After a recent flurry of sauna bench construction for others, there I sat in my backyard outdoor sauna thinking “why don’t I change out my sauna benches?” Like the cobbler’s kids having holes in their shoes, I was thinking “man, these are lame.” In fairness, they worked great for 10 years. They showed a bit of novice design and construction, but it was time.
So I built new benches and a week later, there we sat, my friend Kirt and I, admiring the upgrade advantages:
- 2×4’s. More stout bench density.
- Wider. A 24″ wide sauna bench, at least upper bench, is an ideal width.
- No legs. The stout construction of my improved bench system means no supports needed down to the floor. This sleek design makes it easier to clean the sauna and allows the lower bench to slide in and out, tucking under for more standing room or pulling out for more sitting space.
Before exiting the hot room, Kirt, of Finnish decent and demeanor, summed it up: “you got a thousand saunas out of those old benches”. Left alone, I began adding it up:
- 3 saunas per week
- 12 saunas per month
- 10 months per year (2 months at the cabin)
- 10 years
- 1,200 saunas minus a bunch for traveling, etc.
“Kirt, it took me all this math to come up with pretty much 1,000 saunas. How did you do that so quickly?
“Well, I was here for 100 of them.”
No doubt.