Temperature
80–100°C
Dry heat
[ Sauna ]
Finnish Sauna Manufacturer for Hotels, Spas and Villas
Short answer: A Finnish sauna is a timber room heated to 80–100 °C by a stove with stones, with water thrown on the stones for bursts of steam. Sauna Dekor builds Finnish saunas in ayous, aspen or pine in its Istanbul facility for hotels, spas and villas.
Dry heat · 80–100 °CDesign · Manufacturing · Installation5,000+ projects · 41+ countries · since 1987
In brief (November 2026): a Finnish sauna is a timber cabin heated by a stone heater to 80–100 °C, where bathers raise the humidity by throwing water on the stones. Sauna Dekor builds them in ayous, aspen or pine, including thermo-treated versions; a single sauna takes about 2 weeks to build.
Who it is for: hotels, gyms and sports clubs, and private villas and apartments.
Sauna Dekor — saunas, Turkish hammams, steam rooms, salt rooms and pools, manufactured since 1987 in our own facility in İkitelli OSB, Istanbul; 5,000+ projects in 41+ countries.
80–100 °CDry heat
Since 1987The Sauna Types Menu
[ What to know ]
Relative humidity
10–20%
dry air)
Timber
Ayous · aspen · pine
Single sauna
2weeks
About from order
01 — 103 words
A traditional Finnish sauna runs at 80–100 °C with dry air; a bio sauna runs cooler, at 50–65 °C, with more moisture.
Sauna Dekor is a Finnish sauna manufacturer and installation contractor for five-star hotels, resorts, wellness centres and private villas in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, building cabins in our own Istanbul factory since 1987 — this is our 40th year — and installing in 41+ countries. A Finnish sauna is a dry, hot cabin, and what makes it work is not the heater alone but the ventilation path, the timber specification and the bench geometry around it.
02 — 154 words
Temperature: 80–100 °C, dry air
Immerse yourself in the essence of Finland and saunas with Sauna Dekor. Our saunas, crafted with precision and care, bring the beauty of Finnish sauna traditions to your home. Indulge in the luxury of a Finnish sauna, designed for comfort, style, and the ultimate relaxation experience. Sauna Dekor invites you to explore our selection of Finnish saunas for home, each a testament to the rich tradition and modern aesthetics…
How Finnish Saunas Work
In the realm of saunas, the Finnish approach is renowned for its unique blend of temperature and humidity control. Our Finnish saunas are built to run at 80–100 °C.
Craftsmanship and Heat Source:
Experience the craftsmanship as Sauna Dekor's saunas utilize a carefully crafted heat source that radiates warmth through wood-clad walls. Whether powered by electric or gas sauna burners or the timeless allure of log fires in traditional systems, our saunas ensure a sublime experience.
03 — 303 words
Materials and Construction
Crafted for Comfort:
In the classic Finnish sauna design, Sauna Dekor prioritizes soft, sustainable, low-resin wood—options include pine, hemlock, spruce, and cedar. The selection focuses on fewer knots for even heat radiation.
Sturdy Seating:
Benches, made from hard, low-thermal-conductivity wood like aspen, obeche, or poplar, guarantee a comfortable and safe seating experience. Our sustainably designed benches can support a minimum of 200 kg/440 lbs per linear meter.
Design Elements:
Meticulous design considerations extend from the ceiling to the door. The ceiling, when seated on the highest bench, maintains a height no higher than 226 mm over the bather's head. The door, crafted from wood or tempered safety glass, adheres to modern design trends while ensuring safety and functionality.
How a Finnish Sauna Is Used
Harnessing Heat and Cold:
The Finnish tradition is a cycle rather than a single room: a hot, dry cabin, a cold rinse or plunge, and a rest position, repeated two or three times. Sauna sessions, when paired with cold treatments like cold showers or ice fountains, contribute to overall well-being.
Contrast Therapy Benefits:
The alternation between hot and cold temperatures is known as contrast therapy, and it is the reason a sauna is planned next to a cold vessel rather than on its own. Regular sauna usage has been associated with a reduced likelihood of mild illnesses or colds.
