About the Sauna
Built by hand, designed properly
The Sandy Lane Community Sauna is a bespoke, wood-fired sauna cabin on wheels, designed and built by us over the course of six months.
From the very beginning our goal was simple: to create a sauna that reflects the real Nordic sauna tradition — properly designed, thoughtfully engineered, and built to last.
Every part of the structure was carefully considered, from the internal airflow and insulation layers to the bench heights, stove placement, and timber selection.
This sauna isn’t a converted shed or a garden room with a heater in it. It is a purpose-built sauna cabin, constructed to perform the way a sauna should.
Why We Built It
In the UK, sauna is currently an unregulated space.
For decades, most people have experienced sauna only through the poor appropriations found in gyms, hotels, and spas — often small, under-powered rooms with poor ventilation and little attention paid to the core principles that make sauna work.
At the same time, the recent rise in interest around sauna and cold water has led to many DIY builds appearing across the country. While the enthusiasm is great to see, many of these are built without proper consideration for airflow, materials, or safety.
The result is that much of what exists in the UK today doesn’t reflect what sauna is meant to be.
Learning From Finnish Sauna Culture
Finland has more than three million saunas for a population of around five and a half million people. Sauna culture there is deeply embedded in daily life, and over generations the design of saunas has been refined to work extremely well.
While building our first sauna we spent a great deal of time researching and learning from Finnish standards and practices.
We also consulted with the Chief Technical Officer of the British Sauna Society, a group primarily initiated and co-founded by London-based Finnish sauna expert Mika Meskanen and other sauna enthusiasts who are working to improve sauna standards and education in the UK.
This guidance helped ensure that our sauna was built with proper attention to:
airflow and ventilation
stove sizing and placement
correct bench heights and proportions
safe materials and construction methods
overall sauna performance
The aim was to create something that feels authentic, performs properly, and provides the kind of experience people expect when they visit a good sauna in Finland or Scandinavia.
A Working Sauna, Not Just a Showpiece
The sauna at Sandy Lane is more than just a build project.
It’s a living, working community sauna — a place where people can gather, unwind, and experience sauna in a way that many in the UK haven’t encountered before.
Running regular sessions allows us to continuously refine the experience and demonstrate what a properly designed sauna can offer.
For many visitors, it’s their first experience of a true wood-fired sauna.
Bespoke Sauna Builds
Alongside operating the community sauna, we are also open to building bespoke saunas for private clients and businesses.
This might include:
mobile saunas for events or hospitality venues
garden sauna cabins for private land
sauna spaces for wellness studios, retreats, or accommodation
Each project is approached individually, with careful attention to design, materials, and the principles that make a sauna perform well.
Options for Different Budgets
Not every project needs to be large or complex.
We’re happy to discuss a range of sauna options, from smaller garden installations through to fully custom mobile sauna builds.
If you’re interested in bringing a sauna to your home, land, or business, we’d love to hear about your ideas.
Interested in a Sauna Build?
If you’d like to explore the possibility of a bespoke sauna build, feel free to get in touch.
We’re always happy to have a conversation and see what might be possible.