistent moisture-repellent preparations. This process allows you to operate the bathhouse for the longest possible time.

Equipment

In addition to the stove (at the consumer's choice), the set includes sun loungers, ladders of various configurations, benches and steps in front of the entrance to the bathhouse.

Construction Materials

Only coniferous trees are used to create a barrel sauna, which guarantees healthy steam, a wonderful aroma, and a high degree of improvement in well-being.

Safety

When developing a project, specialists scrupulously comply with all the rules and regulations of the structure and coating. We carefully select equipment that fully guarantees safety during the work process.

But the owners of a barrel bath should also follow certain rules for using the premises.

It is forbidden:

• Use explosive substances for kindling;
• Leave the firebox door open;
• Arrange drying of things in the immediate vicinity of the oven;
• Leaving children unattended;
• Disturb the condition of the structure;
• Independently correct problems that arise in the operation of the structure;
• Ignore the help of specialists.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of a barrel sauna include:

• Original appearance. The unusual design serves as a real decoration for a suburban area.
• Construction speed. A barrel sauna can be purchased ready-made and installed on a pre-prepared base. Self-assembly from an ordered kit requires no more than 1 day. There is no need to build a capital foundation for the bathhouse.
• Fast warm-up and economical. In summer, the structure warms up in 15–20 minutes, in winter – 1–1.5 hours. To achieve the optimal temperature you will need no more than 10 logs.
• Compactness. The small dimensions of the bathhouse allow it to be installed even in the smallest area.
• Low cost. The price of a barrel is several times less than that of a permanent building.
• Mobility. The structure can be moved around the site and even transported over considerable distances.
• Easy to use and maintain. The bathhouse only needs to be dried after washing procedures and the walls need to be impregnated with protective agents at certain intervals.
• Environmental friendliness. The baths are made of natural wood, so staying in them has a beneficial effect on human health.

The design has few disadvantages:

• If the outflow of water is not organized correctly, the wood begins to rot.
• There is a small space inside the bathhouse, so a large group of people will not be able to relax in it.
• Walls should not be treated with aggressive chemicals.
• The walls do not retain heat perfectly and in severe frosts it is problematic to operate the bathhouse. If you slam doors frequently when entering or leaving, the interior quickly cools down.

Price policy

The cost of a barrel bath is acceptable to the consumer. Prices depend on many factors, such as:

1. Options.
2. Thickness of boards.
3. Type of wood used.
4. Number of departments in the building.
5. Stove type.
6. Additional components, accessories, decorative parts.

Even with such a fairly extensive filling of the finished product, the price for such a barrel sauna will be much lower than the cost of building a regular sauna. Therefore, it is very beneficial to cooperate with professionals.

Despite all the advantages of such a deal, many summer residents strive to build a barrel sauna on their summer cottage with their own hands. And it’s not that difficult, absolutely inexpensive and quite fast.

It is important to follow the recommendations of professionals and adhere to the instructions. The first step is to decide on the choice of existing types of barrel baths.

User reviews

Maksim. Krasnoyarsk

In our climate, it is not possible to heat a barrel sauna all year round. In severe frost it is difficult to heat it, there is too much wood, and the desired temperature is not obtained. But from spring to late autumn, and even at the beginning of winter, as long as it is not below minus 15 degrees, we heat without problems. The barrel, of course, is a bit cramped, but 2–3 people fit in it quite comfortably.

Natalia. Moscow region.

We ordered a barrel 3 years ago. They made it in 2 weeks, delivered it disassembled and installed it in 5 hours. We are very happy, we heat it once a week. In winter too.

Andrey. Ryazan Oblast.

I ordered the smallest barrel, it only contains a steam room combined with a washing room. I already regret it. Undressing on the street is somehow not very pleasant. Although in other respects the bathhouse is quite satisfactory. I'm already thinking about changing it to a more comfortable model so that there is a rest room/dressing room. If funds allow, I advise you to take a more spacious barrel so that it looks more like a real bathhouse.

Maria. Chelyabinsk.

We read positive reviews and decided to buy a barrel sauna. My husband suggested it and said that building a real bathhouse would be expensive and take a long time. I gave in to persuasion and regretted it in the first year. This building is just for washing. For true connoisseurs, baths are not an option. For me the main drawback is the cold floor. Grandma had a real bathhouse, it was so hot there. And here my feet are cold all the time. I also don't like the low shelves. You can only steam while lying down.

