Sauna Dimensions (Size Guide)
Building or buying a prebuilt personal sauna for your home can yield many benefits, including health benefits for yourself. A home sauna can also increase the value of your home. It is relatively easy to maintain with considerably smaller upkeep compared to a swimming pool or even a hot tub.
I love saunas, and there’s no denying the undeniable relaxation and stress relief I get after a hard day of work. They’re perfect for soothing my aching muscles and joints after an intense workout, not to mention the deep cleansing aspect.
Once you have decided to build or install a sauna for your home, indoors or outdoors, the first step is deciding what size you want it to be. There are a lot of factors to consider, and the biggest one is the size. In this article, I will provide the measurements that could help decide the right size sauna for your home.
Standard Sauna Size
There are two types of saunas to choose from, and they are the traditional and the infrared sauna.
A traditional sauna is higher in temperature, heats the body by heating the air. This type is temperature controlled by pouring water on to heated rocks.
An infrared sauna has a lower temperature and directly heats the body. This type is not temperature-controlled since it maxes out at a specific temperature.
Regardless of the type to have, standard sauna dimensions are a common choice. The standard sauna has a size of 6 feet by 5 feet or 1.828 meters by 1.524 meters.
This layout size is perfect to fit up to four people. At the same time, the standard sauna ceiling height for this size is 84 inches or 213.36 centimeters.
Couple Sauna Dimensions
A significant benefit to owning a sauna for your home is centered on relaxation. It gets rid of the body’s toxins through sweating, but most importantly, saunas soothe tired muscles and help reduce stress, and this benefit is perfect for working people.
If you are a couple looking to get a sauna for your home or plan on lying down while it does its magic— a 2-person sauna capacity is perfect for you.
For a compact traditional 2-person sauna, dimensions are usually 4 by 4 feet or 48 by 48 inches and 6 feet or 72 inches high. 2-person traditional indoor saunas usually have a dimension of 1.2 by 1.2 meters and are a good 1900 millimeters or 1.9 meters high.
In comparison, an indoor infrared sauna has dimensions of 3.33 by 4 feet or 40 by 48 inches. The dimensions of an outdoor sauna that could fit two persons are slightly higher, being 4 by 5 feet or 48 to 60 inches.
A 2-person traditional outdoor sauna usually comes with a size of 1.2 by 1.5 meters, while indoor infrared saunas for two persons usually have dimensions of 1.01 by 1.2 meters.
Dimensions for Sauna for 4 People
Saunas are also great for entertaining your closest friends and other family members. One of the great benefits is that it builds up the immune system, and if you are a family with kids nine years old and above, this will be a great way to create healthy habits and protect them from diseases.
Just remember to ensure they are in the lower part and that steam is kept to a minimum since younger kids can’t regulate heat yet as efficiently.
These are the dimensions for different types of four-person saunas. The dimensions of a traditional indoor sauna are 5 by 7 feet or 60 by 84 inches. They typically have a height of 7 feet or 84 inches. Traditional indoor saunas are usually 1.52 meters by 2.13 meters and have a height or depth of 2.15 meters.
On the other hand, a traditional outdoor sauna will be perfect because you won’t have to renovate it indoors. The size is usually 6.5 by 7 feet or 78 by 84 inches, and they also have a height of 7 feet or 84 inches.
Traditional steam saunas for outdoors have metric dimensions of: 1.97 by 2.10 meters with a height 2.15 meters.
For indoor infrared saunas, the dimensions are as follows: a vertical length of 4.67 feet or 1.42 meters, a horizontal width of 6 feet or 1.83 meters, and a depth from top to bottom of 6.36 feet or 1.94 meters.
In contrast, an indoor infrared sauna has dimensions of 4.7 feet 56 inches in length, a width of 6 feet or 72 inches, and a top to the bottom depth of 6 feet or 72 inches.
Sauna Measurements for 6 People
For the whole family or a group to enjoy the great benefits of a steam room, one should be big enough to accommodate everyone first, and a six-person sauna is probably what would best fit everyone.
This size is not big enough to resemble the industrial, commercial saunas, but it is a luxurious site when found in homes. Not only will everyone be able to enjoy the benefits, but great conversations can be had with all the available space.
The dimensions of a six-person traditional indoor steam room that uses wood and steam rocks are usually 6 by 8 feet or 72 by 96 inches.
You can allot 2 feet or 24 inches of space for the steam rocks container and an entryway to the steam room of 2.17 feet or 26 inches—the rest of the 3.83 feet or 46 inches space can be used for built-in seating.
Size of Sauna to Accommodate 8
There is even a choice to go up to 8 by 8 feet or 96 by 96 inches to accommodate a six to eight person capacity.
