Building a backyard sauna in edmonton

[brohymn2]

Anyone have experience building a backyard yard sauna here in edmonton??? Or know if its even legal... i googled the bylaws but didnt find anything Thanks

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[Johnny Huntnfish]

My dad built one in Okotoks a few years back. Think he had to get an electrician to install the heater to make sure it was up to code but other than that he just went for it.

[chuck0039]

They will probably classify it as an accessory building and you will most likely need to follow those guidelines ( I'm guessing similar guidelines to a shed)

[KGB]

Originally Posted by Johnny Huntnfish

My dad built one in Okotoks a few years back. Think he had to get an electrician to install the heater to make sure it was up to code but other than that he just went for it.

Don't know about Okotoks but in Edmonton the city will order to demolish it if it is not up to their likening....

[bridger2010]

Originally Posted by KGB

Don't know about Okotoks but in Edmonton the city will order to demolish it if it is not up to their likening....

Put it on wheels.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Anyone have experience building a backyard yard sauna here in edmonton??? Or know if its even legal... i googled the bylaws but didnt find anything Thanks

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That is my dream project! Unfortunately I'm not a very handy person and need to hire someone to do it for me. One thing for sure is that I would want to get a wood burning heater, not the electric one. The main reason is that I like higher temp than 80 and I like steam! I always pour water on the rocks to get a good steam! And just like you said, I couldn't find any regulations regarding this project....

[brohymn2]

Originally Posted by KGB

That is my dream project! Unfortunately I'm not a very handy person and need to hire someone to do it for me. One thing for sure is that I would want to get a wood burning heater, not the electric one. The main reason is that I like higher temp than 80 and I like steam! I always pour water on the rocks to get a good steam! And just like you said, I couldn't find any regulations regarding this project....

Apparently if you live in city limits your unable to use a wood burning stove for the sauna. I'm in the same boat it's gotta be hot. I talked to a guy at the sauna place in edmonton and he told me the electrics are very warm and you can throw water on the rocks unlike the ones you find at public gyms which in my opinion are more like an enclosed room with the furnace turn up a bit.

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[Johnny Huntnfish]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Apparently if you live in city limits your unable to use a wood burning stove for the sauna. I'm in the same boat it's gotta be hot. I talked to a guy at the sauna place in edmonton and he told me the electrics are very warm and you can throw water on the rocks unlike the ones you find at public gyms which in my opinion are more like an enclosed room with the furnace turn up a bit.

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Yep ours was electric and you could throw water on the rocks.....but by God do not throw anything besides water.....thought a little scotch would give a nice aromatic smell.....it was like mustard gas

[brohymn2]

Originally Posted by Johnny Huntnfish

Yep ours was electric and you could throw water on the rocks.....but by God do not throw anything besides water.....thought a little scotch would give a nice aromatic smell.....it was like mustard gas

Vodka works well on a wood burning one. If heard of electric ones catching on fire by doing that

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[KGB]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Vodka works well on a wood burning one. If heard of electric ones catching on fire by doing that

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Vodka works even better after! Take an ice cold shot, chase it down with a nice home made pickle and thank me for advise later, LOL!!!!

[KGB]

Originally Posted by Johnny Huntnfish

Yep ours was electric and you could throw water on the rocks.....but by God do not throw anything besides water.....thought a little scotch would give a nice aromatic smell.....it was like mustard gas

You poured the wrong stuff buddy! Beer, good old beer works the best! Smells like a rye bread, soo good!

[Big Bull]

Originally Posted by Johnny Huntnfish

Yep ours was electric and you could throw water on the rocks.....but by God do not throw anything besides water.....thought a little scotch would give a nice aromatic smell.....it was like mustard gas

A good stiff rum and coke with a squeeze of lime smells much better!

[KGB]

So...has anybody succeeded building one yet?

[KGB]

Then make sure you get one size bigger for your heater than recommended by the factory specs for the size that you are building. It will warm up faster and will maintain the temp better. And if you throu the water on a rocks - it will heat them up faster too. Please let me know how you succeeding.... I've got Russian "veniks" for sauna in my garage, ready to go( but nowhere to go yet).. I used to take those to the Russian sauna in Calgary. But the place got too busy and it is hard to get in on a short notice.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Apparently if you live in city limits your unable to use a wood burning stove for the sauna.

Where did your info come from? I am trying to find out info myself, and coming up dry. Anyone else find/know anything?

[coastalhunter]

No fires in the backyard either then?

[brohymn2]

Originally Posted by coastalhunter

No fires in the backyard either then?

There's a minimum distance from an building your fire pit is supposed to be. I'm sure having a fire inside a building violates that.

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[brohymn2]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

Where did your info come from? I am trying to find out info myself, and coming up dry. Anyone else find/know anything?

Sorry for taking so long to get back. The guy at the sauna shop told me this. I searched the bylaws but couldn't find anything. Maybe he was trying to up sell me on an electric stove I have no clue. Will be interesting to see what the city says. Makes sense to me about no fire stoves though.

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[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Makes sense to me about no fire stoves though.

Doesn't make sense to me. Places like, The Wood and Energy Store, pay many peoples wages putting wood stoves into buildings. Time will tell. Just waiting for the city to call me back still.