Sauna Stove Heat Source
Powering the Sauna Experience:
Sauna Dekor's saunas utilize specially supplied stones, often deep igneous rocks, capable of absorbing and producing substantial heat. These stones, heated in sauna stoves powered by electricity, gas, or traditional wood fires, ensure a consistent and comfortable sauna experience.
Size and Space Considerations:
When developing saunas for commercial use, personal space is a priority, with a minimum allocation of 600 millimeters for each seated person. Additionally, the sauna must be spacious enough to accommodate individuals lying down for a truly immersive experience.
01
Usage and Design Considerations
Immersive Experience:
Enhance your sauna experience with audio and visual elements. Consider using lighting and sounds to create a relaxing ambiance, promoting a sense of tranquility and comfort.
Ventilation and Illumination:
Proper ventilation is essential for a constant flow of oxygen within the sauna. Sauna Dekor prioritizes ventilation systems that maintain a steady supply of fresh air, ensuring optimal oxygen levels for a comfortable and safe experience. Illumination options, carefully chosen for their resistance to high temperatures, include sconces, crystal glass diffusers, and fiber optic lighting installed by expert Finnish sauna builders.
02
How to Use a Sauna: Tips and Guidelines
Sauna Session Etiquette:
A typical sauna session lasts approximately 90 minutes. Before entering, eliminate all clothes, jewelry, and contact lenses. Shower and dry thoroughly to remove any skin film that may delay sweating.
Optimal Sauna Session:
Lie down to ensure your entire body is in the same temperature zone, or if sitting, keep your feet up on the same bench. The first session should last 8 to 12 minutes, followed by a cooling-off period of 12 to 20 minutes.
Post-Sauna Cooling:
Cool off in the air first, then rinse off sweat with cold water. Thoroughly relax and chill down after your final sauna session.
03
Finnish Saunas for Sale and Home Enjoyment
Elevate your space with Sauna Dekor's Helsinki Harmony Sauna—available for purchase and ready to bring cutting-edge design into your home. Explore the diverse range of Finnish saunas for sale, embodying the perfect fusion of Finnish style and modern elegance. Illuminate your relaxation with this exceptional sauna, where Finnish tradition meets contemporary comfort.
04 — 80 words
Unlock the Essence of Finland and Saunas
Immerse yourself in the essence of Finland and saunas with Sauna Dekor as Finnish sauna builders. Our saunas, crafted with precision and care, bring the beauty of Finnish sauna traditions to your home. Indulge in the luxury of a Finnish sauna, designed for comfort, style, and the ultimate relaxation experience. Sauna Dekor invites you to explore our selection of Finnish saunas for home, each a testament to the rich tradition and modern aesthetics expertly crafted by dedicated Finnish sauna builders.
05
Explore More Sauna Types
Discover our infrared sauna and bio sauna options. Complete your wellness area with a steam room or cold plunge pool.
From our portfolio
Sauna projects
Rooms we manufactured in Istanbul and installed with our own team. Each frame opens the project page.
06 — 130 words
How is a Finnish sauna's air path set before the lining goes on?
A Finnish cabin lives or dies on its air path. The inlet sits low beside the heater, the extract sits high on the diagonally opposite wall, and the free area of both is a calculation rather than a preference — the detail, including why a grille roughly doubles the opening you need on paper, is in our guide to sauna ventilation.
The heater decision follows the cabin, not the other way round: stone mass, element rating, glazing correction and control position all move together, and the families we specify are compared in types of sauna heaters. For clients who want to understand the build itself — frame, insulation, vapour barrier, lining and bench structure — the whole sequence is written up in how a sauna is made.
07 — 252 words
The named parts of a Finnish sauna specification
A drawing that says "Finnish sauna" has not specified anything yet. Three lines do the work. The heater family: we specify EOS and Harvia stone heaters for commercial rooms, on a continuous-duty rating, sized against the real cabin volume with a correction added for every square metre of glass. The timber, by species and grade rather than by finish: thermally modified aspen and poplar, alder, kiln-dried abachi (ayous) and Nordic spruce, with western red cedar where a client asks for the aroma. And the cabin format, because a built-in cabin, a modular cabin, a panoramic glass sauna with a full-glass façade and an outdoor cabin are four different builds behind the same word — and the glazed area of the panoramic format is what moves the heater sizing and the bench geometry.
