A sauna door needs to keep the heat in.
A sauna door should be designed to keep the heat in. Because the purpose of a sauna is to create a space that is hot enough to cause intense sweating, the ceiling walls, floor, windows and door all need to be well insulated. Building your own door can save you the expense of a commercial door and give you the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself. When it's done, you can have a sweat in your sauna to relax.
Instructions
1. Design the door to be smaller than a normal door while still large enough to be convenient. Even a well-built door will lose more heat than a wall, so it makes sense in a sauna to make the door small. A door that is 21 inches wide by 72 inches high works for most saunas.
2. Glue 14 cedar 2-by-4s together to create a panel that is 73 inches long by 20 inches wide. The actual dimensions of a 2-by-4 are 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches. Glue the 2-by-4s so that their 1 1/2-inch dimensions are exposed on the sides of the door. In this configuration, 14 2-by-4s create a panel that is 21 inches wide and 3-1/2 inches thick. This is thick for a door and will help keep the heat inside the sauna. Clamp the 2-by-4s together with bar clamps, placing the clamps 12 inches apart along the length of the 2-by-4s and alternating the clamps on both sides of the panel so that it stays flat.
3. Draw lines on the ends of the panel with a pencil, making the lines perpendicular to the edges of the panel by lining them up with a framing square. Trim the ends of the panel with a circular saw to make the 2-by-4s even and the panel exactly 72 inches long.
4. Cut an angle along one side of the panel with a table saw. Because the door is so thick, you will need this angle so that the door doesn't stick when you swing it open. An angle of about 15 degrees should be sufficient for the door to clear the jamb as it opens.
5. Install hinges and a wooden knob on the door. Place the top hinge 12 inches from the top of the panel and the bottom hinge 12 inches from the bottom. Avoid metal knobs as they will burn your hands when the sauna gets extremely hot.
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