[HyperMOA]

Into my second week and finally got a call from the City who then referred me to another department. That department however, returned my call within an hour or 2. I have to confirm with zoning tomorrow and I should be OK to proceed. I just have to build to the stove manufacturers clearance recommendations. Cautiously optimistic here.

[Jeron Kahyar]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

Into my second week and finally got a call from the City who then referred me to another department. That department however, returned my call within an hour or 2. I have to confirm with zoning tomorrow and I should be OK to proceed. I just have to build to the stove manufacturers clearance recommendations. Cautiously optimistic here.

I was bored so I looked into it as well. You can get it built without to much trouble. As long as your sauna is detached from any other building has no power to it, is under 10m square and less than 4 meters (4 and change actually) tall no permit required. You will however need to get a permit for the fireplace (solid fuel burning appliance). After that it is just meeting building regulations and manufacturers regulations on installation of the wood stove.

Being that it is a small space I would look into getting a wood stove that is designed for small spaces to make fitting it (with proper clearance) easier.

This one looks like it would work well. Even designed to have a flat hot top for your rocks to go on!

https://www.unforgettablefirellc.com...ly-wood-stove/

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by Jeron Kahyar

I was bored so I looked into it as well. You can get it built without to much trouble. As long as your sauna is detached from any other building has no power to it, is under 10m square and less than 4 meters (4 and change actually) tall no permit required. You will however need to get a permit for the fireplace (solid fuel burning appliance). After that it is just meeting building regulations and manufacturers regulations on installation of the wood stove.

Being that it is a small space I would look into getting a wood stove that is designed for small spaces to make fitting it (with proper clearance) easier.

This one looks like it would work well. Even designed to have a flat hot top for your rocks to go on!

https://www.unforgettablefirellc.com...ly-wood-stove/

How did you manage to get the info so fast? Speaking with the planners they said no permit is required at all as long as I use a certified stove. They don't consider the building a hazard as a fire will really only be present while the building is occupied. It will not be burning constantly unattended. They wanted me to double check with the zoning department to insure there are no zoning conflicts. I don't think there should be, as anyone can have a fire-pit. So why would a stove which burns more efficiently cause zoning issues. (Knock On Wood) Waiting for the zoning department to return my call.

This is what I was considering.

http://www.newlifesauna.ca/products/...nd-150-sl.html

Want to build on skid 10 or 12 by 8. Have the sauna as 6 by 8 and the rest as a change room/wood storage/porch.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

.

This is what I was considering.

[url]http://www.newlifesauna.ca/products/products/wood-burning-stoves/harvia-legend-150-sl.html.

This one looks great!

[Jeron Kahyar]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

How did you manage to get the info so fast? Speaking with the planners they said no permit is required at all as long as I use a certified stove. They don't consider the building a hazard as a fire will really only be present while the building is occupied. It will not be burning constantly unattended. They wanted me to double check with the zoning department to insure there are no zoning conflicts. I don't think there should be, as anyone can have a fire-pit. So why would a stove which burns more efficiently cause zoning issues. (Knock On Wood) Waiting for the zoning department to return my call.

This is what I was considering.

http://www.newlifesauna.ca/products/...nd-150-sl.html

Want to build on skid 10 or 12 by 8. Have the sauna as 6 by 8 and the rest as a change room/wood storage/porch.

I got the info from the city. They have since clarified the info and the solid wood fuel appliance does not apply in this case. You don't actually need a permit (as long as you meet the accessory building specs). You will need to get a WETT (wood energy technology transfer) if you want to insure the building.

If you build it on skids and attach a hook to it (for loading on a trailer). It is a non permanent structure and is technically not subject to building codes. Tiny house guys get away with this all the time.

Your stove choice looks vastly superior to mine. Don't listen to me there.

[kens]

I got pretty deep into sauna building earlier this year, I haven't built yet but it's on my list!
One of the ways of evaluating the quality of a sauna stove is its weight. The Harvia 150 is reportably a pretty good unit and weighs 58 kgs and takes 120 kgs if stone. The Narvi Velvet weighs 89 kgs and takes 160 kgs of stone.

I'm not certain that means the Narvi is better but it was the one I was interested in over the Harvia. They were in the process of exporting to a Canadian dealer earlier this year and I've just contacted their sales manager to see if that is now organized.

The Finns talk about steam quality and I've been assured the more stone the better quality the steam.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by Jeron Kahyar

I was bored so I looked into it as well. You can get it built without to much trouble. As long as your sauna is detached from any other building has no power to it, is under 10m square and less than 4 meters (4 and change actually) tall no permit required. You will however need to get a permit for the fireplace (solid fuel burning appliance). After that it is just meeting building regulations and manufacturers regulations on installation of the wood stove.

Being that it is a small space I would look into getting a wood stove that is designed for small spaces to make fitting it (with proper clearance) easier.

This one looks like it would work well. Even designed to have a flat hot top for your rocks to go on!

https://www.unforgettablefirellc.com...ly-wood-stove/

I don't think that this will actually work well for you. This stove is design to heat up the living space, for what I can see. You will need a place for the rocks on top of your stove. And I don't see one here. The rocks will heat up and you will be able to throw the water on them for the steam.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

Anyone have experience building a backyard yard sauna here in edmonton??? Or know if its even legal... i googled the bylaws but didnt find anything Thanks

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Phone the city and contact the department responsible for the bylaws regarding your future build.