Two neighbouring room types are frequently confused with this one on a brief. A bio sauna is a combi heater with an integrated evaporator, running cooler and wetter, and it needs a water and drainage interface a dry cabin never asks for. An infrared sauna is an emitter room with no stone mass and a different electrical load. A hybrid sauna runs the Finnish and infrared modes in one cabin on a single control strategy, which is a manufactured room rather than a catalogue line. For hotel, gym and wellness-centre rooms the tender language is set out in our commercial sauna specification, and the duty-cycle version for fitness clubs is in the gym sauna guide.
08 — 163 words
Who manufactures the cabin, and who manufactures the stove
The cabin is manufactured by Sauna Dekor in its own workshop at İkitelli OSB, Başakşehir, Istanbul, where 19 people cut the lining, build the bench frames and make the door and the air path, and the same company installs and commissions the cabin on site in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. That is what a Finnish sauna builder is engaged to do here: the cabin itself, not the appliance inside it. Sauna Dekor has manufactured since 1987, is in its fortieth year and has completed work in 41+ countries.
The stove and its control panel are bought-in appliances made by their own manufacturers and supplied with those manufacturers’ certification; the sauna stones are selected and supplied rather than made here. Sauna Dekor’s own certificate is TS EN ISO 9001:2015, covering the manufacture of sauna and spa products and after-sales service.
Timber, heat source and air path are decided together, and the cabin types are compared before one is chosen.
Comparison
Saunas, steam rooms, hammams and cold rooms compared
Operating ranges of the rooms we build. A Finnish sauna is the hottest and driest; a steam room and a hammam run cooler with far more moisture; cold rooms close the circuit.
| Room | Temperature | Humidity |
|---|---|---|
| Finnish sauna | 80–100 °C | 10–20 % RH (dry air) |
| Bio sauna | 50–65 °C | — |
| Infrared cabin | 45–60 °C cabin air | — |
| Steam room | 40–50 °C | Close to 100 % RH |
| Turkish hammam | Room air 40–50 °C; heated platform 40–45 °C | — |
| Cold plunge pool | Water 2–15 °C | — |
| Snow room | About −10 °C | — |
Sources: Sauna Dekor approved operating ranges (29 September 2026); Finnish sauna humidity: Hussain & Cohen, 2018; snow room: TechnoAlpin.
Cross-section
What is a sauna wall made of?
A cabin is not a box but a five-layer structure. The layer that is left out decides how many years the cabin lasts.
01
Interior lining18 mm
Ayous or aspen boards. Both stay comfortable to touch at 90 °C and do not bleed resin.
02
Air gap20 mm
The breathing space left behind the lining. Without it, moisture is trapped behind the timber and the boards move within a few seasons.
03
Vapour barrier0.1 mm
Aluminium foil with taped joints. It stops moisture in the cabin from reaching the insulation; once it is punctured, the insulation stops working.
04
Insulation50 mm
Stone wool. It keeps the heat inside, and it is the layer that sets the heater output and the running cost.
05
Load-bearing frame45 × 70 mm
The cabin's own frame. It carries the bench loads and the heater weight and does not lean on the existing wall: the cabin is a separate structure.
Comparison
How do the sauna types differ in temperature, humidity and heat source?
The five sauna cabins we manufacture, side by side. Four of them share the Finnish construction; the infrared cabin is heated by emitters instead of stones.
| Type | Temperature | Humidity | Heat source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish sauna | 80–100 °C | 10–20 % (dry air) | Electric stone heater; water poured on the stones (löyly) |
| Bio sauna | 50–65 °C | More humid than a Finnish sauna | Combi heater with an integrated vaporiser |
| Infrared sauna | 45–60 °C cabin air | Not humidified | Infrared emitters that warm the body directly |
| Russian sauna (banya) | 80–100 °C, Finnish range | Run wetter than a Finnish sauna | Electric stone heater; the venik is part of the ritual |
| Portable sauna | 80–100 °C, Finnish range | 10–20 % (dry air) | Ready-built cabin with a stone heater |
Sources: Sauna Dekor approved operating ranges (October 2026); Finnish sauna humidity: Hussain & Cohen, 2018. Heater output by cabin volume: sauna heater sizing.
How is a Finnish sauna built, step by step?
