Indoor Sauna...

[Brent.ff]

Have an unfinished basement and have an overly large area roughed in for a bathroom that is seperate from the main portion of the basement... thinkin could be an interesting idea to turn it into a shower/sauna combo...

Anyone have experience with that? Terrible idea? Great idea? Any contractor recommendations ?

[killramos]

We have a well sealed steam shower in the basement that. Kindof accomplishes the same thing?

Just stuck a little teak shower bench in there. Simple.

The last couple owners of the house were incapable of the most basic of home maintenance and it is still working so they can’t be that fickle?

[rage2]

I grew up with an indoor sauna. Fucking loved it. But it’s 2021, sealed steam shower is the way to go, without pouring water on rocks manually.

[ExtraSlow]

Sealed steam shower and some level 11 bathroom ventilation fans. Make the shower stall "too big" with tile bench at one end and flip down teak bench at the other end. Then there's room for the whole swingers party to get in there. Line drain too obvs.

[Brent.ff]

Then there's room for the whole swingers party to get in there. Line drain too obvs.

It is Airdrie after all...

[ThePenIsMightier]

We put a custom* steam shower built into our basement and it's awesome. Highly recommend.
I've got lessons learned which haven't caused big issues, but I've been meaning to start a thread to get some advice on how to tune up a couple small items.

*I'm not trying to be all Aspen. I just mean it's not one of those pod kits. It's a larger, normal shower with two heads, and, a steam generator.

[vengie]

I’ll be reno’ing my master in the near term and will do a sealed steam shower.

Other option is an infrared sauna in the basement?
I use mine quite frequently

[bjstare]

Steam shower >>> Sauna

I would 11/10 do this if I was reno'ing.

[ExtraSlow]

Steam large enough for a 7 person orgy is the correct answer.

[JRSC00LUDE]

My steam shower gets unbearably hot, it's fantastic.

All about the waterproofing, don't cheap out on the tile work so expect it to be expensive.

EDIT - I still want a good infrared as well.

[vengie]

My steam shower gets unbearably hot, it's fantastic.

All about the waterproofing, don't cheap out on the tile work so expect it to be expensive.

EDIT - I still want a good infrared as well.

I'm anticipating ~$5k for a tiled steam shower, 3'x5'x7.5'... does that seem reasonable?

[ThePenIsMightier]

I'm anticipating ~$5k for a tiled steam shower, 3'x5'x7.5'... does that seem reasonable?

One of those pod ones is around $5k, so I don't think you'll beat that with tile. Don't forget you need 240V, as well.

[revelations]

A combination setup gives you many more options and will up the resale. Nothing better than a steam bath when its -30c outside. I probably spend a good 1 hour a week in mine in the winter. Love (wet) saunas too.

[JRSC00LUDE]

I'm anticipating ~$5k for a tiled steam shower, 3'x5'x7.5'... does that seem reasonable?

I spent approx. double that with the glass and everything done I am pretty sure and am 3x6x9. I used fairly pricey large format tile though too. Personal opinion, make sure they use Kerdi membrane. Many guys will tell you the roll-on waterproofing is good enough and if they do - fire them and hire a better person imo. I made my guy do epoxy grout as well, and while he hated it and said it was unnecessary I didn't care. It won't stain and is impervious to water, once and done. Your tile guy doesn't have to deal with potential of issues 5 years down the road haha. Once I told him I'll pay for his tools and pay him by the hour to grout he didn't care anymore. It IS a pain in the ass to work with.

[vengie]

I spent approx. double that with the glass and everything done I am pretty sure and am 3x6x9. I used fairly pricey large format tile though too. Personal opinion, make sure they use Kerdi membrane. Many guys will tell you the roll-on waterproofing is good enough and if they do - fire them and hire a better person imo. I made my guy do epoxy grout as well, and while he hated it and said it was unnecessary I didn't care. It won't stain and is impervious to water, once and done. Your tile guy doesn't have to deal with potential of issues 5 years down the road haha. Once I told him I'll pay for his tools and pay him by the hour to grout he didn't care anymore. It IS a pain in the ass to work with.

Great information thank you!
Honestly I will be able to do a lot of the prep/ waterproofing/ tiling myself.
The electrical and plumbing I will likely contract out.

[revelations]

Question for the experts:

tile is the default material to be used in most aspen homes - but what about heat and water resistant material like Formica? It just needs to be glued to the wall and the seams siliconed. Much much easier to work with and looks a lot like tile.

(flooring would likely need to be tile still?)

