Everything You Should Know about a Barrel Sauna

Indoor and outdoor saunas have quite literally become the hottest home improvement accessories for modern homes these days. While indoor infrared saunas are a common choice, outdoor saunas come in versatile designs too. A barrel sauna is such a one-of-a-kind design that originated in the 1970s with the popularization of wooden cedar barrel hot tubs.

A barrel sauna is inspired by the original wine and whiskey barrels at vineries worldwide. While its creation’s initial purpose was to reduce a sauna’s overall manufacturing costs, it’s now a signature style that adds significant value to a home’s landscape.

Here are some fascinating features of a barrel sauna:

Assembly

Barrel saunas have a smartly-engineered design. They’re round and compact like a massive barrel. Unlike a regular sauna kit, you don’t need many cutting tools to assemble or place the sauna. In fact, sauna manufacturers build these barrels on-site with cedar boards, encompassing around two circular end walls.

All you need to assemble a barrel sauna in your backyard are some 2x4 cedar boards and a set of locking rings to secure them.

Insulation

Despite its simple and effortless assembly, barrel saunas don’t guarantee wall insulation like traditional and infrared saunas. They don’t have a vapor barrier, which may not provide an intense heat supply across the room. Moreover, the wooden sauna walls aren’t sufficient enough to warm up the room intensively.

Therefore, installing barrel saunas outdoors ins’t ideal if you live in a region with frigid temperatures or frequent snowfall.

Maintenance

A barrel sauna’s interior design and structural integrity is questionable, which means its cedar boards may be subject to leaks due to rains or snow melts. As a result, you may have to maintain the sauna regularly by replacing its cedar wood panels every few months.

While you can always cover your barrel sauna when not in use or build a secondary roof on top of it, you should remain prepared for the maintenance issues that may arise due to climatic changes.

Benches

While most indoor saunas have multiple benches with upper and lower heights, barrel saunas are only one bench high. It’s a significant disadvantage for people who choose to sit on an upper bench for intense heat or a lower bench for moderate heat therapy. You may have to compromise on such flexibility with a barrel sauna.

With this in mind, it’s safe to say that barrel saunas are great additions to your house if you live in areas with a temperate climate and require moderate heat therapy during sauna sessions.

While you can always purchase an outdoor barrel sauna for sale online, it’s better to pick infrared saunas that are strong, durable, reliable, and more convenient. Check out our wide range of saunas at USA Health & Wellness to determine the type of infrared saunas that’ll fit your needs the best. Shop with us today!