The Sauna is Finished
Dad using a circular saw to cut an angle into a 2 × 4. With his expertise, framing went quickly. Jon Hull
Read Part I of this blog here: Back in the Cabin
The sauna is finished.
We drew our first plans over Thanksgiving Break. Two months later, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we finished a final section of the lower bench and fired up the sauna. My dad and I marked the occasion with a quiet cheers—two bourbons raised in the dark. Then he headed up the hill, leaving me alone to settle in.
Covering the old front door of the cabin. Dad thought to leave the upper window panes exposed to allow more natural light into the sauna. Jon Hull
Building the Sauna
We did most of the building together, but Dad took on certain parts to keep our momentum going. Our division of labor was natural: he did the measuring, positioning, and cutting; I did the carrying and nailing.
Dad's experience allows him to foresee what’s needed before it’s a problem. He knew where to set up tools, how much lumber we’d need, what type, and in what order to put the boards on the wall to simplify cuts. True masters make complicated things seem simple.
Had I tackled this project alone, it could’ve stretched into a year and wouldn’t have looked half as good. Instead, we finished in two months, mostly working weekends. Dad’s lifetime of experience shaped every step.
The final blueprint for the sauna: take three steps up onto the porch, open the door into a small L-shaped air-lock, hang your towel, and enter the sauna through the undersized door. Jon Hull
The Steps
We started by framing out an L-shaped room to serve as an airlock. Next came the sauna door and covering the cabin’s old front door. The insulation, foil, and pine interior walls followed.
The project raced forward at first, but progress slowed as the space became more enclosed and the work more detailed. The original cabin was only 9x7 feet, and the new airlock made it feel even smaller.
Dad implored me to convey how tight it felt, “If you end up writing a blog about this, make sure you mention what this is like.” We were no longer stepping on the floor, but tools, boards, and off-cuts.
We worked feverishly up until Christmas break. We’d finished the interior walls, the stove was in, and Dad cut a hole in the roof and installed the stove pipe. We’d hoped to have it done for Jessica to experience while she was home, but instead, it sat in its almost-there state, to be toured rather than used.
We picked up where we left off with Jessica’s return to Singapore. The final insulation and sheetrock went up in the airlock, and Dad installed an electric heater (now an essential companion to the wood stove). Then we turned our attention to the benches.
The upper bench went in quickly, but the lower bench sparked conversation. The sauna is small but comfortable. The only real concern was having enough room to comfortably start a fire.
You want to squat comfortably in front of the stove, and a fixed lower bench would’ve made that impossible. Dad’s solution was to hinge a section, so it would swing out of the way while starting or stoking the fire. This decision slowed us a bit as we discussed the particulars and created mock-ups in the garage, but after a full day of work, the bench and the sauna were finished.
The First Sauna
The sauna on the night we finished. The front door still appears functional despite being covered on the inside. Jon Hull
Outside, snow swirled in the darkness, catching the beam of the porch light. Inside, the wood-paneled walls radiated heat, the scent of fresh pine thick in the air. The stove is not purpose-built for a sauna—I don’t have stones on it yet—but it did its job: imperfect, sturdy, and functional.
I sat back, feeling the dry heat settle into my skin, letting the moment sink in. For the next couple of hours, I cycled between the intense warmth of the sauna and the stillness of snowfall. Outside, steam rose from my shoulders in the January cold. I stood, listening to the muffled quiet of the woods and the occasional hiss when snowflakes landed on the chimney.
It is a primal satisfaction: fire and ice. It is a reminder that gratification is not only comfort but contrast. The sauna is done. But more importantly, it has begun.
