Outdoor Sauna Buying Guide

Our range of outdoor saunas bring rural Finnish relaxation to life. Nestled between trees in the garden or on a peaceful patio, our outdoor saunas provide a soothing place to unwind surrounded by nature. Each outdoor sauna comes as a ready-to-go free-standing timber cabin made in our UK factory for either two, four or six people. Once you’ve chosen your sauna, it will be delivered flat-packed to your door, ready to be installed. 

An outdoor sauna is a standalone wooden cabin that is placed outside. Inside, it works just like a Finnish sauna. It’s warmed up by a heater with rocks to an average temperature between 70°C and 90°C, with a maximum of 110°C. You can add water to the rocks for a short burst of steam that will leave your skin feeling hot, but the high air temperature usually stays above dewpoint (the point at which air becomes humid) so it remains dry. 

The cabin comes with a timber floor mat, benches, backrest, electric heater with digital controls, lighting and accessory pack as standard. 

You simply turn it on and either sit or lie down on the benches that are installed inside (depending on which sauna size you have) and allow yourself to be absorbed in the heat. You can choose your preferred temperature level and decide how much time you spend in there – but remember that the upper level will be hotter because heat rises. If you’re new to the experience, we recommend starting lower and slowly increasing. 

Most people will sit inside for about 15 minutes before having a cold shower, resting for 30 minutes, and then repeating the same pattern. You can do this two or three times, so that an average session lasts about two hours.

Research shows that there are some great health benefits associated with using saunas. Raising the body temperature and heat exposure has been shown to reduce blood pressure, cardiac illnesses and stress. As well as that, there’s also evidence that it benefits the respiratory system, muscle and bone mass, chronic illnesses and can help you live longer. 

If you are intending to use a sauna for a health condition, we recommend you consult your GP first. Please also be mindful that there are some risks associated with using a sauna, so you should make sure to stay hydrated and avoid drinking alcohol. 

We have lots of different styles of saunas and steam rooms. If you don’t think the Oceanic Outdoor Sauna is the right choice, find something else to suit you: 

Oceanic Commercial Sauna for a heavy duty Finnish sauna 
Oceanic Finnish Sauna to use inside 
Oceanic Infrared Sauna for people who prefer a lower air temperature 
Oceanic Saunarium if you want to add a steam generator to your sauna
Oceanic Steam Rooms for a more humid experience 

All of our saunas come flat-packed with assembly instructions. Unless you’re a dab hand at DIY, we suggest you choose a local fitter or carpenter to install it. If you can’t find anyone local, we can recommend someone who is familiar with our products. 

Our outdoor saunas must be installed onto a level, solid base, such as concrete, garden slabs or a timber deck. You should not install them directly onto loose slabs, rubble, lawn, gravel or dirt.

The sauna heater inside doesn’t work from a three-pin plug; it needs hardwiring with an isolator switch using a high-temperature silicone rubber cable to a BSEN 6141 (which is not included but can be purchased from Oceanic as an optional extra). The sauna must be installed by a qualified electrician.

Watch our Oceanic Outdoor Sauna installation video. 

Read our installation manual for the sauna cabin and heater. 

Now for the fun bit. We provide ready-to-go sauna parts in different sizes so that it’s super easy to build your dream sauna. Simply customise how you want it to look, from the room layout to the accessories, and we’ll sort the rest. 

Our outdoor cabins come in three different sizes:

E2020 / EIR2020 Two people: 1,711 x 1,750 x 2,406mm with 4.5kw heater
E2030 / EIR2030 Four people: 2,385 x 2,406 x 2,406mm with 6kw heater
E3030 / EIR3030 Six people: 2,385 x 2,406 x 2,406mm with 9kw heater

For our outdoor saunas, we use triple-insulated panels. That means each wall panel has two layers of Rockwool insulation, as well as a layer of foil, to provide maximum insulation.

External cladding

For cladding on the outside of the cabin, we use 21mm ThermoWood, which has excellent water-repelling properties. ThermoWood is slowly heated to 212°C in a chemical-free heat treatment to give it a lifespan of around 30 years, making it an ideal choice for external cladding.