Read also:  How to correctly place the first crown of logs on the foundation?

Vladimir. Nizhny Novgorod.

I installed a barrel sauna 2 months ago. The manufacturer is not Nizhny Novgorod. So far very pleased. Compact 6X2.15 m, but roomy, 8 people can enter the relaxation room, 6 people can enter the steam room. It fries as it should, warms up quickly and with a minimum of firewood. Costs less than traditional stationary. I'm happy.

Japanese style barrel sauna

It is a large wooden bathtub. The stove built inside it allows you to constantly maintain a certain water temperature.

No. 5. Form

The standard shape of a barrel sauna is round, hence the name, but some manufacturers offer their own variations. The most popular forms are:

• a round barrel sauna is the standard and most common option. It looks original, requires a small area for installation, and warms up quickly;
• an oval (elliptical) barrel sauna does not take up much more space on the site, but at the same time the internal usable space increases significantly, and the steam room warms up almost as quickly as in a round barrel;
• A square, or more precisely semi-circular-semi-square , barrel sauna in cross-section looks like a square with rounded corners. It has the largest usable area among other buildings; here you can comfortably place more benches, tables, shelves, etc. The room warms up relatively quickly. Such a bathhouse will look great on the site.

Preparation of materials

You need to start (after choosing a design) by preparing the boards. Experts advise sticking to the following dimensions: the width of the board is no more than 95 cm, with a thickness of about 50 mm. The number of boards should be prepared based on the size of the building.

1. Next comes the preparation of wood for the walls, with the front wall having a doorway.
2. Prepare very strong wooden beams from which stands for the barrel are made according to the drawings made. The walls are strengthened by tightening them with metal strips, identical to the hoops on the barrel.
3. Window frames and door panels are adjusted so that the structure is a one hundred percent sealed room. The wooden benches and floors in the room are hewn and scrupulously sanded. Install a special window for ventilation.
4. Thermal insulation of the furnace uses a special building material containing no radioactive substances, and also does not form limescale.
5. First decide what type of chimney will be used. Depending on the choice, the necessary funds are selected.
6. The roof of the building also requires a careful approach. Will it be a fairly soft coating, laid simply on the ceiling of the barrel, or the installation of rigid supports in the case of creating a gable roof.
7. Stock up on the required number of stainless steel fasteners (nails or screws).

If you are planning a veranda, then it is also worth preparing the necessary building materials, tools, and fasteners.

Step-by-step instructions for building a barrel sauna.

Having prepared all the material, it is necessary to treat the wood with antiseptic impregnations, which play a protective role. After processing, the boards are thoroughly dried. You can begin installation.

Dimensions

Such a structure has standard width dimensions, approximately 2 or 2.2 m. The length varies, ranging from 2 to 6 meters. The height allows free movement of a tall man. Reviews of the barrel sauna claim that such a room can accommodate from 2 to 8 people.

The specific structure of the barrel contributes to its better heating due to the absence of corners. In just an hour, the sauna heats up to 100 degrees. The interior of this original semicircular house has a steam room, a dressing room, and a washroom. Some barrel baths may have a different placement, including the presence of a canopy and a terrace.

Construction of the base of the building

To create a base for the building, on which the entire load of the building will fall, beams should be laid. Laying is done as follows:

• A certain number of beams are taken (depending on the length of the entire structure) with the corresponding parameters;
• Recesses are cut in accordance with the drawings;
• The boards of the bottom of the barrel are laid and secured in them;
• The beams are placed at equal distances from each other, with the first beam supporting the wall with the opening for the door;
• The laid beams are firmly attached, creating a single strong frame.

The base will allow you not to worry about the displacement of the beams when installing the barrel and its further operation.

Common Questions

After 2 months of use, the barrel sauna began to resin from the inside. What to do?

You will have to remove the resin manually. Heat the bath to a temperature of 130 degrees. The resin will begin to actively release. Scrape it off with any device. Repeat the procedure several times. Gradually all the resin will come out of the wood.

I have been using the sauna for 5 years. The functionality does not fail, but the appearance has suffered. Is it possible to somehow restore the light tone of wood?

