DIY Sauna Plan
- 🛠️ Beginner-Friendly Build
- ✅ Cedar Interior
- 🌡️ 200°F+ Capability
- 🔥 Red Light + Infrared Therapy
- 🚫 EMF Reducing Cage
- 🔌 Standard 120V Household Plug
- 📱 App Control
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Looking for a high-performance sauna that fits in small spaces without breaking the bank? The DIY Sauna is the ultimate solution—delivering 200°F+ heat, red light therapy benefits, plus a fully customizable, modular design that you can build yourself in one weekend.
High Heat, Small Footprint, BIG Benefits🔥
- Serious Heat – Achieves Temperatures from 175°F to 200°F+
- Infrared & Red Light Therapy – Full Spectrum Benefits
- Space-Saving, Modular Design – Perfect for garage gyms, basements, or indoor spaces. Disassembles for easy transport.
- No electrician required – Plugs into a standard outlet.
- Fully Insulated with Cedar Interior – Premium look, energy efficient and that classic sauna feel.
- Cost-Effective DIY Build – A fraction of the cost of traditional saunas – complete build costs around $1,200.
- Spouse-Approved – Perfect for the whole household, even if cold plunges aren’t their thing.
This beginner friendly, step-by-step plan walks you through everything you need to build your own DIY Sauna. Materials list, cut plans, assembly tutorials (and more) are all included. I also cover big learns from the project ranging from EMF reduction to maintenance tips and potential add-ons.
These plans eliminate the guesswork and save you time.
Plans Include:
✔️ Detailed Build Instructions with Video
✔️ Complete Shopping List
✔️ Cut List
✔️ Customization Options & More
🔥 Ready to build your own sauna?
Download the DIY Infrared Sauna Plans today and start sweating!
|
Build Dimensions |
Length |
Width |
Height |
| "Standard" Exterior | ~54" | ~31-1/2" | ~46" |
| "Standard" Interior | ~49" | ~27" | ~40" |
| "XL" Exterior | ~60" | ~37" | ~50" |
| "XL" Interior | ~56" | ~33-1/2" | ~45" |
|
Heating Times (~65°F Ambient Temp) x4 250W Bulbs |
Standard |
XL |
| 1 Hour | ~190°F | ~170°F |
| 2 Hours | ~210°F | ~190°F |
| 3 Hours | ~220°F+ | ~200°F |
|
Heating Times (~65°F Ambient Temp) x2 250W Bulbs & x2 375W Bulbs |
Standard |
XL |
| 1 Hour | ~210°F | ~190°F |
| 2 Hours | ~235°F | ~215°F |
All digital download orders are final and non-refundable.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I've done my best to answer all of the questions that have been pouring in over the DIY Sauna – feel free to reach out if there's anything I've missed!
Plan Overview
The DIY Sauna Plan is a step-by-step guide that walks you through building a 175–220°F capable sauna for a fraction of the cost of buying one.
FYI –This isn’t a cookie-cutter cornhole board printout… It includes:
- Complete shopping lists with direct links
- Detailed cut plans for two sauna sizes
- Color-coded assembly diagrams
- Video tutorials covering every aspect of the build.
It’s designed for first-timers—clear instructions, easy-to-find materials, and pro-level results.
Think of it as having a buddy who’s already built it, showing you every step 👍
Don’t believe me? Check out customer builds and feedback here.
Total Cost?
The DIY Sauna is about $1,200–$1,300 all-in... right down to sandpaper and screws.
That's literally thousands less than buying a prefab sauna — plus you get the pride of saying "I built this myself."
Here's the breakdown.
- DIY Heater Kit & Plan – ~$550.00
- Dimensional Lumber – ~$60.00
- Cedar Boards & Lumber – ~$210.00
- Exterior Panel/Board – ~$160.00
- Screws & Nails – ~$60.00
- Casters (Optional) – ~$35.00
- Magnets & Hinges – ~$12.00
- Vapor Barrier & Foil Tape – ~$90
- Insulation – ~$55
- Stain & Oil – ~$30
- Brushes, Sandpaper, etc. – ~$10
Grand Total (Estimate) ~$1,272.00
Dimensions?
If you build based on the plan, you’ve got two sizes available (see diagrams & images above). The beauty of DIY, however, is that you can customize your build to suit your needs.
The "Standard" – ~54" x ~31-1/2" x ~46"
The "XL" – ~60" x ~37" x ~50"
Want a peek at what it looks like inside
Tools Needed?
I designed this build to be completed using basic tools – ones you likely have on hand or could easily borrow from a friend.
The required tools are in bold below, but life is easier if you can at least gain access to everything listed here.
- Miter Saw or Circular Saw
- Jigsaw
- Drill
- Orbital Sander
- Brad Nailer
- Pocket Hole Jig
- Hammer
- Tape Measure
- Framing Square
- Utility Knife
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Sharpie
Heat Source?
