Home Sweet Sauna
Maine is heating up to home saunas
By Raine Raynor
It’s no secret that saunas can reduce stress, improve physical health and relieve pain. Short-term heat exposure stimulates blood flow, while the steam created from throwing water on rocks creates a calming atmosphere—and an icy plunge after gets you ready to do it all over again. Many Maine day spas, retreats and hotels have added saunas to their list of amenities, but for some avid bathers, there’s just no place like home.
While bathhouses are prevalent worldwide as places of relaxation, socialization and health, Finland and the Nordic countries are most famous for their sauna culture. Saunas are so rooted in Finnish culture that the Finnish word löyly can refer to the throwing of steam as well as a sauna’s spirit. According to National Geographic, there are approximately 3 million saunas for 5.5 million Finns, from cabins in the woods to shared saunas in apartment complexes. Public saunas are also widespread in Finland, and—pun alert—are heating up in Maine.
From traveling sauna pop-ups to woodsy retreats, the Maine winter has inspired a range of experiences for the sauna-curious. However, in our far-flung state, the closest sauna may be an hour’s drive—and not everyone is into sweating with strangers. That’s where home saunas come in.
The sauna, ready for use, in Adria Moynihan Rusk's backyard. COURTESY PHOTO
A wood-fired sauna is the newest addition to Adria Moynihan Rusk’s backyard in Westbrook. “I have loved saunas forever,” she says, mentioning a decade of visiting a wood-fired sauna at her folks’ camp. “I’ve been thinking about buying my own for quite a while and have been saving up. And this year, I just decided to go for it. I get really cold in the winter, and it’s a way of warming up my core … and there are some really good health benefits.”
When a friend got a barrel sauna in 2020, Moynihan Rusk started looking for a used one online without much luck. Finally, she found someone who could build and deliver a wood-fired sauna. “I had priced out barrel saunas that you can order online, and you have to build it yourself, essentially,” she says. “It wouldn’t have been any less money to do it that way.”
The freestanding 6-foot by 8-foot structure is finished with pine siding, cedar interiors, a small sauna stove and two levels of benches that fit up to four people sitting or two laying down. This is Moynihan Rusk’s first winter with the sauna, and her favorite part is how accessible the warmth, relaxation and health benefits are—no more driving through snow for a public sauna or waiting until she goes to camp.
This home sauna provides relaxing warmth during the depths of a Maine winter. PHOTO COURTESY SEBAGO SAUNA, LLC
Heating up to home saunas
Moynihan Rusk is not alone: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in home saunas has skyrocketed in Maine. To better understand the trend, I spoke with three local sauna builders— Murphy Doughty of Snowcoast Saunas, Bob Daigle of Sebago Sauna and Rich Gadbois of Driftless Sauna—all of whom built their own sauna before doing it professionally.
Doughty is a carpenter who previously had little experience with saunas outside of gyms. After building his own wood-fired sauna, he was converted: “There’s something magical about the whole experience of having a crackling wood fire and getting really hot and then getting really cold.” He’s noticed clients come to him with a clear vision after exploring public and rental saunas. “Mostly it’s people trying it out in the local area and then looking around to see if there are local people building it,” he says. Doughty aims to source as many materials locally as possible, including white cedar and TimberHP wood fiber insulation from Maine.
After the sauna rental business took off, Rich Gadbois of Driftless Sauna started building wood-fired saunas like this one. COURTESY PHOTO
A transformational experience in the mountains of Vermont planted the seed for Rich and Karen Gadbois to buy a mobile wood-fired sauna and rent it out while not in use. After the rental business took off, Gadbois started to build custom wood-fired saunas in his Saco shop using white cedar from Maine family mills. He theorizes that health and wellness influencers, as well as interest in Nordic lifestyles, have helped saunas become more mainstream in the United States. “It’s such a hectic society,” he says. “I think people are looking for ways to reduce their stress level and to help with recovery from sickness or working out.”
Daigle comes from a family of carpenters and builders. After constructing an outdoor shower, a comment from his son Keith—“That looks nice, why don’t you build a sauna?”—sent him down this path. “And then I thought, boy, this is a nice niche,” says Daigle. “So, I started a little business. And next thing you know, the phone starts ringing.” He works throughout the Sebago Lake region and sources white cedar from Northern Maine for his Finnish-inspired saunas.
