Honey, I Melted the Robot: using AI to help with your sauna design

Guest post from Tim, a high level AI Technologist, who takes us through Circuitry Versus Steam

Let’s talk about it. That two-letter word that is both very exciting and also induces a gag-reflex: AI.

I work in technology. Computers from 8AM to late at night, computers on the weekend. I love technology, but life requires balance. One reason out of a long list of why I adore sauna is the hostile environment that heat, steam and water create for circuits, transistors, and chips. Hours unplugged help to balance out the hours I spend all-too-plugged in.

While LLMs debuted back in 2023, it was only very recently that they became viable tools for intensive tasks such as programming and rendering. Where previously LLMs were more or less linguistic bar tricks, these tools can now code moderately effectively. As I have been planning my home sauna build for a year now and getting ready to break ground, I became curious about how this technology could improve my project planning and permitting process.

AI has some very important uses and misuses to those of us in pursuit of sauna. But before ploughing in, it’s good to enumerate basic truths about wise and foolish implementations of AI:

General Truths About AI Technology:

1. AI is skilled at marshalling written language.
2. AI is effective at web research on topics where many accurate resources exist online.
3. AI is helpful in improving the way a question is asked, especially for topics where the user is not on firm footing.
4. AI outcomes still require a prepared human implementing good judgment. The user must know the difference between correct and incorrect responses and the ability to discern when a more appropriate choice must be made.

Uses and Misuses

While some talented few folks have both booksmarts and craftsmanship skills, most of us come from one background or the other. LLMs can help close that gap. For example, AI can help a first-time DIYer make sense of an overwhelming new universe of fasteners, roofing designs, and construction jargon. On the other side, the hands-on crowd often hate paperwork or struggle with articulating their projects with technical accuracy. AI can whip up proposals and plans like nobody’s business. Both types can benefit from AI’s adeptness at summarizing projects, organizing written information, identifying gaps, and proofreading for accuracy.

Here are some real-life examples of early prompts I threw at the technology.

Prompt I:  Please draft a 3D model of an 8’ x 16’ foot structure with a 6/12 sloped pitch and 8 concrete footings with a door on the right side of an 8’ wall.

Prompt II:  This is a good start. Please reduce the diameter of the footings. The footings will support two 6” x 6” pressure treated beams upon which the structure will sit. Extend the eaves of the structure by 1’. Illustrate this structure in basic lumber stick and pole construction, without external sheathing.

Prompt III:  Let’s improve this further. Our project is a small sauna building, divided in two with a hot room and a change room. Can you please add that dividing wall, with a large interior window on the left side and a door on the right side, near to the right wall. Can you please also confirm that there is an error with horizontal studs incorrectly protruding from the rafters that can be removed?

These prompts illustrate touchstones on a really pleasurable journey I took to a completed project summary document, formal permit proposal for City Hall, and a variety of 3D renderings. The Permit was approved without a single revision.

Building professionals will note that these are not technical documents. The chimney in the first screenshot ploughs right through a rafter! However, visual representations like this are a great aid for those who struggle to manage geospatial abstractions in their head or who need a visual checklist to orient themselves. It is also a real pleasure to make alterations with the LLM technologies en route to discovering your perfect layout, placement, window locations, and other customizations. Situational awareness is critical. And proven, reliable expertise is indispensable. That is why you have to read Sauna Build: From Start to Finish before, during, and after playing with LLM technology.

My Personal Example

My sauna’s going to be an 8’ x 16’ permanent structure in a cold climate. I used AI to arrive at the decision that concrete footers extending below the frostline were a worthwhile investment. The shape and layout were very much inspired by the Retriever Nation YouTube channel, who in turn also relied on Glenn’s book.

For the Nerds

At the time of this publication, LLM technology is typically quite effective at illustrating in html. However, for this project, I was very eager to produce more technical specs to refine my shopping list for lumber and cuts. I tried a variety of tools that left much to be desired (OpenSCAD, Blender, and a couple others). Technologists who work with AI get a real feel for “what exists today” and “what is around the corner” as these technologies advance on a near-daily basis. Maybe I will write a follow-up blog one year after this debut to note how many additional advantages we will have by then, as there is so much down the pike.

For example, Blender is an open-source rendering tool with some very easy-to-use python libraries. I thought this would make an excellent candidate for creating a more detailed mockup of my project. After all, LLMs excel at bash, Python, and other basic scripting languages. And while I was certainly able to get some interesting results after sinking many tokens into this project, nothing was quite useable:

Blender failed to illustrate the property and sauna based on public information of my home found on Zillow, Redfin, and public records. That circle out back is ostensibly a cul-de-sac. And typically saunas need walls in order to work.

LLM technology improves very, very quickly. We can see that many different software companies are racing to fill the space of 3D architectural design. I tried a few free and open-source tools and had unimpressive outcomes. However, I’m extremely confident that this technology will be high-functioning in very short-order. Keep an eye out.

Summary

Like any tool, physical or digital, AI must be used with judgment. Ignorance will result in consequences. In my home sauna planning experience, LLM technology helped me gather research, document plans, formalize information for submission to the local government, and learn a lot about construction. Along the way, it failed spectacularly to produce certain visualizations, furnished some inaccurate information, and took too many liberties to rush to completion. Using my human judgment, extensive background research, expert resources such as Sauna Build: From Start to Finish, and some common sense, LLM technology was a net positive tool for the sauna planning and permitting experience. In the near future, I am highly confident it will be easy street for DIYers who need some guardrails and professional builders that want to make an impression for clients and ease the burden of paperwork.