You can lighten wood with a special chlorine-based bleach.

Is it possible to take away a sauna in your gazelle?

The minimum weight of the barrel is 500 kg. The gazelle will survive, but for loading and unloading you will need a crane.

Is it necessary to insulate a barrel sauna?

If the assembly technology is followed, the barrel does not need insulation. If this is done, increased humidity is created inside, which means conditions for the development of fungus in the wood. Such a bathhouse will gain heat faster and retain it, but its overall service life will be reduced.

A barrel sauna is an excellent solution for anyone who dreams of having their own sauna on site with minimal investment. With the right choice and compliance with the rules of operation, it will last for many years and bring lovers of this type of recreation a lot of pleasure.

Assembling a barrel sauna

Punctual adherence to all steps will give a positive result and the expected pleasure from using the barrel.

• Firstly, the support beams are installed in the intended place (with a slight slope) with communications connected for drainage and drainage from the inside of the barrel bath.
• Secondly, the center is marked in all the cut out recesses of the base and the board is attached.
• Thirdly, the floor of the building is sheathed. This is done this way:
• The boards are fastened on both sides in a sequential order;
• Attention is focused on creating a single contour with notches.
• Fourthly, fastening is carried out without additional fastening supports of the outer walls.
• Fifthly, the sides are sheathed with boards.

Video description

The step-by-step assembly of the bathhouse is shown in this video:
You need to install the supports:

1. It is important to maintain an equal step. The bottom of the barrel, made of boards fastened to each other (tongue and groove), is placed on them.
2. After a sufficient circle shape has been formed, the end walls are laid out.
3. The circle is completed. Now the structure needs to be secured with metal hoops. Next, windows and doors and a roof are installed.

A font or rinsing pool can be installed nearby. During the construction of the floor, it is worth calculating the slope towards the drain (1 degree for each meter).

After the main part is ready, you can begin the roofing Source mainavi.ru

Selection of heating devices

The following products are suitable for a barrel sauna:

1. Electric heater. It is easy to install and does not require a chimney. The best option for a small barrel sauna.
2. Furnace with heat exchanger. The presence of a hot water tank, economical and rational functionality are the advantages of the device.
3. Stove with chimney. The main advantage is excellent protection of walls and ceilings from heated air.
4. Roof. Structures can be made of flexible tiles, sheet metal, which is laid on a waterproofing substrate on top of the building.
5. Interior design.

It is preferable to treat all wooden interior surfaces, elements and furniture with linseed oil. This procedure will improve resistance to moisture. A recess is created in the floor for connection with pipes through which water drains.

For comfortable movement, a removable boardwalk is laid. Shelves are installed on the sides along the walls. Apply a covering of thermal insulating material to the surface near the stove.

Connect a tank designed to heat water. They are installing water supply pipes. They install a shower (if it is designed), design a shower tray, and install plumbing equipment.

If there is space, place a table. Connect the installed wiring with waterproofing to the electrical network. A place with water is set up near the barrel bath where you can rinse off after the steam room.

It is advisable to create an attractive landscape around the barrel bath.

Light steam and excellent well-being.

Varieties

The peculiarity of a round bathhouse is that it can be equipped for any type of steam room. The design is universal: Finnish, Russian - whatever pleases the arc. If the owner often goes outdoors with friends, it doesn’t matter. He can set up a mobile sauna. Varieties:

• Finnish . Drier steam is formed inside - this is its main difference from the Russian one. A section for washing in such a bathhouse is not required; it is usually arranged near a reservoir or an additional font or swimming pool is built nearby.
• Japanese – Asians are famous for their love of cleanliness. The bathhouse should become the center of unity of the energy of the elements. The Ofura barrel is a vertical structure: that is, a cylinder that is heated at the bottom by the firebox. You can’t take a steam bath in such a bath, but relaxing in the water is no problem.

Japanese barrel sauna Ofuro Source forestlumber.com

• Russian . The bathhouse consists of two sections: a steam room and a shower. For convenience during construction, an elongated shape is used. It is important to design the water drainage. The firebox is usually located outside to keep the steam moist.
• Mobile . It should be compact. It is important to equip a full-fledged mobile drain and wheelbase.

If necessary, mobile baths can be easily transported in a trailer Source mordvinov-wood.ru

Photo of a barrel sauna