Infrared Steam Room Dimensions
Other than the traditional wood and stone steam room, infrared saunas use light to generate directly in your body. Infrared saunas do not warm the air around you as the conventional steam room does, so you get the benefits without the saunas warming the air inside the room.
A benefit of an infrared steam room over the more traditional steam ones is they are relatively easier to install and transport without needing ample space for ventilation. This advantage means that an infrared steam room unit might be the better choice if you have limited space.
Sauna Bath Room Size
The main bedroom bath installed with an indoor steam room is the height of luxury. There’s no need for an outside spa treatment when you can have all the tools to enhance relaxation in one space. The wood of the steam room will also accentuate every bathroom’s aesthetic, no matter what your bathroom’s design is.
Saunas installed in the bathroom are usually models that could fit a single or a couple of persons. Read more about bathroom sizes on this page.
For a single person in-bath steam room, the dimensions can range from 3 by 3 feet to 4 by 5 feet. Anything more extensive than that would be made to measure for your bathroom and would depend on what you want and how much you are willing to pay to have your vision come to fruition.
Sauna Bench Dimensions
The steam room seat or bench is essential to get the total relaxation and health benefits that a steam room gives, so ample space is needed to make way for a sauna bar.
Ample space for planning your home steam room is space allotted for the bench. Ideally, you would need 2 feet or 24 inches of bench space for a single person and to recline comfortably as they use the steam room.
An area of 6 feet or 72 inches in one direction is advisable if you have the room to account for it. If you have room, 6 feet or 72 inches of wall-to-wall bench will allow multiple persons to be seated.
Sauna Bench Height
If you are going for a steam room with two bench heights, the upper bench should be at least 36 inches or 3 feet high, while the lower bench should have a height of 18 inches or 1.5 feet.
There are also steam room benches with multiple heights, although climbing with hands is only supported. The upper bench of the steam room should be 36 inches or 3 feet high, while the lower bench should be 1.5 feet tall or 18 inches.
Whatever your steam room height is, you can choose to go up to 3 benches high for multiple seating and laying down options.
Steam Room Size
Aside from the sizes mentioned above, other steam rooms are available to fit your entire family and a party!
You could go for 4×6 ones to seat three persons to 8×12 ones to fit every single one of your 12 girlfriends for girl’s night. Just determine the number of people, what type of steam room you want, your budget and the rest will follow.
How Big Should a Sauna Be?
Your future home steam room would depend on a lot of factors, but mainly it will depend on the space available and your budget. An area outdoors is foolproof and could follow the exterior design of your house so it wouldn’t stand out, but for indoor saunas have a lot of space requirements you should account for.
This includes space easy enough to have access behind your steam room for maintenance, especially for infrared steam room types.
Your budget is another option since there are ready-to-install saunas for the person in a budget, while people with an endless amount of budget allocated can go for custom sizing saunas. If you are redesigning or creating a steam room there are bathroom remodel software apps, that can make the process much easier to visualize.
Benefits of a Steam Bath at Home
Relaxation is the first benefit that comes to mind when the steam room is in question, but aside from relaxation, saunas carry a lot of health benefits. The sweating brought about by the dry heat rids of the body’s toxin poses many cardiovascular health benefits, same as exercising.
Saunas are also known to ease pain by increasing blood circulation to the sore spot and thus making it great for people with arthritis. A two-person steam room will be perfect for smaller homes and for couples who will be using the facilities.
Adding a steam room in your home can increase its value if you choose to sell in the future. Saunas are also great for entertaining your closest friends and family members over the age of nine.
Are Saunas Healthy to Use
A steam room may work to build up an immune system to fight diseases and will also create a great habit that your kids can take as they grow older.
To make it safe for a younger family member, it’s essential to situate the heat more on the lower part and opt for a steam steam room for safer use and efficiency.
How to Choose Sauna Room Dimensions
There are a variety of sizes of infrared saunas to choose from. The decision is heavily dependent on how much space you have and how many people are in your immediate family, and how often you would like to host other friends and families. Once you factor in that number, sizes will be easier to consider.
If you have a family of four or more, infrared saunas are available that are 5.74 by 4.5 feet and 6 feet tall, so no ducking as you enter the steam room.
A family of three corner infrared saunas 5×5 feet would work great. If you live alone, there are 1 to 2 person saunas 3×3 or 4×4 feet and will be ideal for you.
Are Saunas a Good Idea?
Saunas are a good idea overall; they will give you many health benefits, are low-maintenance, and will even add to the value of your home.
Let’s take a cue from the Finnish culture and adopt steam room into our lifestyle as they are known to release endorphins which will decrease stress. After all, Finland is the Happiest Country in the world. Happy steaming!
For more related content, visit our hot tub sizes guide here.
