20 year old sauna benches: time for a makeover

This sauna was built 20 years ago.  It’d take a calculator to figure out how many saunas (and how many bare asses) we’ve had on these sauna benches.  The benches were built with 2×4 cedar, but I ran the boards on end.  And the framing?  very caveman.

It took about 20 minutes to disassemble these 18″ wide benches and get them outside onto the deck.

Then I took apart the benches, saving the 2x4s for a good power washing on all sides.  Ahhhhhh that felt good.

And with the power washer blasting, boy was I in a mood to give the empty sauna a good once over.  Note how yuckie the floor looks beforehand.

Then I rebuilt the sauna benches using my patented 24″ wide sauna bench technique.  Super strong and everything supported well and “flush up” for bare ass comfort.

Applying my non patented “header & triangle bench support” method, we line up the joists and are able to transfer the bench load to the end walls and behind the benches, for a cleaner more streamlined design.

Hard to see in the photo, but the lower bench can slide in and out on a track.  The lower bench can be pulled out all the way for when kids or Low Bench Larry’s come sauna, or the low bench can be pushed back, tucking under the upper bench to allow for more standing around space or when cleaning the floor.

NOT overheard anywhere near my sauna:  “ewwww, I don’t like wood burning saunas, they make such a mess!”