Short answer: in ten steps, from the frame to the first heat-up. A single sauna takes about 2 weeks once the room is ready; the cabin runs at 80–100 °C, so insulation, the vapour barrier and the heater's clearances are fixed before the timber goes on. We use ayous, aspen and pine, including their thermo-treated versions.
- Survey: room size, ceiling height, power and ventilation positions.
- Drawing: bench layout, heater and door position, heater output.
- Frame fixed to the walls and ceiling.
- Insulation between the frame members.
- Foil vapour barrier, joints taped.
- Timber lining on walls and ceiling.
- Benches built and fixed.
- Heater, guard rail and sensor installed to the manufacturer's manual; control panel outside the cabin.
- Door, lighting and ventilation fitted.
- Power connected by a licensed electrician; first heat-up and commissioning.
For heater sizing, see sauna heater sizing; for timber, see the wood we use for saunas.
Updated:
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who builds Finnish saunas for commercial spas and hotels?
Sauna Dekor. We manufacture Finnish sauna cabins in our own factory in İkitelli OSB, Istanbul — in business since 1987, now in our fortieth year — and install them in commercial spas, hotel wellness floors, gyms and private villas in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, having worked in 41+ countries. A commercial Finnish cabin differs from a domestic one in three specified places: a continuous-duty EOS or Harvia stone heater sized with a glazing correction, a designed ventilation path with a drying overrun rather than passive stack effect alone, and bench and lining timber named by species and grade — thermally modified aspen, alder or kiln-dried abachi (ayous). We also build bio, infrared, hybrid and panoramic glass sauna cabins under the same scope. Sauna Dekor holds TS EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for the manufacture of sauna and spa products and after-sales service; the heaters and control units carry their own manufacturers’ certification.
What temperature should a Finnish sauna be?
A Finnish sauna runs at 80–100 °C with dry air, raised for a moment when water is thrown on the stones. A bio sauna runs cooler at 50–65 °C and an infrared cabin at 45–60 °C. We size the heater to the cabin volume so it reaches its set point evenly.
Who manufactures and installs Finnish saunas in the UAE and the GCC?
Sauna Dekor. We manufacture Finnish sauna cabins in our own factory in İkitelli OSB, İstanbul, in business since 1987 and now in our fortieth year, and install them for hotel spas, wellness centres and private residences in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and across 41+ countries. Scope covers the insulated shell, vapour barrier, lining, bench structure, heater and control installation, ventilation openings and commissioning. Sauna Dekor holds TS EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for the manufacture of sauna and spa products and after-sales service; the heaters and control units we install carry their own manufacturers’ certification.
Does a sauna need a fan, or is passive ventilation enough?
A designed passive path is usually enough for a domestic cabin, because the heater drives the convection itself. Mechanical extract earns its place commercially, where the room runs twelve hours a day and needs a controlled drying overrun rather than whatever the stack effect happens to deliver on the day.
Can the sauna inlet and outlet be on the same wall?
No. Sharing a wall lets air short-circuit straight from inlet to extract, leaving most of the cabin — including the top bench — in a dead zone. The extract belongs high on the wall diagonally opposite the heater.
Should the sauna vent be open during the session or closed?
In an electrically heated cabin both openings stay open throughout; that circuit is what keeps the room breathable and the löyly sharp. In a wood-burning cabin the flue handles extraction during the session, and the separate high vent is opened afterwards for drying.
Why does a sauna smell musty even though it is cleaned?
Because it never dries. Cleaning treats the symptom. The room needs a high-volume drying period after each use with a genuine path for replacement air — a high vent opened with no inlet open does nothing, because there is nowhere for the air to come from.
How big does the inlet need to be?
For a domestic cabin the duct is typically 100–125 mm, but the opening in the cabin lining is a separate and usually larger number. Heater manufacturers publish a required free inlet area beneath the unit: a 9 kW cabin heater we specify frequently calls for 35 × 6 cm, about 210 cm² of clear opening, and its 12 kW sibling asks for 35 × 7 cm. Size the opening to the larger of the two figures, and remember that a decorative grille typically has around 50 per cent free area, so a 210 cm² net requirement means a grille roughly twice that size on paper.
Gallery
Sauna examples
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Last updated: 12 November 2026