I recommend using the DIY Heater Kit for this build – yes, I developed it myself but it is truly the most cost-effective heater for this style of sauna on the market.
It utilizes four IR heat lamps and can easily heat the sauna over 200°F, provides red light and infrared therapy and reduces EMFs.
So is it infrared or... ?
The DIY Sauna is the best of both worlds. It heats to traditional sauna temperatures AND packs the benefits of infrared heat.
If you want the full list of recommended heaters, shoot me an email and I'll send you the heater section of the DIY Sauna Plan.
Recommended Bulbs?
There’s a number of options out there for these bulbs – there’s nothing new here in regard to sauna therapy, they’ve been used in sauna products (and even bathrooms) for years. They come in either 275W or 375W.
I’ve tested a good amount of bulbs and have my top recommendations linked in the plan and an overview in this YouTube segment.
Power Draw? Cost to Run?
The Heater Kit pulls about 8A with four 275W bulbs, and about 12.5A with two 275W and two 375W bulbs.
With heavy, daily use you can still expect operating costs to be less than $100/year. That’s literally pennies compared to a spa membership.
Heat up times?
Ambient temperature plays a factor here, but from cold start, it hits sauna-level temps in about an hour.
There's a table above that shows what to expect but most customer reviews say it heats up faster – feel free to read up on the reviews below 👍
Customer Reviews
Everything is going together perfectly. I appreciate the planning you put together to make it easy to build.
I’ve been following Joe from his first DiY Cold Plunge. Because he is trustworthy, through, helpful and knowledgeable I decided to purchase the DiY Sauna and Heater Kit. It is 100% as advertised! It checks all of the boxes on what I (and so many others) was looking for. Easy to build, 200+ degrees, small footprint, red light therapy, etc. This plan checks all of those boxes.
If you are on the fence… Do it! You will not be disappointed. Side note… Joe is super helpful and quick to answer questions as needed. Cold Plunge Next!
I have wanted to add a sauna to my home gym for years, but price of entry and space were limiting factors for me. After finding Joe's design I finally pulled the trigger and am so glad I did. After sourcing materials, I was able to complete the build in a weekend. I had a lot of left over cedar tongue and grove left after lining the inside and was able to cover the exterior in cedar with an additional 4-5 packs of T&G (which was less then plywood at my HD). It requires more time and cuts but I really love the look. Joe's plans are worth it, very detailed, easy to follow and the videos are great when more detail is needed. Someone with no carpentry experience should be able to easily complete this build, the plans are that good.
The performance of the sauna has been just as described; my XL heats up to around 180 in 1 hour. I have used it daily since completing it, my wife enjoys it as well. Totally worth it!
Just a quick review with video of my mostly completed XL build. I wont go into the pros and cons of the building process itself because at this point I'm over it. This will just focus on the product itself.
Im just under 6' tall and figured I would need the XL to accommodate for comfortable seating where I could stretch my legs. For the most part this has proved to be true, I can stretch my legs but, as my sauna is set up in my laundry room, its much to wide to fit through the door way. Though it required a lot of extra work, I put my sides and top together using cap bolts with threaded inserts so I can take it apart and put it back together again without the worry of wearing out screw holes. Probably overkill as I don't expect to be moving the sauna anytime soon. i went with the DIY light box set up and originally had it mounted to the front wall using Ruby Lux bulbs from Amazon. Having read that 12"-24" distance from the bulbs is the sweet spot for therapeutic use, for a month or so I would just scrunch myself up close to the light for my 15 -20 minutes sauna sessions. I installed some closet pole fittings and cut a round wooden closet pole so after scrunching into position I could slide my back rest in and somewhat lean back and relax. After burning my knees several times while getting into position, I built and installed a wood frame around the metal box. Now climbing in and scrunching forward and sitting in a lotus position worked well for the most part, I eventually smartened up and just installed a long arm tv mount and put the light/heater box on it. Now i can sit back, stretch my legs comfortably and move the box closer or further depending how close I care to have it. I started this review stating that my build is semi completed and the reason for that is that there have been some several tweaks along the way. I bought the exhaust fan kit but never installed it as I wanted to keep the heat in. As it is now I can barely stay in for 20 minutes before i tap out. I have two thermometers installed but since eye glasses don't work out well inside, I pretty much have to speculate as to what the correct temperature is. My routine is to start it up in the morning while I'm having my coffee, by the time I'm done procrastinating and finish my workout, it'll have been running for at least 1-2 hrs with a temp of 175º-180º(I think, might be higher). Thats more then enough heat for me. I'm still on the fence about the fan as I don't feel that I need it. P.S. the bare wood gets hot and theres a lot of sweat so i put a moisture absorbing pad down as well as a gel butt cushion, that too gets hot so I have another piece of foam and a small towel that I put down when I get in. I also made a video but for some reason when I try click to install, it's not lit up to install(it's in mp4).
This is great took my husband and I 3 days to build and paint we have used it several times now and love it, the red light therapy is the best I feel more energetic and the dry heat is great.
