If you are about to build a sauna at home or for commercial goals starting your own business you should know the main principles of building perfect sauna.

1. Facing west
Sauna should give bathers a view on the setting sun. It provides calm surrounding area and makes people cool down and relax after the sauna. Relaxation is one of the most important and valuable parts of sauna experience.

2. A Separate Building
Building sauna in a separate apartment is a necessary measure not to disturb dwellers of the building by sauna-goers and vice versa. You can also place a sauna in a separate wing of your house. It is better then put sauna underground or in upper floors.

3. Entrance
It is not convenient for bathers to go through the main building to enter or leave sauna when it is not built in a separate area. In another case it is possible to provide sauna with its own entrance. Being heated Finns often go for a swim or rolling in the snow while having a sauna.

4. Size Matters
The sauna itself, the heated steam room, should not be small but spacious enough. Its volume should be at least 10 cubic meters (approx. 350 cubic feet). A minimum for floor area is 4-5 square meters (45 to 55 sqft). The bathroom or a pool has to be separate. It should be bigger than the sauna. The dressing room should be at least twice the size of the sauna.

5. The Benches
A common shape of sauna bench in Finland is a straight line on the rear wall. But corner, two opposite benches or a U-shaped bench is much better as they provide room to lie down for two people and are convenient for conversation. Such types of benches are used only in big saunas.
To sit and lie comfortably a bench should be at least 600 mm (2 ft) broad. Different kinds of wood may be used for making sauna benches. In most Finnish saunas Finnish spruce or aspen are used.

6. Two Showers
It’s not a principal question. But two showers in the bathroom will enable two bathers to continue the conversation begun in the sauna. In addition you may use the second shower for the children.