[JRSC00LUDE]

Great information thank you!
Honestly I will be able to do a lot of the prep/ waterproofing/ tiling myself.
The electrical and plumbing I will likely contract out.

Ok, well if you tell yourself that roll-on waterproofing and non epoxy grout is good enough fire yourself! :rofl:

[vengie]

Ok, well if you tell yourself that roll-on waterproofing and non epoxy grout is good enough fire yourself! :rofl:

Depends how many beers have been consumed on said day....

Great info though :thumbsup:

[Rocket1k78]

I'm anticipating ~$5k for a tiled steam shower, 3'x5'x7.5'... does that seem reasonable?
If you're talking about $5k with labor im sure you can squeak one out but thats gonna be tight and with some low end materials and a gamble on a tile installer. A realistic budget with a proper waterproof system, average tiles, good steam unit, glass and good installer would be more like double

[JRSC00LUDE]

Question for the experts:

tile is the default material to be used in most aspen homes - but what about heat and water resistant material like Formica? It just needs to be glued to the wall and the seams siliconed. Much much easier to work with and looks a lot like tile.

(flooring would likely need to be tile still?)

Formica makes wet walls and shower pans for sure. I have no idea how they perform in a steam application but it could be good, I have no direct experience or knowledge of it in that application.

[Rocket1k78]

Question for the experts:

tile is the default material to be used in most aspen homes - but what about heat and water resistant material like Formica? It just needs to be glued to the wall and the seams siliconed. Much much easier to work with and looks a lot like tile.

(flooring would likely need to be tile still?)

Water resistant in a normal shower might be doable but in a steam shower you need water proof

[revelations]

Water resistant in a normal shower might be doable but in a steam shower you need water proof

The material is definitely water proof - the seams are the only issue. Higher temp rated silicone?

Also not too sure on the coefficient of expansion.

[JRSC00LUDE]

The material is definitely water proof - the seams are the only issue. Higher temp rated silicone?

Also not too sure on the coefficient of expansion.

Silicone fails but if the substrate is waterproof it would increase the odds. I wonder if some googling would provide some experiences, I am curious now. They make some great looking finishes. EDIT You're probably right about the expansion, warranty info. would answer that.

[revelations]

The stuff is amazing - I used it on my workbench as a working surface and after 5 years of use it still looks new (except where I have drilled through).

Also had a strip left over and used it as weather cover for a bench outside -30 to +35 and never a problem. Slippery as fuck when its wet though.

I have it screwed to wood outside, no issues with expansion contraction there so far.

[ThePenIsMightier]

DAP makes a high-temp silicone seal that's suitable for dishwashers.

[Rocket1k78]

The stuff is amazing - I used it on my workbench as a working surface and after 5 years of use it still looks new (except where I have drilled through).

Also had a strip left over and used it as weather cover for a bench outside -30 to +35 and never a problem. Slippery as fuck when its wet though.

I have it screwed to wood outside, no issues with expansion contraction there so far.

I dont doubt its a tough product when it comes to durability but if you're spending decent coin on a steam shower i wouldnt wanna gamble with it lasting or not. Im sure if you kept up on your siliconed edges it would probably last but i bet even the supplier would not honor any warranties on it. I was over at a place getting some stain and saw one called FX or something like that and it looked like real granite

[finboy]

+1 on steam shower, I thought it was a bit kitschy when we bought our place but I use it all the time after a hike in winter. My in-laws built theirs and figured basically aligned with the advice in this thread, do everything you can to avoid leaks and watch out for seals around lights. We are redoing our master in 2022 and are going to be adding a big fan to help take care of the steam, as our steam unit was a retrofit after initial construction and previous owners were relying on the 80’s hrv which isn’t ideal.

[SJW]

I have a steam shower but the steamer unit crapped out and they don't make replacement parts. I'm pretty crafty though so I'm going to rebuild the valve and hopefully get another couple of years out of it. I fucking love the steam shower.

[SingleBarrel]

Brent.ff, go for the sauna!

Steam showers are great but you don't get the same deep heat penetration and muscle relaxation as you do from an actual sauna. If you have the space in your basement you should definately go for putting in a sauna. The convenience and easy access of having one at home is incredible!

We live in an apartment so it wasn't an option to build a unit so we went with a sauna blanket type device. It uses infrared energy to heat the body like these - home saunas (https://homesaunaheaven.com/best-infrared-sauna-blanket/). I know it's not a patch on what you've got in mind, but we use it regularly. Especially after a run for recovery.

Definietly go with the sauna. You will not regret it!