What to know when planning for a home sauna
Adria Moynihan Rusk’s cozy backyard sauna is heated by a wood stove. COURTESY PHOTO
If you’re interested in a home sauna, like any significant investment, it’s important to do your research beforehand. “Try different saunas first, to know that you really enjoy it,” advises Moynihan Rusk. If you’re lucky enough to know a friend with a sauna, reach out to them, or visit a public sauna. There’s no better time than winter to sample different heat types and see what you prefer. Infrared saunas (which operate at 120-140° F) can be a great choice for those sensitive to heat. Electric stoves heat up quicker, and Daigle sees a desire for convenience driving interest among his clients. Finally, wood stoves evoke the traditional experience of a Finnish sauna, but they require more effort. As Moynihan Rusk points out, “You’ve got to have a willingness to go out in the cold and start a fire.” For many, the deep 200° F heat and sensory delights of a fire are worth it.
Gadbois often hears clients ask about lighting: “We can provide solar power to the units. We can have no power at all—and they can just use a lamp, which is the old traditional way of lighting your sauna. Or we can also wire them permanently to the homes,” he explains. He tends to use a battery-powered lamp himself; the Gadbois’ sauna is wired in case they want lighting later.
Finally, the shape and dimensions of your sauna will affect how steam and heat disperses. “Ideally, you’d have a flat ceiling instead of, say, a vaulted ceiling because the steam will go straight up, kind of come over the top and down on top of you and the benches,” Doughty says. “It’s a really pleasant feeling.” He’s had clients request specific ceiling heights and bench widths that they discovered through research and experience.
Sebago Sauna sources white cedar from Northern Maine to outfit their custom builds. Many Maine sauna builders use cedar due to its wonderful aroma, local availability, and resistance against expansion and contraction with extreme temperature differences. PHOTO: KEVIN BRUSIE
The next step? Determine your budget and how involved you want to be. Building a sauna yourself or buying a kit is more affordable, but hiring a local builder can make sense if you want high quality without taking on the work yourself. “They’re pretty labor intensive, so it does take some more time than people anticipate,” says Gadbois, who has co-taught sauna building courses with his wife Karen at Old Orchard Beach Adult Education. He also directs anyone interested in DIY toward the depths of information on the internet.
“If someone is confident running a saw, using a nail gun and knows how to build a small structure, they probably have the skills to build a sauna,” Daigle says.
He tracked expenses for his own 8-foot by 12-foot sauna with a changing room and estimates the project cost him $9,000. His son, an electrician named Evan, went the DIY route as well, spending what Daigle guesses is around $2,000 to build a sauna using a door from the Habitat ReStore, a metal roof from Home Depot and a wood stove with an aluminum box welded on top for the rocks. “The expensive part is the cedar, but you can minimize that with some intelligent work inside,” Daigle says. “It’s not as pretty as mine, but it gets up to 200 degrees and is a sauna.”
Retrofitting an existing structure, like a shed, is another affordable option that Doughty has done for a couple clients: Add some insulation, extra framing and a window, and you have yourself an upcycled sauna. “Sometimes you can find garden sheds on Facebook Marketplace for super cheap, and you just have to move them,” Doughty suggests.
If a professionally built sauna is what you want, talk to multiple local builders to gauge what each can offer and to make sure you’ll be happy working with them. Contact your city or town office to learn set back requirements and obtain a permit if necessary. Then pick a location and confirm with your builder: Moynihan Rusk found herself limited to where a delivery vehicle could access. If you’re wiring your sauna, consider the costs of digging a trench to run electrical. Remember, too, that you’ll want to use the sauna most during winter, so pick a spot you’ll be comfortable shoveling.
During the depths of the Maine winter, a sauna becomes more than a glowing sanctuary from the cold; the chance to slow down can be incredibly valuable for the soul. It’s no wonder that so many want to make sauna part of their day-to-day life. Even if a home sauna is still but a dream, it can be a rewarding one to strive for. As Moynihan Rusk puts it, “Every time I look at mine, I’m reminded that I can go in anytime I want and that I get to share it with others.”
And saunas aren’t just fulfilling for the people who own them. Builders like Daigle find joy in crafting pieces that enrich lives. “I really like this part about doing this business,” he says. “I leave my client something that’s beautiful but simultaneously is extremely healthy for them for years to come.”
The outdoor sauna at Wolf Cove Inn in Poland features a stunning wall of windows overlooking Tripp Lake.