It has an attractive golden-brown appearance with a straight grain and a fine texture, but you will need to apply a surface coating to prevent it from going grey over time. 

Interior cladding 

The interior is clad in spruce as standard with the option of upgrading to knot-free Canadian hemlock for a premium finish. We fix the timber to the panel frame so that you can’t see the nails, giving it a smooth, clean finish. 

Scandinavian spruce

Spruce is an ideal material for saunas because it has low heat absorption and a low resin content. In the northern areas of Scandinavia where it’s cooler, the trees are pruned and thinned and they grow slowly to provide strong, straight timbers. The timber is kiln dried in the country of origin, then checked for quality before being assembled into a sauna cabin. We only purchase top-grade material that is free from dead knots, splits and shakes.  

Canadian hemlock

Western Canadian hemlock is another excellent timber for saunas. It doesn’t warp even when exposed to extreme conditions, it’s knot and resin free, very hard and strong and has an attractive straight grain. Hemlock ranges in colour from warm reds to browns, which combine to create a beautiful appearance. This timber is typically around twice the cost of Scandinavian spruce so it will affect the final price of your sauna. The frame of any glass or door panels will also be made from Hemlock if selected.

Saunas are a safe, relaxing space, which is why our saunas are typically made from untreated timber so as not to release any chemicals in the air. If you want to protect the colour of the timber on the inside, you can use our specially manufactured sauna wax which won’t produce any toxins, and we have a bench protector to make it easier to clean.

Our bench kits come with benches, backrests, floor mats and head rests. Benches can be open or filled in, but please note that we use more timber for the filled-in option so it’s more expensive.

You can choose from either spruce or knot-free abachi timber for the benches, backrests and floor mats. Abachi timber is less dense and cooler to the touch, so you don’t need a towel when you sit on it, but it is typically around twice the price of spruce.

The glass panel in the sauna door, and any additional glass panels, are made from double-glazed and toughened bronze reflective glass. The reflective coating on the outside makes it more private for the bathers inside, while also letting natural light flood in and improving insulation. This mirror effect and the natural weathering of the cladding help the sauna to blend in with the surroundings so it sits harmoniously within an outside space. 

The door has been specifically designed to withstand long, wet winters and is resistant to swelling. It has extra heavy-duty storm hinges and a robust door handle, as well as a triple insulated interior and a double-glazed panel, to keep the heat in and the weather out.

The sauna wall panels sit on a sturdy 90mm x 38mm tanalised (pressure treated) timber base. This lifts the panels off the floor and away from any water to make them last longer.

The gable roof has been designed to protect the sauna from weather all year round and is finished with 12mm-thick roofing boards, a breathable membrane and attractive dark grey felt roof shingles. The roof structure sits above triple insulated internal ceiling panels to maximise thermal insulation.

A wall-mounted sauna heater with built-in digital controls is supplied as standard, complete with rocks and a heater guard. However, you can choose to upgrade to a saunarium with a mini steam generator or an Apollo sauna heater with an Apollo steam generator. 

The sauna controls are available as either a push-button, oval keypad digital system or you can upgrade to a touchscreen OSX keypad digital system.

To brighten up your sauna, you can opt for a variety of lighting options, which include: 

Low-voltage downlights, which are provided as standard. These can either be controlled via an external control system or wired into a nearby wall switch
Linear LED ‘accent’ lighting kit (warm white or colour change options), which sit behind the backrest or under the benches (this is a new feature for our new range).
Wall lamp and shade
Fibre optic ceiling lighting with changing colours and twinkle effects
Chromatherapy wall light, which emits different colours for a calming and balancing ambience

Want to add in a few more gadgets? If you fancy listening to some music while you kick back, we can provide bluetooth, heat-proof IP-rated speakers that can be fitted into the ceiling panels. 

Our outdoor saunas come with a bucket and ladle, a 15-minute sand timer, thermometer, and four 120ml fragrances. But if you want an even more blissful bathing session, there are plenty more accessories to add to your basket.